Ta Da!

Preface: 

 I cannot remember the last time I felt the spirit so strongly, so consecutively in a lecture. Tamara is fabulous. I greatly admire her enthusiasm and passion for life. Working 80 hours a week, being a mother and a wife...and I thought my life was hard! I thoroughly enjoyed her stories and real-life application. 

This one is for you, Tamara:

Mrs. Multi-Tasker

I am the QUEEN of multitasking. I am constantly doing two-three-four things at once. Cook dinner while writing homework. Writing letters while watching Modern Family. Talking on the phone while sending an email. Or working while doing my voice homework. Do I need to change this...YES! For most of those things, I will. ESPECIALLY when it deals with giving people your full attention. They deserve it. I have ceased multitasking when I am on the phone or engaging in conversation with another. It really does make all the difference because, as Tamara suggested, we cannot give our all in what we are doing if we are constantly juggling our attention. For things like cooking dinner and doing homework...I admit I will keep doing it but I can do it!

Why is it so hard to slow down?! The world and our culture expect us to live at high speed...just to keep up. We must do everything and be everything, there is no time to sit around. Mormon women, in particular, are known to have this "syndrome" of being and doing everything. From cooking meals from scratch, cleaning, keeping children alive and happy, going to school, having a career, serving everyone in the neighborhood, being updated on the latest books and trends, having a healthy marriage, dressing to the nines, and being well traveled and experienced, etc.etc.etc.

I struggle with this. I feel if I am sitting down for more than a minute, I must be doing something productive, something worthwhile(and at times I do not do something productive, I put on my punching gloves and beat myself senseless.) I can always be better and do better. I feel as if I need to be anxiously engaged in so many things...I just become anxious.I need to focus more on where I am than where I am going.M

As Tamara mentioned, we must change our attitudes. We are conducting an orchestra of our lives not juggling. It is okay if the trumpets (school,work,nurturing) is dominating the music at the moment, we just need to create balance and harmony. We must check our motives and simplify our lives. Humility and gratitude are the key components for time management. For me, I need to prioritize my time. What is most valuable? What can be limited? If I do too much, I enjoy too little. It is okay if I did not save the world and have dinner in time by 6:00. I need to celebrate my accomplishments and not beat myself up for the neglected tasks of the day. 

For example,
My TA DAs of the day: I have gone to all of my class, worked, ran a few errands, worked out at the gym, completed some homework, helped my husband with an application, and it is only 6:24pm. TA DA!!!!!

To live life is to love. Living life entails great adventures, self-discovery, laughing, crying, losing, gaining, learning, experiencing, and hopefully, a whole lot of loving. Loving God, Loving yourself, Loving those you spend a lifetime knowing.