Call it a priority maybe

Read a post on Lifehacker recently that's stuck with me - to boil it down, it said "Don't say you don't have time, say it's not a priority.". Sorry, didn't file the TPS reports because I was busy. No, I prioritized something else ahead of it.

I've really been liking it - I've started to try to think about it at work when declining meeting requests or setting aside an email to maybe get to later.

But in my non-work life, I've struggled with it. There are a few things I currently am not doing but would really like to be. But it finally dawned on me tonight - unlike work, not all non-work hours are created equal.

For one item, I need 20-30 minutes of quiet where I can listen to a recording and take notes. This was best done at home while exercising in the morning, but I've had trouble getting up lately. Perhaps I've been prioritizing sleep over that exercise and that podcast, but it's been unavoidable. Other times when I exercise it's either not stationary (at work, outside walking or running) or it's not solitary (while watching TV with Lori).  I do want to start doing those things again, so I have to work harder at getting to sleep sooner or figure out why I now need an extra hour of sleep. I suspect it's the weather.

For another, I need 30-60 minutes weekly during daylight hours to wash the cars. That's actually difficult to come by because there are other chores (priority) but also it's more difficult to do something on my own because that means I'm not helping with the kids and stuff. The solve here is to start paying for car washes again. I can buy extra time.

There's this blog. Clearly not a priority for me this year. Last year I had a goal to blog every day and I did. Plus some in other blogs. Not so this year. That saddens me, but I can fully own it. We'll see if I decide to change that for next year.

And finally exercise. Mixed bag. I could probably create the time for more running. I haven't. Clearly getting down to my goal weight isn't a priority.  That's sad, but at least I can be honest about it.

I am happy with most of my current time choices. There are still things I wish I were doing but am not, but there's little I am doing and wish I weren't. The rest becomes a consideration of both priority and availability of the right kind of hours for the thing I want to do but am not. Or if there's anything so worth getting done that I pay someone else to do it or something else allowing me time to do it myself.

That feels good to think that through. Liberating.