PRIORITIES

One thing I've noticed lately is that it seems like I have less time than I used to.  When I thought about this I came up with a couple reasons.

First, it's winter and of course that means shorter days.  The mornings are darker, and it gets darker earlier, so of course the time of light is shorter.  This affects me tremendously, not like in depression so much, but in fatigue and lack of motivation.  Maybe this happens every year, but I've noticed it more pronounced this year. 

The good news is that with it being nearly the end of February, this season is on it's way home, so the short days will soon stretch into longer, warmer spring days. 

The other thing I realized is that having Fibromyalgia really cuts into a busy life.  Of course those who have it, already know this, but I want to put it into words for those who do not have it.

It starts in the mornings.  It takes longer to get up and out of bed, and to get moving.  I used to tell my Avon customers not to expect a phone call until 11 in the morning, and now the time is after 1.  I always promise myself that I will force myself to change that, but so far I've not had much progress because I end up having a bad night and it starts all over again.

After I do get moving, I barely get out of the shower and I'm exhausted again.  Sometimes, I'm so tired I am dizzy and actually have to lay down again.  Not necessarily to sleep, but just get that never-quenched feeling of rest.

I do have some good time in the afternoons and most evenings, but when I look at the whole day I don't accomplish much.

After thinking about all this, I realized that not having so much time has made me focus on priorities.  I have to think about what is important and what is not important. 

I've come up with some important priorites:  Health, Family, Financial, Mental Well-being.
The things that are not important:  Fights with my husband (or anyone else for that matter), listening to idle gossip and chatter, computer time wasters, some TV shows, house cleaning extremes, etc.

So I'm working on the thought of approaching things with the question:   Does this activity fit in an important category, or a non-important category?

It's sort of like if you knew you only had a month to live, what would you do, and what would you cut out of your life.  I think having severe Fibromyalgia has given me a chance to focus on the important things.
I believe doing this blog is one of those important things for my well-being, and hopefully for others.

I'd like to get your thoughts on this in case I've missed an important thing, or an unimportant thing.
Thanks!

 “I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.”

― Golda Meir