The Time is Now

Everyone has their thing they do to unwind at the end of a long day. Some people binge on Netflix. Some people catch up on their DVR. Others spend a lot of time online.

I'm part of that latter group. I could spend hours upon hours browsing and searching and finding.

I'm trying to do less of that. Here's why.

I realized that when I spent hours online after the kids were in bed, I was becoming passive in my own life. On Pinterest, I would find "Top 10 Books of 2015" and then crawl into bed too late to read. Also on Pinterest, I would find some great craft ideas or yoga moves, and pin them for another day.

When, exactly, was that day going to come?

The truth is, my time during the day is pretty darn busy. I'm getting one or both kids ready for school, balancing four part-time jobs, various committees, and still trying to keep the house in shape and everyone fed.

I won't be pulling out yoga moves or my glue gun mid-morning. If it's going to happen, it's going to be in the evening or during the weekend. In 2016, I'm trying to be more conscious of my time. I love to read, so I'm doing my best to get into bed early enough to do so, and still get enough sleep. I want to stay flexible, so I'm doing my best to do some stretching and yoga before I turn in to read my book. I love snail mail, so I've been writing more and sending more to people I care about. My plants have needed re-potting for approximately 5 years, and I finally bought some pots and did most of them. I like to watch movies, so I try to watch one with Steve once a week.

Of course I still spend some time online. I like going on Facebook and catching up with what my friends and family are doing, and I like shopping online at Target and Amazon. But I'm trying to not make that the largest portion of my free time.

Bottom line: being online so much had stopped me from doing. I realize, in hindsight, that 2015 was a very reactive year for me: people invited me to things, and I kind of just sat back and let things happen and be planned out for me. I'm changing that this year. I'm now ready to be proactive again. I don't want to be a passive observer in my own life. I want to be a doer. The time is now to do the things I want to do, because tomorrow isn't a guarantee.