"Is Your Calendar Reflecting Your Values? The Role of Time Management in Aligning Priorities"

If it's not on my calendar, it doesn't exist.

And man, I study that shit on the daily. For that day, the following day, and often to remind myself and mentally prepare for the next week ahead- do I have all the childcare I need for each activity? Is there any paperwork I need to fill out for anything? Anything I need to buy to prepare? Checking that calendar over and over again.

 

Can you relate?

 

So why do I do this?

 

One of the reasons I do this is because I greatly value SPACE in my life. Before I schedule something, I look at my week and I try to decide where and when I will have energy for that particular thing. If I can't find a place, I look at the following week. I study my calendar so that I can see what's working and what's not.

 

There are only certain days/times I schedule clients, go to doctor's appointments, do kids activities, do networking activities, get together for social things. I kind of have fixed, (though flexible) spaces for each priority of my life.

 

I actually at this point pretty rarely overschedule or make myself available for something at a time that feels like it will be a stretch. I have grown super passionate about protecting my time and energy! I'm a big advocate for my clients to figure out ways -even if they are small - to do the same.

 

 I know there are constrictions and restrictions to peoples' ability to do this. The system is not set up to support us to take care of ourselves. It actually requires some level of radical decision-making and action, and often unraveling of certain programming, in order to set your life up for mental health and wellness. Commonly, we are raised in a culture that teaches us a value system that does not put mental health and well-being at the top of the list.

 

And so, we live a life and make decisions based on the value system we've been taught, without even asking ourselves if it's working for us or not, or if the values we are living are true to who we are. So often, this happens until we reach a breaking point. Until we get sick, physically or mentally. Until there are "real" tangible repercussions. Where things start to just not make sense, and everything is called into question. This is often a time when folks come to therapy.

Sometimes it's in their late 20's when they're just starting to explore and discover themselves as adults and realize that maybe they have different priorities and needs than they thought. Sometimes it happens after a divorce. Sometimes it happens with the death of a loved one. It's different for everyone, for sure.

 

Sometimes when folks start valuing and wanting to prioritize their well-being, and journeying on a path of wellness in mind, body, and spirit, it can really shake things up!