I have always believed that busy was simply an acronym for Burdened Under Satan’s Yoke. If one is ever too busy to serve, then they are just too B.U.S.Y. Though I believed this, five years ago I found myself caught in this trap. I was driving myself crazy. There was always more laundry, kid’s homework assignments, church callings and my own business tasks then I could perform in 24 hours. I had to take control. Not that I could lighten the load anywhere. I just needed to bring the whole haphazard whirlwind of my life into an orchestrated and purposeful condition.
I can recall in living color the day I snapped. While sitting in my stale French fry scented car, waiting in front of the church, Dr. Phil asked me a question (by way of CD, of course). If I were paying someone to manage my life, and they were doing the job as well as I was doing it today - would I fire them or give them a raise? Call it what you want - an epiphany, an Ah-Ha moment or a brick falling on my head. In that instant, I blurted out “You’re fired!” Thus began my quest to acquire the elusive Holy Grail named balance.
I went home and dug up the five core values I had written in a Franklin-Covey seminar 20 years earlier. I had to dust them off, reacquaint myself with them and then update a few. I even had to add two more values because the five alone didn’t encompass my life as a whole. The final seven, then and now, are: Spirituality, Eternal Companionship, Motherhood, Friendship, Integrity, Appreciation, and Provident Living. By simply using a color coded calendar, I would visualize each appointment or task as an improvement in that core value. For instance, orthodontic appointments and laundry were both blue for Motherhood. Going to the theater, again, with my movie loving husband was now purple for Eternal Companionship. If the Relief Society President called unexpectedly and ask me to serve, I could drop everything, do the task and then come home and change my whole day to the color yellow for Spirituality. Even though “me time” wasn’t elevated to a core value, maroon was the color I used for taking a long bath or watching Star Trek re-runs since everyone needs time to re-charge their battery. I was still booked solid with a rainbow of colors, but not what I would call B.U.S.Y. anymore.
Today, this method continues to work wonders. The truth is, I haven’t changed much of what I do, but I have changed my perceptions of the meaning of what I do. And now with the Pathway program taking hours away from house cleaning, I simply step over some of the clutter on my way to the calendar to highlight the time block green for Provident Living. I firmly believe I was able to stop being busy and found balance through changing why I do things instead of what I do.
Upon self-evaluation, today I can honestly answer Dr. Phil, I would give myself a raise as my own life manager.
I can recall in living color the day I snapped. While sitting in my stale French fry scented car, waiting in front of the church, Dr. Phil asked me a question (by way of CD, of course). If I were paying someone to manage my life, and they were doing the job as well as I was doing it today - would I fire them or give them a raise? Call it what you want - an epiphany, an Ah-Ha moment or a brick falling on my head. In that instant, I blurted out “You’re fired!” Thus began my quest to acquire the elusive Holy Grail named balance.
I went home and dug up the five core values I had written in a Franklin-Covey seminar 20 years earlier. I had to dust them off, reacquaint myself with them and then update a few. I even had to add two more values because the five alone didn’t encompass my life as a whole. The final seven, then and now, are: Spirituality, Eternal Companionship, Motherhood, Friendship, Integrity, Appreciation, and Provident Living. By simply using a color coded calendar, I would visualize each appointment or task as an improvement in that core value. For instance, orthodontic appointments and laundry were both blue for Motherhood. Going to the theater, again, with my movie loving husband was now purple for Eternal Companionship. If the Relief Society President called unexpectedly and ask me to serve, I could drop everything, do the task and then come home and change my whole day to the color yellow for Spirituality. Even though “me time” wasn’t elevated to a core value, maroon was the color I used for taking a long bath or watching Star Trek re-runs since everyone needs time to re-charge their battery. I was still booked solid with a rainbow of colors, but not what I would call B.U.S.Y. anymore.
Today, this method continues to work wonders. The truth is, I haven’t changed much of what I do, but I have changed my perceptions of the meaning of what I do. And now with the Pathway program taking hours away from house cleaning, I simply step over some of the clutter on my way to the calendar to highlight the time block green for Provident Living. I firmly believe I was able to stop being busy and found balance through changing why I do things instead of what I do.
Upon self-evaluation, today I can honestly answer Dr. Phil, I would give myself a raise as my own life manager.