Busy, busy, busy, not enough hours in the day.
Must finish the training plan I should have done days ago, must go and take the dog to the vets, must get ready to leave for work and not be late again.
Must do, should do, need to, ought to, have to.
Whoa! Time out! Take a break.
Stop.
The more you want to try to enhance your lifestyle the more demand there is on your time.
You want to progress at work to get the raise.
The kids need a driver to get them to baseball practice, dance classes and meet friends.
The house needs decorating, the lawn needs cutting, the garage needs tiding, etc, etc, etc.
Something has got to give.
Guess what? If something doesn't, you will.
Time to have a change on how you organize your day before overload causes a full stop.
Your life centers on your home.
Okay let's think if for some unfortunate reason you were to taken out of the present family group and everyone around you, your wife, kids, neighbors, work colleagues and friends.
Even if you are not there their individual lives have to continue.
They still have to eat, sleep, bathe and brush their teeth, dress in clean clothes, go to school and follow their daily routines which make their lives comfortable.
Now you are not there, they will have to take more responsibility for their own lives.
Yes, their lives may not be as fulfilled if you are not there.
But the way things were going your frustrations and tiredness will blight their lives.
This is a great opportunity not only to enhance your life but to enrich the lives of those around you.
Let's start with the kids who seem to take such a disproportionate amount of your time.
They need to be taught to take more control over their own lives.
The 'experts' advise you get the family members together and get everyone to agree to a plan of action.
Please, these are kids you are talking about, who have independent minds and interests.
The greatest influences on my life were my parents.
My Mom would continually quote many words of wisdom but importantly she practiced what she preached.
Lines like 'everything has its place', 'after you have used it put it back' and 'always do your jobs now because they will never get done'.
With the words of my Mom echoing in my ears, I was determined to influence change by leading by example.
To get things started and focus on what needs to be done I drew up an action plan.
This mainly consisted of clearing up all the clutter.
It's amazing how much you buy but do not use.
I cleared out my bedroom, garage and helped my wife clear the kitchen, living and dining room.
Now we had the dining room back, meals were no longer eaten in bedrooms or in front of the television.
The first topic when we gathered around the dining table for dinner was how we should sell our surplus items found when tiding the house.
The kids suggested the internet.
Excellent idea! You sell them and you keep the money.
This led them to clear up their own rooms to find more items to sell.
With this new common interest, meal times around the table allowed more effective discussions which led to better organizing of our time.
This appreciation of effectively scheduling events and of keeping the home and especially bedrooms tidy, enriched the well being of all the family.