I find it interesting that when life is the most hectic we tend to cut out the things that are the most beneficial to ourselves – time alone, time to exercise, quality time with our families, time out with friends.  Unfortunately, these things tend to fall into the “not mandatory for survival” category.

Yes, it is true that we can survive life without the richness of time spent with friends or family.  We can survive without exercise.  And we can survive without time alone.  But, surviving isn’t living.  Living is what makes life enjoyable.  It is what makes life fun and eventful.  And, living should be our goal.

I have been reminded of this over the past few weeks.  I am in the process of re-branding my business – new company name, new logo, new website, new messaging, just about everything is new.  Although this process is very exciting it is a lot of work, more than I expected honestly.

And because I have set a deadline for this Friday, June 13^th, to have the majority of my messaging redefined and my website content rewritten (I am going to be unavailable for two weeks starting the 14^th) I have been feeling the pressure of not enough hours in my day.   As this pressure has been building I have been forced to cut some things from my schedule.  Unfortunately, I had been cutting the wrong things.

The first thing to go was my morning quiet time.  This is time I take to pray, journal, bless those who are brought to mind and just rest in the “peace that surpasses all understanding.”

The second thing I cut was some one-on-one time with my daughter.  She is on summer break now and she would love to spend days on end with me.  Although I treasure my time with her and recognize it will not last forever, I have been saying no to time with her in lieu of “focused work time.”

But, interestingly, because I have cut two of the most precious things in my life, my “focused work time” had not been very focused.  I’ve been struggling to get my thoughts together and have not been nearly as productive as I need to be.  So, the pressure continues to build.

Finally, it dawned on me … in order to be productive during the work-day, I need to nurture my personal life - my mind, my spirit and my soul.

So, several days ago I decided that no matter how jammed my day was, I would start each and every day with my quiet time; time to get myself focused on the really important things in life.  Then I decided that I would let my daughter pick one weekday, any day before the 14^th that would be spent with just her and me.  No calls.  No email.  No work.

And amazingly, but not surprisingly, the pressure has begun to release.  I still have the impending deadline and I still have a lot of work to get done, but my mind is renewed.  I am refreshed and refocused.  I do not have more hours in my days, but my days are much more productive because I work much more effectively.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to keep time to nurture yourself in your schedule.  Choose to live life instead of just surviving it.