How do we change our priorities?

mexico4fun

If you are like me, ME is rarely the priority unless I have a clear path and then watch out. The path has usually led to education or a project I thought would be interesting an fun.
Problem is....taking care of me is not really interesting or fun! At least not yet that I have found.
I have started the shift by signing up with a trainer that I have made three months of appts with to which I will not miss one.
The appts are with him but for me! I have done the same with creating interesting new meals along with having convenient ones that fit with my busy lifestyle.

1) What do you have to change to make YOU a priority?

2) How/What/Who can help hold you accountable?...(eventhough you may not think you need that because we know you are an over achiever already)

3) What gets in the way of you sticking to your plan?

Go Ahead Share/Answer!

srp2011

That is really a great question - it's so easy to say we're going to put ourselves first, but then life has a way of getting in the way, so planning is critical. What I really have to change is 1) determining how many hours I want to work to allow myself a balance and 2) accurately estimating assignment length, sticking to a disciplined schedule, and not taking on more assignments than will fit into my predetermined schedule. I struggle with all 3 aspects, though I am getting better 1, 2a, and 2c. I'm still struggling with the disciplined schedule because I work from home, and I've been overworked for so long that either I work non-stop in crisis mode, or I completely slack off when it slows down ever so slightly, putting me back into crisis mode.

My plan for January is to estimate how many hours of work are on the books (I'm already somewhat above my target number of hours, so I must say no to anyone else who calls), determine the number of hours I need to work per day (at the moment it looks like 9 if I want to have my weekends free), and then set a strict schedule during the day to get the 9 hours in, and once that's done, I'm done. Getting done on schedule will allow me to go to the gym without guilt, and have a social life without guilt. Hoping this will help me to stick to the schedule - until now I've had more work than I can possibly do in a day/week/month, which just gets overwhelming - if you know that all you should do is work from the moment you get up til you go to sleep, there's not much incentive to be efficient and get it done, there will just be more... Anyway, this plan works for a friend of mine so I'm going to try it. Will try to further scale back the work I take on in future months.

More specific plans include getting back to BodyPump at least 2x per week, and maybe signing up for a running class again when the weather warms up (I just can't do the January session...) - I've done that before and it does help with the discipline - it forces me to go run with the group twice a week, and that pushes me to run a few other days. Have tried to do it on my own, but it's too easy to slack off. I'm also going to start trying out 1 new recipe a week - when I'm home, my meals are pretty light and healthy, but they're getting boring.

My MFP friends will help hold me accountable, and my life coach is trying to hold me accountable on the cutting back on work part (she's been trying for months now )

What gets in the way is work projects that go over the amount of time I've budgeted, and my own laziness :embarassed:

50kgtoofat

I need to learn how to say 'no' as easy as that.. Sounds easy but it isn't is it!

I practice and prepare yet still get caught, so a first step is to say let me think about it and get back to you.

K