Skip to main content

Less is More


And I'm not talking about the new hit show "Tidying up with Marie Kondo," although I DO love to purge items and be minimalist as possible. I'm talking about juggling life. Having a career, being a foster mom, with a chronic illness like cystic fibrosis can make it feel like I'm juggling 10 items at a time. I think I'm finally getting an idea of what I need to do!





I sleep 9:00 pm-6:30 am (yes, full 9.5 hours) and I need them. I do nebulizer treatments, pills, and clean medical equipment for 4 hours a day. Between getting the kiddo(s) off/on bus at 8am and noon, making meals, cleaning, errands. It doesn't leave a lot of time for: career, family, volunteering, and other aspects like appointments (both medical and fostering). I'm not complaining. I'm SUPER lucky to have a family and career. Plus, I'm fairly healthy and stable despite my cystic fibrosis.





I have been doing awesome at managing all my meds. SUPER THANKFUL for that! Especially considering I added 2 weeks of Home IV antibiotics on top of my normal 7-10 nebulizer treatments a day (those IVs ended a couple days ago and follow up is March 3rd- stay tuned...). I know my medications have to be a priority. Not only for me, but for me be the healthiest possible for my family.










I try to plan ahead and work smarter, not harder (I think that's from Dave Ramsey) - I listen to his podcast quite often. I just have to get creative sometimes... like recently I did my treatments during my 30 minutes lunch in a 7 hour long real estate seminar. I try to mulit-task as much as I can. I do puzzles with our kiddo(s) or do online real estate work during my treatment times at home too.










Sometimes I need a personal time-out.





Just time to stop and enjoy a mug of decaf black licorice flavor hot tea (No?? maybe coffee in your case ;-P). I want to enjoy every minute. As a foster parent we never know when our time with the children in our home will come to an end. I want to make the most of every minute and soak it all up <3





I have been using my google calendar in my phone more religiously. And trying to not spend time on "how to plan my time effectively," because next thing I know my planner will look beautiful, but I have no time left to be actually PRODUCTIVE. ( Note: I do use a planner for breaking down big campaigns, projects, deadlines, etc. But I minimize time spent writing in the planner. )M





More doing and less planning.





I think only am I starting to learn what it means to spend my time more wisely and soak up every precious moment. My personal time-outs help. I can see a difference in my days, enjoying more and worrying less. Not surviving, but actually living.





What are some ways you manage time effectively? Do you have a personal time-out or quiet time to refocus? I'd love to hear about them? How do you deal with daily life struggles?


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leaving on an Airplane, don't know when I'll be..oh, wait I return on Sunday!

VACATION YAY! Tomorrow I head to my uncles' and stay there, then Thursday morning, EARLY in the morning, we are headed to the airport! We are flying into Buffalo, NY and spending Thursday at Niagara Falls! Friday and Saturday I have no clue what we are doing! I know there is a surprise for me. But I'm not sure what it is. All I know is I'm soo excited to go! Last Fall I went to Las Vegas with my friend Amanda! It was soo much fun and had been like decade..seriously 10+ years...since I had been on vacation (well more than wknd trips to see friends who live within a 10 hr drive, hee hee Kym!) When I get back from my trip this weekend, I will post about it too! I just have to pack a little more when I go places and make sure to do my meds. On top of the regular, clothes, etc that most people pack  I will also pack: therapy machine 5 nebulizer cups  28 vials of medicine for my nebulizers over 150 pills I will take during the wknd 16 cans of stomach...

Tech-savvy Thursday- new look!

New Look: Getting Tech-Savvy: Since, I'm getting more involved in blogging, I decided it was time to give my blog a makeover! eMake-overs are always fun, whether you getting a new hair style, or outfit at the mall. However, I've been researching a lot about blogs and social networking. And I thought it may be time to update my blog's look.      I think I like my new one (at the top) a lot better than the old one (pictured on right). What do you think? I wanted my blog to feel more personal and I wanted to make it more tech-savy. I kept the black/purple color scheme. But made the purple the main color instead (and made it a softer purple). I then started looking up how to make my own buttons, widgets, etc. It isn't too hard to find tutorials for anything these days, between google, pinterest, and forums, you can pretty much find instructions for anything. I used a simple code and photobucket to make my own buttons: I think my new Tw...

Daily Compliance & Arthritis (video too)

The Big Topic: (let download for video below) Lots of people in the CF community talk about being compliant with their meds. It's really important, trust me I've seen the difference. I know some CFers keep track of the number of days in a row they stay compliant, but I don't keep track exactly. Why? It upsets me too much when I miss one and have to start over. I'm very competitive (which is funny, considering I've never been in sports). But more than competitive, I'm really tough on myself.  So instead of counting days, I just do all the meds I can actually do. So since my hospitalization in January I can say I've done all the meds I could do. Why can't I do all my meds. Lots of reasons. If I'm visiting someone, one spills & I forget to bring extra. If the insurance or pharmacy hold up my refill an extra day or two (causing me to lose 1 or 2 days worth of that med). So as long as I physically have the medication I do the med. That's...