In Others' Words: Everything ... Or Maybe Not

"You can do anything, but not everything." 
~ David Allen, productivity consultant

This past weekend? It was not about getting everything done. 
It's 2:10 A.M. on Monday--I don't know how many of you were still asleep while I typed this blog post. If I peeked outside my office, I could see the "everything" that didn't get done. 
My kitchen is waiting for someone to clean it. Hhhmmm. Wonder who that will be?
My family room? Well, some of us sat around earlier and watched a musical . . . 
And the photo I posted with my blog? That's the "anything" that I did accomplish this weekend: I (almost) completed the second round of edits on my novel. Ya gotta love Post-it notes. And a long coffee table to spread pages out on. And kids old enough to cook dinner while you edit. (Many thanks to my son-in-love because making dinner was another bit of "everything" I didn't get done.)
Even though my house is, um, let's say unsettled, I'm okay with that. Why? I knew going into this weekend that all the things I wanted to accomplish weren't going to be checked off my To Do list. And as other things (think people) became priority, I had to tell myself things like,"Face it. The house is going to be a mess this weekend."
I chose two priorities: finishing my edits and being with my family. Everything else became a distant third. 
I knew I could do anything.
I also knew I couldn't do everything.
So I chose something. 




In Your Words: Do you aim for anything or everything? David Allen, the guy who said that breathe-a-little-easier quote, is a time management guru. Do you have any tried and true tips to handle a too-full schedule?  

The Summertime To Do and Don't List

It's May.


Which means the school days are winding down for Christa.


Which means I've got to figure out what she's doing this summer.


It's always a challenge: The delicate balance between too much to do and not enough. The last thing I want is to have a bored nine-year-old dragging around behind me asking, "What can I do? What can I do?" all day, every day until I announce, "Time to shop for school supplies!"


But I also don't want to drag Christa out of bed every morning and run full-tilt through the supposedly lazy days of summer.



So I try to plan the perfect summer of just enough planned activities and just enough unplanned free time. Too be honest, I haven't gotten it right yet.



Should we do the library reading program? Christa loves to read, so that's an easy yes. Sure, I'll be making multiple trips to the library, but it's doable.

I've signed her up for a three-week writing class with one of her closest friends. After I convinced her it really was fun, not summer school, she was all about journals and blogs and writing her memoir. Of course, the first week of the class falls during the week of her dance recital, so I am going to be crazy-busy that week, what with dance practices and writing class. Oh, well. It will be worth it. And I will just keep telling myself that--and plan on eating out a lot that week.



That leaves the rest of the summer. And deciding between want tos and have tos and oh, well, let's not. I want Christa to have time to sleep in (wishful thinking) and to ride bikes and to read books and to build forts in the living room that stay up all day long. She wants to go to soccer camp and take karate and take art class and swim class--her list could go on for pages.



Thinking Out Loud: Summertime. Another chance to make wise choices about the dos and the don'ts. I don't want Christa's life to be a flurry of activities--so that her days whiz by her in fast-forward motion. Sure, I want her to experience a lot of things. But I also want her to experience rest. Relaxation. Days when she wakes up and asks, "What are we doing today?" and I answer, "Nothing." Those can be good days too.

Mom: right or wrong?

Motherhood is all about choices--beginning with the choice to become a mom.

And the choices keep on coming.

We've all heard horror stories about parents--moms and dads--who left their toddlers in the car. Often times, the parent somehow forgot the toddler--until too late.

A mom is going on trial for deliberately leaving her 2-year-old daughter in the car.

According to news reports, last December 8, Treffly Coyne, 36, took her two older daughters and a friend to put money they had collected in a Salvation Army Kettle. Her 2-year-old was asleep in her carseat. Rather than taking her daughter out of the car and into sleeting weather, Coyne pulled up in front of the store, turned on her emergency lights, locked the car, activated the alarm--and then walked the other girls over to donate the money. Coyne said she could see her car--and her daughter at all times.

After taking a couple of pictures of the girls, Coyne returned to her car, where she was confronted by a community service officer. Although Coyne explained that she never went into the store, she said the officer refused to listen. Ultimately, Coyne was handcuffed and arrested. She faces misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and obstructing a peace officer. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined $2,500, even though child welfare workers found no credible evidence of abuse or neglect.

Did Coyne make the right or wrong choice? Some would say police over-reacted. Others would say the mom never should have left her toddler in the car--for any length of time.

I think it's all been blown out of proportion and should have never gotten to the courts ... I certainly don't think Coyne is a criminal. Maybe she would do things differently if she had it to do over again. But I think her choice was to protect her youngest child from the bad weather while letting her older daughters have fun donating money to the Salvation Army. Maybe she should have waited until another night, when the weather was better.

But hindsite is always 20-20.

I'll be taking Friday off while I'm speaking at the Hearts at Home Conference. See you Monday!