I haven’t published a real blog post in three weeks. Am I done with blogging? Of course not. Sometimes other things just get in the way. Sometimes life is a little busier than usual and I have to deal with it. The best way I have found to deal with being busy is to set priorities. Blogging, unfortunately, has gotten pushed down the priority list in the past couple weeks, and do you know what? That is okay.

Priorities

It’s okay to have priorities. I’ve been golfing since I was 15 years old. This year, I’m not golfing at all. After work, personal relationships, big events this year, reading, the podcast, and staying in shape, I realized golf kept getting pushed down the priority list. That’s okay. A forest needs to be logged every so often to ensure the healthy trees can thrive, this is also true in life. Eliminating something that takes a lot of time and isn’t a priority will have a positive impact on your life overall. This is because there will be more time to allocate to things that really are important at that time in your life.

The to-do list

The to-do list can be a daunting sheet of paper (or list on your phone). It never ends. Sometimes it can grow longer, even as you check things off. One thing I had to come to terms with as a natural planner is not everything can get done in a day, week, or even month. Some items will keep falling to the bottom of the list, and if they fall to the bottom for months on end, it might make sense to strike it from the list entirely. Why waste brain power and create anxiety for not completing a task when it really isn’t that important?

Saying no

As we get older, people have lots of expectations put on them. Whether that is attending a family member‘s event, performing some home maintenance, grabbing dinner and drinks, etc. Our jobs can have expectations of us as well, including occasionally working nights or weekends outside of normal business hours. In times when things are extremely busy for one reason or another, it is okay to say no. No, I will not be attending the party. No, I cannot work on Saturday. No, I can’t help you move this weekend. Saying no can be a scary situation when we don’t want to disappoint. As long as we aren’t shy about the reason for saying no, one should not feel like they are failing others. Make it known that you have important, competing priorities and those close friends and family (and hopefully employer) will understand.

Just because I haven’t made blogging a priority as of late, doesn’t mean it’s not important to me, it just means there are other things at this moment that need my time, attention, and effort. Life is a pendulum and once things slow down, I’ll have time to allocate to this hobby which I do love, and maybe even shoot a round of golf.