When I officially launched #40WeeksForMe and also committed to my own 40WFM journey, I knew it was horrible timing. Scott was (and still is) interviewing for jobs, we were looking for a rental house to move into, I’d just signed my 2nd published book deal, and that was before I even knew the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition existed.
There’s not ever a good time to take care of ourselves though. We can’t say, “I’ll make time for me when life slows down,” because it never will.
I’m roughly 11 weeks into this, and I haven’t accomplished as much as I’d hoped at this point. I haven’t made any doctor’s appointments or given any of my personal hobbies space to bloom. Right now, I’m really struggling to keep up the good habits I worked so hard to establish in the beginning- staying hydrated, eating intentionally, exercising regularly, prioritizing sleep.
The last 10 days have been especially chaotic as my efforts to help the VVBHC and the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio have picked up. We moved into our rental house a few days ago. My first major book deadline is tomorrow.
Through this rough and busy patch, I’ve discovered…
Things 40WFM has to include when life gets busy
- We have to give ourselves space for stillness over progress.
- We have to delegate without guilt.
- We have to stop believing the lie that we are the only ones who can do all the things the “right” way. Our way may be only one of the many “right” ways to do something. Other people are capable of doing those things in not-wrong ways. LET THEM, or see back to #2 and ask them to.
- We have to stop shaming ourselves for what we didn’t accomplish and start celebrating what we did.
Re: #4- I just downloaded a brand new app that will keep track of what I AM accomplishing daily. It’s called Tend from Persistiny and it’s free. It allows you to add and track all the tasks you accomplish in a day, from breastfeeding and bathing your kids, to paying bills and researching…. whatever it is we all end up researching every day (that is such a time suck for me sometimes).
Here’s my dashboard from yesterday:
I could not believe the total time I’d spent on these things after I added my conservative estimates to each item. It’s hard to look at that at the end of the day and tell myself I “didn’t get anything done.”
I’ve used the app for total of 1.5 days, so this isn’t really a comprehensive review (and this isn’t sponsored, FYI). If you give it a try, let us know what you think in the comments or over in our #40WeeksForMe Facebook group!
And don’t forget to follow @40WeeksForMe on Instagram.
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