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Time

Time is such a valuable thing, and it is a concept that is difficult for me to control.

I call myself a time-optimist. I always think I have more time to do something than I actually do. This shows itself most of the time when I am about to leave the house to go somewhere. "Oh, I have time to do this one last thing," is what I tell myself before rushing out the door and leaving at the time my appointment--be it a serious appointment like a doctor's appointment or a fun one like a girls' night out.

It's something that I have struggled with my whole life.

Last year I discovered time-blocking. This was revolutionary to me to set alarms and schedule out my entire day. I own an Apple watch and an iPhone, so I enjoyed seeing all of the colors appear on my calendar. They all showed exactly where I was supposed to be and when I was supposed to be there. I also had time blocked out for the small things I wanted to do like contacting a friend I hadn't talked to in a while. On my screens it looked perfect, but when it came to implementing the exactness of the schedule, it became almost impossible to do everything I wanted to do. Something would happen with my children or my dog, or some unexpected thing would pop up that I either forgot about or didn't know about.

I wasn't always glad for the interruption to my color-coated life, but I soon realized that all my plans in life--be them color-coated or not--have had to change. I can plan, but I need to stay flexible to things like, well, cancer.

This is especially important when it comes to my family. I have always put them as top priority. Most of the time I spend in my day is spent with my family. However, how much of that time is quality time? How much of it is time that will be looked back on as time well spent?

This is something I am going to pay more attention to because time is valuable, and I want to spend it wisely.
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