Room heater, Shea butter and a mild smell of eucalyptus oil would be the first thing you notice if you walked into my room this morning. I didn’t get enough sleep because my baby had a flu and mummy was awake almost all through the night so she could sleep well. My nights are like this sometimes and I have gotten used to it. It does mess with my day a lot because like today, I spent a considerable time in the morning to get some sleep. I wouldn’t function well without sleep. I go with the flow and still try to find balance and ensure every area of my life gets the attention it requires. I’m not perfect though.
The Cambridge dictionary describes balance or equilibrium as:
a state where things are of equal weight or force
This means no part of my life is taking on too much weight or too much attention while the others suffer. It is a difficult thing to do since there are a thousand and one things seeking my attention daily. We all have 24 hours daily which is more like a resource credit we are given everyday and the more we use it wisely, the more we are able to achieve with it. Here are some important parts of my life and the time they take daily
Parenting:
this has to come first, not because it’s a priority but it has somehow taken so much of my time and it is beyond my control. There’s no schedule or time slot for this because like last night, I just have to go with the flow. I certainly do not regret having my plans messed with though, because I’ve tried sending both my kids to their grandma for a day and I couldn’t do anything because I missed them. I love the chaos they bring to my day sometimes. This aspect of my life takes up 40% of my day but actually has a 5% priority because I honestly don’t wake up thinking, “I’m gonna be the best mom today”
Health and wellness:
In terms of priority, my health would take 20 percent. Because I think about my health and what my body needs everyday. I care too much about my mental health to let anything stress me. So even though I worry about every little thing, I try my best to ensure I don’t let my thoughts get the best of me. I talk about how I feel often with people close to me. I also do not joke with my sleep. I woke up this morning tired from helping my baby last night, so once I woke up, I took her to my husband’s cousin who has been with us for a while now, and I went to sleep. I wouldn’t function properly if I don’t sleep well.
My analysis: even though I worry about my health, I am not diligent in taking my medications and watching my diet. Sometimes I’m very careful with what I eat and other times I just don’t care, so I’ll say this takes up about 20% of my day
Relationships:
I have a small circle and I am an introvert. I like being on my own and I really wish I could build better relationships. I really don’t do well in this aspect of my life. It probably has a priority of 2% or something really low like that.
My analysis:
Relationships take about 2% of my daily time and I want to do better. I want to be able to call people just to find out how they are and have small talk with people after church.
Personal Growth and development:
For so long, this has taken the back seat in my life, but quite recently, I find that I am consciously making an effort to improve and be better. I am learning how to engage better here on Hive and improve my writing skills too. I have also gotten quite a number of books on personal development like The Teacher by Gbile Akanni and some I intend to read like Atomic Habits by James Clear and the Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. I have not started reading these books yet, but I intend to start reading one today.
My Analysis: this definitely has a priority of about 40% in my life and takes up about 10% of my time daily. I home to give more time to this
Career:
This includes everything I do to make money and that’s A LOT! If I’m not working on something that fetches me more money, I am thinking of how to do something that makes me more money.
Analysis:
I give my career a priority of 30% even though I struggle to meet my daily goals and it ends up taking about 10% of my time everyday. I see people here on Hive that write 3 articles daily and I wonder if I can ever do that. I want to be able to dedicate time to working, but not too much time that I do not spend time with my family. So to set a goal for improvement, I wish I could be able to dedicate 6 hours daily for work. Which would be about 25% of my day.
Spirituality:
There are days when I have to be in church everyday for a month because there’s either a program, or a class I have to teach at the rehab center in church. I do not consciously give this a priority and it takes about 5% if I were to prioritize it.
My Analysis: even though I don’t give this too much attention, it takes roughly 7% of my time daily. I’m okay with this because it’s an opportunity to go out and do something I love to do.
Leisure:
this came last and honestly it takes the back seat in my life. I certainly do not have time for fun and it’s depressing to even think about as it is to write. Something @ galenkp (dont want to tag him here) said to me today struck me: “Fun is not just for children” and I definitely should create time for this:
Analysis:
this takes 0% of my time and has 0% priority although I have a strong feeling this is about to change soon
I think it is impossible give equal time to every aspect of life, because someway, something will just have to take more time except you consiously learn to manage your time. I think balance in life generally means giving enough time to the things that matter and ensure that you are satisfied and happy in the end.
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