Being a new mom, I really value my alone time. My “me” time. Where I have a moment to just BE. When my son is sleeping and I have a little time to tend to myself. A lot of the time it’s “getting stuff done” (cleaning up, answering an email, practicing piano, showering, eating, etc.) but I always try to allow time where I can veg for a little bit.
For me that usually means laying on the couch and reading a book. Or watching a show. My husband laughs at me because he’ll come home from work and I won’t want to talk to him because I’m in veg mode. Luckily, he knows me well enough and my introvert needs that he doesn’t take it personally. He just likes to tease me about it later. LOL.
But sometimes when I sit down to veg I think “Let me just check Instagram real quick…” or “Let me do today’s Wordle”. POOF! Rip! There goes the time. And all of a sudden my son is waking up from his nap and I feel like I didn’t get that “me” time.
Or when I intend to do a specific household chore (say, vacuuming) but get distracted by another (oh, let me go through my closet real quick!). POOF! Rip! There goes the time!
I’m shredding my schedule and creating time confetti.
Time confetti.
I ran across this term recently and it really hit home. There are so many times where my day feels completely disjointed because I have been ripping apart my time into tiny mindless pieces. Not staying present with the current task. Allowing myself to get distracted and spend my time mindlessly.
Now, that’s not to say I should be concerned about being productive all the time. Not at all. It’s more a matter of guarding that sacred time that is just for me. Noticing when I start to slip.
So, I stop. Breathe. Ask “What do I want to be doing right now?” Checking in with myself when I switch tasks and be sure that what I am about to do aligns with my priorities. I have found taking a conscious pause helps restore a lot of wholeness and time in my day. Meditation helps strengthen that muscle. So does breathing.
The next time you find yourself distracted, take a moment to stop and breathe and ask yourself “How do I want to spend my time in this moment?”
You might be surprised by the answer.
Do what makes you happy.