Proactive in Practice - Week 5: Learn to Hold Still

Hold still a minute!  Proactive in Practice Week FIVE? The last post was Week 2: Personalize Your Calendar.  What happened to weeks three and four?

Precisely.

During the third week of January, I participated in the Five Days of Homeschooling Essentials blog series.   That meant I had a post a day to complete, plus a few other reviews and parties I had committed to.

And after blogging for a week about homeschooling, it would probably be a good idea to...you know, actually do some homeschooling!  Actually, between holidays and snow days, we had been working on a lighter schedule the last few weeks.  It was time to get back to business.   We also got three new review products to try, so much of my "blogging time" became "product research time."   I did blog a bit (have you tried the Strawberry Daiquiri Pork Chops?) but most of the posts were pre-written and scheduled.  Could I have managed another post? Probably, but it meant something would have had to been set aside, and last week, there wasn't much in the schedule that could give.  (I'm thinking Luke would not have been impressed if I put off the grocery shopping.)

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So in this mini-hiatius, I've realized being proactive isn't always doing.  Sometimes, it's realizing that there is enough going on and you need to say "Not right now," because you know that something that MUST be done will suffer.  I hate saying no.  Like most people, I feel guilty, because I feel like I should be able to manage it all.  As I often say, "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

But there comes a point where in trying to do it all, you lose the point.  Would I have been able to write another post? Sure, but it would have been hurried.  Would it have been seen in the middle of all the other posts?  Maybe, but I doubt it.  I know if I was reading my blog, I might have missed it.  But also, what would have been ignored?  I want to do a thorough job with my reviews -- I take them very seriously because I know how much other reviews have helped me decide if a product is right for our family.  I can't do that if I'm not reading about the programs in depth.  If I call myself a homeschooling parent, then I can't let blogging take over teaching time.  After all, I already know how to read and count, so blogging doesn't help the little boys. Normally I write while Jude is in therapy, but last week during those times Luke and I were having discussions about John and Abigail Adams.

Until now, I would have said to myself, "Those are just excuses.  If you really wanted to, you could make it happen."  So maybe I really didn't want to.   Or, what I did want was something different.  I wanted to do my best at each thing I tried.  I wanted to learn how to prioritize, and not overstretch myself. I wanted to go to sleep at a reasonable time.   As much as I wanted to crash through January  checking off the "Ways I can actively change from living in a reactive state," it became obvious that sometimes, proactive isn't always being active.  Living proactively includes knowing when to hold still.



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