Tell Your Time

{Our kitchen wall, quote by Annie Dillard}

Jared and I met as freshman in college. He was organized, structured his day in 15-minute increments, and was a strait ‘A’ student. I was messy artistic, undecided on what to do with my life  flexible, and pressed snooze on my alarm most mornings. But I was so cute, Jared couldn’t resist me. (hahaha)

We were two crazy lovebirds and got married 10 months after we met. And then the newlywed shock set in. My creative chaos started to drive him crazy and his anal structure was frustrating. In our 12 years together we’ve had a lot to work out. Marriage is like learning another culture.

{on the Great Wall of China on my 20th birthday}

Every night after we put the kids to bed Jared and I lie on our bed or cuddle on the couch and take 5-10 minutes each to recap our day, chat about the budget, vent a frustration, bring up an “issue,” etc. (Remember in high school you’d have those DTR talks? Yep, it’s kind of like that!)

Frequently “time management” comes up. It’s a bittersweet subject because I’m fascinated with the idea of “time management” yet it’s often difficult for me to stick to a schedule. Even when I have a good routine in place. Sometimes I even fight the routine because I’m afraid it will stifle my creativity.

When Amy Andrews first came out with the e-book on time management I bought it right away. I love her blog so I knew her e-book would be good. But get this. After I downloaded it, I just let it sit on my hard drive because I didn’t “have time” to read it. Yep.

Well, this weekend after a week of many late, late nights designing I had {another} I’m-too-overwhelmed-and-over-committed meltdown. And guess what came up in our nightly “five minute talk?” Grrrrrr.

And so I took a deep breath and scrapbooked a few pages (helps me clear my mind!), and read Amy’s book.

Wow.

Now I’m kicking myself for not reading it right after I bought it. It gave me the sense of direction I’ve been trying to find and {once again} reminded me I don’t need to be a superwoman.

And I’m really EXCITED about the simple, PRACTICAL, profound tips Amy shares in her e-book. As she explains, “This book will help you:

1. Identify the most important things in your life.
2. Set long-term goals for each.
3. Determine how you can reach these goals in doable, bite-sized steps.
4. Manage your time so you can accomplish your life goals and nothing important falls through the cracks.”

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, over-committed, disorganized, stressed, etc. I really recommend you check out Tell Your Time.