A few months ago, I started using a bullet journal in a bid to reorganize my time. Before, as a stay-at-home homeschool mom, I was in a pretty good rhythm as far as my time management skills were concerned. Once I started working, even though it was very part-time, my well-crafted schedule seemed to implode. It was amazing how just a few hours out of my week changed how – and how well – I handled simple chores and routines.
So I started keeping a bullet journal (more on that soon, because, yeah, well, I kind of love it) so I could see what was falling through the cracks.
But I still feel like my life is all of a sudden “missing” a good chunk of hours out of the week, and I have to schedule something almost all the time to compensate for those lost hours.
The one thing I can’t seem to make time for is nothing.
Before, I seemed to be able to set aside an hour here and there for reading my endless stack of magazines and books. Time to refinish some of the family antiques we received when we got married so many years ago. Time to make little crafty odds and ends that I give as gifts at Christmas. Time to spend perfecting the perfect pizza. Time to turn my favorite picture of my dogs looking out over our front yard into a painting. Time to lay in bed and watch Mr. Darcy relinquish his pride in a bid to woo Elizabeth Bennett for the 47th time.
Yes, those may all be something to do still, but to me, the definition of stillness is what quiets my mind. Each of those in some form or manner, quiets me.
Is it sad that I have to schedule time to be still?
If I don’t schedule though, will I make time for it?
For now, scheduling nothing – scheduling stillness – is what I have to do.
So I’d dearly love to know… when your life changes and you need to make time for stillness, what do you do? How do you do it?