Journal Week 6

This week has had a lighter workload for this course, and I am so very grateful.  I really needed the time to catch up on my reading of “Mastery”, study for the upcoming test in my other class, and finally get my pile of laundry at a manageable level.  Thank you!

A few of the articles from this week’s reading were interesting.  Steve Blank’s message was a good reminder to set goals and rules for family time.  I agree that having a plan in place will make it easier to have make the right decisions when pressure to work more becomes greater.  It also think it’s important to share the rules with other people so they can work with you as a team.  My husband has a co-worker who realized that he and my husband were both leaving the office after dinner time.  Now they remind each other its’ time to leave at a reasonable time. It’s working well and I appreciate seeing my hubby more.

Wences Cesares spoke about how our most valuable asset is out time.  The best investment we can make is how we use the next 20-30 years.  (At my age, I’m behind the game on that one).  With this message as well as messages from earlier weeks, I’ve been thinking about how I’m using my time.  It’s made me realize that what I value the most isn’t always corresponding with the most important priorities in my life.  With this perspective, I think I am starting to do better at getting rid of the time-wasters in each day.  I also need to focus on the long-term investments of decades.  I think it will be an interesting exercise.

Jan Newman’s message was a welcome reminder of my focus on God and family above all other things.  This week has been very stressful.  It is when I’m most stressed that I focus on the source of the stress, and less on managing the more meaningful things in my life.  Yesterday, I recognized that my anxiety was taking away from the time I spent with my kids and how I was caring for my home. I had to take a step back, go for a long walk, then shift gears to focus on what my family needed most. It was a refreshing change. 

My favorite talk of the week was from N. Elden Tanner.  I love when messages ring true, and when they are simple and clear enough to share them with my family.  I look forward to being able to share Elder Tanner’s principles of success with my kids in Family Home Evening this week.