October 22
- Pondered life as I drove home
- Decided to quit some things
- Asked God for guidance
- Made a list of almost ten things
- Felt relief just from making the list
- Picked three things on the list to start with
- Started one before sleep
October 23
- Woke up naturally before 5
- Couldn’t go back to sleep so surrendered and got up
- Got to work on some stuff
- Totally motivated by last night’s list
- Already feeling calmer and more connected to my family and it’s only 6:24am.
- Actually excited to move through the day (vs overwhelmed)
- Joined with friends for their 3yr-old’s birthday celebration
- Ate lunch and talked with my husband
- Went to an opera thanks to free tickets from a student/performer (and took our 2yr-old!)
- Played outside with daughter
- Ate supper
- Had a video meeting and felt refreshed by the end
- Logged onto Facebook and realized I’ve missed a lot yet haven’t missed a thing
- Review the week ahead
- Hello sleep. Looking forward to a new day during which I get to continue quitting the nonessentials and begin prioritizing more of what really matters. Big day ahead!
A quick review: starting early and well and not packing too much into the day have helped me feel as if I’ve not wasted the day and that I can let the day go. This is not at all my normal end of the day sense. Grateful.
October 24
- Woke up tired but hopeful–how I ended yesterday certainly played a positive role
- Woke up with a good idea related to work. I love how the brain continues to process and clarify as we sleep!
- Didn’t linger in my car once arriving at work…this has become a usual practice of avoidance.
- Finished a proposal and am quite proud of it! No matter the outcome, it’s always good to know you’ve done your best.
- About to each lunch at a reasonable time
- Hit a bump…drove over it after a brief pause…didn’t allow it to floor me by being attentive to it quickly and drawing few negative conclusions. #progress
- Switched gears again after another bump. Some issues can and should be left alone for a bit. You do what you know to do then walk away. You return with clarity. You return having checked something else off the list.
- Tired. Very tired. But need to flesh out one more detail before bed.
- Done! 😴
A quick review: quitting the unnecessary really frees up a load of time. Who knew?! ☺️
October 24
- Full day. Much accomplished thanks to quitting stuff!
October 25
- Still hard to just get moving especially when I don’t feel gloriously rested. But time waits for no one so…
- Still learning the value found in quitting certain things. Right now it’s mostly more time to do more important things well. It’s also a clearer sense of peace. Re-engaging with what I’d quit is actually yielding more frustration than I feel I had before I quit. Interesting stuff.
- One of the biggest things I need to quit is thinking I can pack more into a day and actually trying to do so. I’m learning to stop myself and value less production with increased quality. It’s hard particularly when stupid bumps cross my path. The bumps always feel like emergencies.
- Going to bed earlier tonight. I just have to surrender. Have to.
I’m quitting stuff and chronicling the basic process. My brain is overloaded. My life is packed with excess. I can’t not do this. There are things I need to do, ways I need to be and I can’t do or be because of all the stuff.
I’m sharing this with the world because I feel like it and because I think, just maybe, my process can encourage someone else. I don’t think my steps should be copied. No. God will help you map out your own process. May mine serve as a reminder that the process isn’t impossible…even with marriage, one child, another en route, and a full time pastoral job.
We’ve been freed so that we can live free (Galatians 5:1). May this freedom occupy our entire lives even in the midst of the unexpected and absolutely taxing parts of life.
