Schedule The Fun!

August 27, 2012 in Creativity, Dreams, Guest Posts, Life, Uncategorized with 13 Comments

Photo by JaQueline (Creative Commons)

This is a guest post by Chrystal Murphy. She is a writer, mom, friend, and Quitter who strives to help us all live a better life; whether it be through organization or showing you how to make homemade laundry detergent that is safer for you and the environment. You can connect with her on Twitter or on her blog.

We all have only 24 hours in a day. With work, school, family, church, yard work, housework, friends… how can we possibly find time to “do it all”? All too often it is the fun things, the good things, that get brushed aside to make time for the work of life.

Playing with our children is put on hold to cook dinner. Going for a walk with family is canceled to finish yard work. Hobbies we enjoy are set aside and forgotten as the work and chores of life squeeze all our time and energy.

How do we fit in the fun things of life? The solution is quite simple really; we schedule them.

I know, I know…”schedule” and “fun” don’t seem to go together. Fun should be spontaneous and adventure should happen on a whim. What if instead of leaving the fun and exciting things in life to chance or one week vacations, you planned them into your daily routine?

From 6:30 – 7:30 every evening you turn off the tv, put down whatever you’re cleaning or working on, and play in the floor with your kids. Or perhaps every Friday evening you plan family game night. Maybe every Tuesday afternoon you take your toddler on a “field trip” to the park or playground or museum. Why not schedule a time every day from 3:00 – 4:00 to read or invest in your dream? .

You get the idea.

Decide what activities you enjoy, what activities are meaningful to you. For example, I love to read. Reading the latest teen fiction book may seem petty to some, but it’s an activity that I thoroughly enjoy. It helps me relax and regain a bit of sanity. Maybe you want to write or exercise. It could even mean making a phone call to chat with a friend. Whatever is important to you—make sure you schedule time to do it.

We each must determine how we will spend our time. I encourage you to invest your time as wisely as possible. So go ahead. Pull out your calendar and schedule the fun!

 

Question: What’s one thing you wish you had more time to do?

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  • http://jonstolpe.com/ Jon Stolpe

    I’d like to have more time to tinker around the house.

  • http://intentionaltoday.com/ Ngina Otiende

    Agree with you Chrystal. ‘Planning’ is no fun sometimes, but yet that’s how life gets done better. Now I wish I had more time to spend with my family (they are like 8000 miles away ;) – so the calls and mails, i just need to get more organized. Great thoughts.

  • http://dreamjobprogram.com/ Drew Tewell

    Work will always be there. Our kids won’t. Making time for things that matter is important. Thanks for sharing, Chrystal!

  • http://deuceology.wordpress.com Larry Carter

    I think the main thing my wife and I don’t schedule is time together away from home and kids. We need more of it.

    • http://chrystalmurphy.com/ Chrystal

      That’s hard to do, especially if you have little ones. Thanks for sharing Larry.

  • http://KatieAxelson.com/ Katie Axelson

    I hate to admit this but I’m better at scheduling time with family/friends than time to dream. Instead, the dream creeps in and takes over the schedule. Does that even make sense? Great post, Chrystal!

    Katie

    • http://chrystalmurphy.com/ Chrystal

      Makes perfect sense. And it’s great that you easily make time for family and friends – that’s the most important thing, right? Just remember that a dream will always only be a dream unless you work toward making it reality. Don’t sacrifice family time for dream time. But don’t put off dream time entirely. It’s tough to balance it all, for sure! Thanks so much for sharing Katie.

      • http://KatieAxelson.com/ Katie Axelson

        I need to work on that. “Dream time” is pretty much “all unused time on my calendar” which is also occupied by “blog-reading time,” “book-reading time,” “blog writing time,” and “other miscellaneous activities time.”

  • http://www.tammyhelfrich.com/ Tammy Helfrich

    Great post, Chrystal. We have let many “house projects” go because we schedule family bike rides after dinner together. It is so great to be together.

    • http://chrystalmurphy.com/ Chrystal

      That’s awesome Tammy!

  • http://twitter.com/Sophie_Novak Sophie Novak

    I absolutely agree with this Chrystal. Perhaps we get turned off by the “schedule” word, but making time for the things that matter is very important: to stay sane, healthy, and fulfilled. Depending on individual interests, everybody can devote a bit of time for play, enjoyment, quality time with dear ones. If a hobby or anything else means too much to you, the everyday tasks will not push it out completely, and prioritization can make it work.

    • http://chrystalmurphy.com/ Chrystal

      well said, Sophie!!

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