What a difference a day makes!

Yesterday I was so down in the dumps, grumpy and just overall bummed out. ~Whew~ what a difference a day makes! Today I’m all sunshine and rainbows! I’m beginning to see why I get like that though. I get overwhelmed easier than I used to. A few years ago I worked at least 2 full-time or nearly full-time jobs (to put myself through school full time) and held at least one volunteer position, and had a boyfriend. I could go and go and be just fine, I was like the female, early twenties energizer Bunny! I didn’t have time to get overwhelmed, if I thought about how much I had to do, well I probably would have completely freaked out (I already had serious insomnia). These days I work one full time job, I finished my degree, don’t volunteer anywhere and have a husband I everyday (although being married should count as a full time job, LOL). I work out 3 times a week and have plenty of time to spend with girl friends etc. Throw in studying to become a personal trainer, church once a week and small group (also once a week). Add a little (well A LOT) of my planner mentality and tendency to be somewhat of a neat freak….and the vicious cycle begins. I feel like I’m always running, trying to keep up with a million different things. I want to make dinner every night, spend time with my husband, have some me time and workout and study and, and, and…..there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all.

I must learn to chill out. But do you know how stressful it can be to constantly try to not stress out? It’s a vicious cycle. I try to remind myself “Will this matter in 5 years? If not: CHILL!” But that is often easier said than done.
Another thing I need to get better at is allowing myself some me time. I rarely do this. I used to make myself a priority at least for a few minutes every few days if not most days, but that is easy when you are single and live alone. It’s easy to shut out the world for 10 minutes. Not so much when you feel the need to cook dinner every night, clean up the house, to work out and study and oh yeah that guy you married-spend time with him. The days feel shorter and shorter with each breath.
Changes need to be made, but how? Set achievable Goals!
Goal 1:
Look through cook books (each weekend), preplan week’s worth of meals, make grocery list
Goal 2:
Learn recipes to make at least one meal a week in crock pot (get grocery during bi-weekly trip to grocery store)
Sub-goal: purchase more items that can be easily made/quick meals (healthy too)
Goal 3:
Write out weekly time line that includes dedicated: workouts, study time, me time, date night.
Goal 4:
Make weekly chore list (share chores with husband as to not overwhelm self)
Goal 5:
Take some time to stop and smell the flowers, remember life is short.