115- Positive Priorities - The Balancing Act Called Life

Lindy’s Audio Cafe Podcast – Episode 115 – Positive Priorities
 
 *Transcript may vary slightly from recorded audio. 

 Hi everyone.  It’s Lindy here. I’m absolutely delighted to be back in the podcast chair this morning. . Podcasting is a lot of fun, and I always miss it when life takes me in other directions.  For the most part, I usually stay on track with a weekly, but I am a hobby podcaster and there are times when I have to do that thing called adulting and last week I didn’t get a chance to record.

I have some great podcasts coming up soon.  I was at a unique high tea last week, and I’m going to delve a bit into that topic and share some stories from last weekend in an upcoming podcast. Tomorrow I’m also recording with a guest who lives 3500 kilometres away from me and it will be a really thought-provoking podcast.  Anway that’s just little peek at what’s coming up.

Today I ‘m going to have a quick chat about prioritizing.  Yes, me, the one with the messy desk, and I’m going to chat about prioritizing.  

What is a priority? According to Dictionary.com, it is the “state of quality of being earlier in time, occurrence, etc.”, or “the right to preced others in order, rank, privilege, etc. .  Hmmm…or it goes on to refer to “the right to take precedence in obtaining certain supplies, services etc. especially during a shortage”.  Ok, I get that.  And finally, it says “something given special attention”.  Well, I am glad I found those definitions, but do they change what I consider a priority?  Not really, to me a priority is simply doing the important stuff first, and the fun things later.

I mentioned my messy desk.  I have a creative mind.  When I have the urge to write, sometimes I have to get out of bed early, and that create urge becomes a priority before I take on other non-priority commitments.  That’s how I work. However, if that creative urge hits, and I had a looming deadline, then that deadline takes priority and the create side gets tucked in a little drawer until I can find time to return.

It takes organization, balance, willpower and necessity to focus on priorities in business, at home and with life in general.  A simple look at priorities is perhaps the garbage stinks, the garbage truck is scheduled to arrive in an hour and you have dishes in the sink and the dog wants to go for a walk. That is a simply decision.  Priority is to get the garbage out so you don’t miss the weekly pickup in an hour, then decide how to juggle doing the dishes and taking Fido for a walk.  If Fido is laying quietly on his mat, maybe you can clean up the dishes and they can air dry while you take Fido on the back trail.  Maybe Fido is jumping all over and driving you bananas because he hasn’t had a walk in a few days, ok, so screw the dishes, go walk Fido and then come home and finish the remaining task. It’s about balance, priorities and doing what makes sense.

People deserve to be in the list of priorities. What happens when your world gets so busy that you don’t have time for the people who truly matter?  It can happen to the best of us, and sometimes we find so many things coming at us, that we just can’t be all places at once. This can be a real challenge for people who work long hours, workaholics or people who simply take on too much and then discover there aren’t enough hours in the day.  What happens if your family wants you to go fishing this weekend, but you have a huge report due on Monday morning for the board meeting?  It’s a balancing act, and up to you to manage your priorities.

Families of workaholics can suffer because a workaholic will work excessively long hours and often a workaholic will work long hours and not take days off work. I had a relationship with a workaholic once, and I recall sitting near lake with two fishing rods.  This was many years ago.  I was happy to sit by a lake on a Sunday afternoon with a fishing rod in my hand, and my partner at the time paced back and forth along the shoreline, looking at his watch, waiting for me to catch that ultimate trout so we could get the hell of there and he could go back to work. I remember that day realizing that our two worlds were so different. I was always happy to work hard, and often worked long days, but I felt a need to spend a little time with nature from time to time and for me, I needed to feel like I too, could be a priority.  I wasn’t, and the relationship failed.  There was no looming deadline that day, just two different people with two different sets of priorities.

If you are a young person listening to this, there is a good chance once person in your relationship may be more career driven than the other.  It doesn’t make one person right and one wrong. If there are children at home, chances are that unless you have a nanny, one person will take on more of a stay-home or 9 to 5 role.  If there are two people with careers that require working odd hours or travel, it can be challenging to juggle family life.  I remember when I was raising kids I had someone blast me one day for having my children in daycare.  It was never that my children weren’t my priority, but paying my mortgage and putting food on the table for my children was a priority and that’s why we had daycare. I needed to work.  When I wasn’t working, darned rights I did my best to be there, bake on weekends, go to sporting events, read stories and do that parenting stuff, but yes, work had to be a priority in the daytime because it paid my bills.

