Habits, Roles, and Routines- Oh My! (Part-2)

So now that you have had some time to ponder your new habit and begin to implement the steps for success, I want to move on to our next topic- Roles.  I am going to gear this article more towards the women- sorry guys.

I invite you to participate in a little exercise with me. Take out a sheet of paper and write down all the roles that you take on.  Now take a look at that list and notice the order that they came out in, specifically the first role you put down. Would you describe that is being the most meaningful/important for you or is it a role that, not by choice, has moved its way to the top?

Here is my list:

1.     Mother

2.     Wife

3.     Daughter

4.     Sister

5.     Friend

6.     Homemaker

7.     Career

I know that I carry many other roles with me, but those are the ones that came out the quickest. I think that I actually did an accurate job in placing them in the order of most importance for me personally.

So what do we do when our roles are not lining up with our heart? Make adjustments! What is important to you? How can you adjust your schedule or do things differently so that the roles that are important to you are being addressed? Here are a couple of ideas that work for me:

1.     I enjoy eating meals with my daughter. I spend time preparing nutritious, healthy meals for her. I take time the night before I work to prepare her meals. While I am preparing her food, I think happy thoughts. That way I know the next day she is eating food that is prepared with love.

2.     In order to keep a balance within my life, my husband and I devised a schedule that allows “me” time. While I do not always leave the house, I know that 3 evenings a week when my husband comes home from work he is on baby duty. This mentally frees me to do what I want. Which tends to be laundry.

3.     The husband and I also reach out to family or hire a babysitter at least once a month for “us” time. We use this time to go out to dinner and relax together without being on parental duty. Extra bonus- the baby is able to get her grandparent’s fix.

4.     Find a good daycare provider. This was a biggie when I went back to work. I struggled for 4 months to find someone what I trusted my child with and that she also liked. This caused me stress in my job, as I was always rushing to get back home to her.

So I challenge you to look at your roles. Are they in line with your heart? Where can you make changes?