Last week I said that I would be continuing to work of Facet No. 2 (From the Art of Homemaking)Ambition.
So I have been.
At the beginning of the week I sat down and made a list of 33 things that I wanted to accomplish this week (besides the usual housekeeping, child rearing, sewing, self-preservation, and other various weekly obligatory items).
I worked hard. I accomplished a lot. I WAS AMBITIOUS!
But I didn’t get to cross off everything on my list.
Dang.
No matter how hard I tried not everything got accomplished this week.
Why? What was I doing wrong?
Nothing really…
It all came down to my priorities.
I was reading a page out of Sarah Ban Breathnach’s book “Simple Abundance” today and she explained what happened to me better than I can.
She said, “Most women I know have only one conscious priority: making it through the day. This is a direct result of having been torn in a thousand different directions in any one twenty four hour period…but acknowledging, recognizing, and reordering our priorities so that they can give purpose to our days is a deeply personal task that we all must do…”
“A priority is anything that is important to you….Priorities are not written in granite. They need to be flexible and change as we do.”
“I find it helpful to think of priorities as the wooden frame upon which we stretch our the canvass of our days so that we may apply color and form to the work of art we are creating without the entire painting collapsing in the middle.”
“Many of us assume that we can continue to get along just by winging it indefinitely. We can’t. We need an antidote for the hurried and harrowed lives that threaten to tear us apart.”
Priorities.
This week I didn’t move the furniture in the family room to dust underneath, I didn’t make the wicked awesome bias tape skirt I sketched out (which I will be making very very soon), and I didn’t go to the gym. But we did have a puppet show, reorganize and sort through all of the girls clothing, and I finally made a much needed trip to the eye doctor.
Without being consciously aware of it I was prioritizing my list.
This week I plan on being fully conscious of my priorities.
I know what I want—I know my ultimate goals:
#1. Making my home a sanctuary from the world.
#2. Making sure the various needs of my family are met.
#3. Making sure that I continue to heal and improve myself.
So here we go with ambition week 3.
The list will return. I will be ambitious. I will be conscious of my priorities. What is most important will be finished first and remembering that I won’t beat myself up for what remains unfinished at the end of the week. If puppet shows or doctors appointments need to replace sketching out a new pajama pattern or dusting the baseboards so be it—those tasks can easily be taken care of the next week.
And I am thinking that by keeping my priorities in my mind I will be more motivated (ambitious) and actually accomplish more this week than last
We’ll see if I’m right.
I already started my list, and it’s a long one!
(It includes everything from cleaning out the mini van, to getting a new haircut, to helping Simon with an experiment he’s been wanting to try….besides completing all the unfinished items from this week.)
So, what’s on your list?
I’ve been reading but haven’t commented for a while – I’m really enjoying this series, it is a good reminder for me to embrace my life and all it’s quirks…I love being a stay at home mum but it isn’t valued much by society so we have to find our own validation don’t we? Kids don’t say thanks much!
I’m trying to live these ideas alongside you – this week my kids are on holiday – yippeee no school run! I want to make delicious meals, sort of keep on top of the housework, get out with them a bit and SEW! I actually find I get more done when we don’t have to constantly run out the door…so here I go! Starting with a skirt/outfit for the PR&P sew-a-long 🙂
my ultimate goal this week is to start meal planning. i go grocery shopping and walk around not knowing what to buy other then veggies and fruit. so i usually end up needing to go again for minor things all week. it drives me nuts. so, i really think meal planning will help in so many ways. plus i have to finish (and start) 2 easter dresses for the girls and one for myself. oh and a bow tie for the little guy. i did manage to stick to a diet all week, that was a small feat. its nice to be reflecting this past week and looking forward to the week ahead, even if there is so much we want to get accomplished. after all, it is good for the kids to see motivated momma’s. have a great weekend!
Thank you for this motivation. I have felt so un-ambitious for the past month or so, but things picked up this last week. I have several spots in my home in sore need of re-organization and general cleaning. I am going to tackle some of those areas this week—guest room; storage; paper filing system (ugh!).
good message
That is a great quote!! 🙂 My priority this week is figuring out how to cook non smelly but yummy food in our kitchen with minimal mess; our house is on the market and we’re trying to keep it as clean as possible. 🙂 I also need to exercise sometime.
Just started reading your site a few weeks ago. Today, your words (specifically the quote) was something I needed to hear and I can breathe a little better after it worked on my soul/brain, whatever it is inside that does that sort of work.
Thank you! Thank you for reminding me that my To-Do lists shouldn’t make me cry when nothing on them gets done. Stuff gets done, eventually, and not at the cost of a happy family life. A dust free mantle has never made my daughters laugh but dolly picnics do.
@Emily – Dinner in an oven bag is the way forward. Put Chunks of meat, large chopped veg, baby potatoes and a little water (if veg selection is quite dry) and your choice of herbs and spices into an oven bag. Roast at 180C for +/- 40 mins. I like pork, peppers, courgette, cherry tomatoes, baby potatoes with a paprika based spice and herb mix. Washing up = tables settings, one serving bowl, and one chopping board. (and no oven cleaning)