Last summer I found myself way too busy, and that’s what led up to my burnout last fall when I almost stopped doing everything, including my podcast.  I was having a hard time juggling my priorities, and realized at that time that I was missing out on important time with the people who truly matter to me.

I didn’t get a podcast out last week because I was helping someone with a huge project and it took 2 solid days of time.  It was a priority for me, as that person was relying on me, and then I had a market to prepare for.  This week, I still have projects on the go and I will have more time to put into my podcast next week.  That’s ok, we all have priorities.

This week I started putting aside 1 hour a day to work on weeds in the garden.  I have to.  If I don’t give the yard an hour a day, it shows and I can’t in fairness expect my partner to do it all.   I also made riding my bike a priority again.  I have shin splints, and riding my bike is the best exercise I can do right now.  If I ride my bike 45 minutes a day, I am a much happier person and easier to get along with.  Exercise has to be a priority for me, and I will leave those dirty dishes in the sink if the sun is shining and get that bike ride in.  It’s priority.   I will get those dishes done before the day is done, but I can prioritize what is the healthiest option for me.

I am starting to connect more with old friends by phone.  2 years ago I said I would do that, and I did not do a good job.  Facebook doesn’t replace people communication, and by making time for good friends, I feel like I am getting my priorities back on track.  I even had a one hour chat on the phone with a good friend from the Yukon last week.  We started our phone chat at 6:30 am.  Yes – 6:30!  We had messaged online first and I made sure I was not in an area where I would wake my partner.  We had our morning coffees, chatted, and laughed about how when we were teenagers we were considering the wee hours of the morning to be bedtime, and now we are both in our late 50’s and up at 6 am with things to do.  Funny how times change.

Sometimes to juggle priorities you have to set aside time and make it untouchable time other than for what you need to get done.  Some people call it time blocking.  I don’t have a calendar that says I have to bike from noon till 1, but I know if I don’t do something by a certain time of the day, chances are it won’t happen so yes, in essence, I do timeblock.  My good friend Lyndsay Williams in the UK is a strong advocate for time blocking.

Priorities can be people priorities, priorities can be work priorities. When it comes to people, remember that life can change in an instant, and if you have someone in your life that really matters to you, and you have not made that person a priority, you could regret it.  If you are in a relationship and don’t make priority time for the person you love, you may find yourself without that person while they move on in different directions.  Maybe that person close to you will die unexpectedly and you wont have time to say goodbye, let alone hello.  You can’t live your life based on what-if’s, but you should still consider that.  If that person is not with me tomorrow, how would I feel?  If I would truly miss that person, have I made it a priority to spend some quality time together?

As far as work, well, work is work and we all have responsibilities.  It’s very difficult for someone to maintain their priority of work when they don’t’ have support at home.  It’s not always possible for someone with large responsibilities to drop everything to be at home for dinner by 5.  But if it’s never a priority to eat dinner with your family, then your priorities may be needing a little cross-check before it’s too late.

As for me, and my messy desk, I keep saying it will be a priority and then I get it cleaned up and other things land my way.  Some day I always say…some day it will be really tidy.  But in this moment, I needed to record a podcast and I have to go walk my dog.  Little Ozzie also deserves to be a priority, after all, he is one of the family.

Time to wrap it up.  If you were part of the Mad Hatter Tea Party last weekend, I will be putting together a little segment with videos. I just didn’t get a chance yet, but it’s coming up.  Be sure to check back next week for more thought-providing episodes, and next week I will have a topic that is a bit more serious but worth delving into.  Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t ready so you don’t miss future episodes.  

A quick reminder I have a Lindy’s Audio Café Facebook Group page. It’s a good place to stay up to date on upcoming episodes and be part of a fun little community online.  Also I am a hobby podcaster, and I will always do my best to get weekly episodes out, but there are times when I have to make adulting a priority, and adulting includes exercise and time with people who matter.  The mic will always be there, and I’ll find a way to come back and keep recording. I love podcasting.

On a last note, as a hobby podcaster I do incur expenses to maintain the show.  That includes equipment and subscriptions.  If you wish to support the show, there is a link in the show notes to Buy Me a Coffee and I certainly don’t expect it, but it is always appreciated. 

Have a great week everyone.  Remember what I always say, smiles come in all languages and in all colors.