I have often heard people say that they don’t have time to do the things they love. It is true that they must have tried but weren’t able to pursue.
Here is what I do to have some time on my hands and do what I love to do.
I seek help. At work or at home, I believe that reaching out to others is a fair deal.
Most people end up doing a lot of things by themselves and then are overwhelmed with the time they spend on chores. At work when we don’t seek help, we reinvent the wheel. We do things that have already been done and then waste time in redoing.
At home, the chores eat up a lot of time and then we repent that the weekend went by too fast or not being able to hit the gym or take a walk in the park.
I think it’s all up to us. Ask yourself these questions –
- Do I delegate chores?
- Am I comfortable with someone else handling things for me?
- Will I let someone else run an errand and use my time to do something I enjoy?
- Am I prioritizing what I want from my day or an hour that I have for myself?
If you answer ‘No’ to any of the questions above, you should seek help. Friends, family or someone who you can trust. Letting go some little things from your big basket of mundane chores will make a lot of difference to not just your me-time but also to your life.
Try it out to know what I mean.
Writing for #MicrblogMondays#130 today and the picture is tagged to MundaneMonday#97.
happiness and food 
Love the butterfly photo, a burst of spring on a chilly day. I am TERRIBLE at asking for help. I am really good at trying to everything, telling people I don’t need help, and then feeling resentful about it. I don’t think that’s what you mean though… 🙂 I have to learn to give up control. I really, really want to get a cleaning lady, because if I could let go of cleaning the house (which I could do a little deeper, honestly) it would free up more time. Definitely going to do that if we are successful in our family building effort. Great reminder, thought-provoking post!
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It’s hard Jess and I know it. I believe we all need help – if we share chores, it’s so much more easy. Isn’t it?
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I’m happy to say that I too have learned to ask for help and glad that I have the most helpful husband!
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So good that is. Corinne, you and Jose are a lovely team.
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Ahh, my biggest bugaboo – the dreaded, “Could you help me with…”! I’m trying to get better with asking, and you’re absolutely correct – it makes a big difference. I try to remind myself as well that I enjoy helping others, and it makes me feel good, so why should I deny that feeling to other people (the kids still don’t buy that when asked to do the dishes though…LOL). Thanks for the reminder, Parul!
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It’s easy Traci. Don’t make it more hard that it is 🙂
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Spot on, Parul. I think asking for help is an essential pre-requisite to planning our work especially since we cannot be doing everything all the time and still find time to do all that we really enjoy doing. You’ve touched upon a very pertinent issue here. I’m learning to delegate and it isn’t easy for me at all since I’m most comfortable doing them myself.
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There is comfort in discomfort and we need to learn that too 🙂
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Some real food for thought here.
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Thanks Robbie!
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This makes all the sense, Parul. I can only ask for help to people I’m comfortable with. Maybe that’s why I dread the idea of having a maid and here we can’t have one anyway. Also, I can’t accept when someone new I met insists on helping. Had such an experience when my baby was born and I felt terrible. With my friends I’m comfortable with, I let them help me, generously. 😉
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I’ve learnt to let go and get comfortable. Try it out Vinitha and it will ease out the pressure.
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I do rely on my husband for so many things. It is important that the person whose help you seek understands you and your priorities. Mindful little post! 🙂
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That’s lovely to hear that you have got your balance. Thanks Aditi.
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Totally agree. Which is why I asked my husband to do the grocery shopping on the way home vs. using up my afternoon. 10 minutes for him is about 45 minutes for me.
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Ha ha! Well, in 45 mins I’m sure you stock up more than you need.
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Yes, I have gotten a little better at this. Sometimes it makes all the difference in the world if my husband stops to get groceries on his way home vs me packing up the littles to donit.
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See! How easy 🙂 thanks Charlotte.
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Totally agree with this! It’s so important to seek help so we can have the time to do what we love!
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Thanks Shinjhini.
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I totally agree.. nothing wrong in asking for help. We all need it at some stage.. and not just in house hold chores.. it can be in work too.. instead of struggling for long on a issue best ask for help and get it done faster and then you learn something new toooo….
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I totally agree.. thanks Bikram.
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I agree with you, Parul. The lack of cooperation be it at work or somewhere else can be so counterproductive. It is very important to find time to be with loved ones, friends and just take care of the self. I am making a regular habit of doing yoga for 15 to 20 minutes with 5 minutes of meditation. We owe it to the self.
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True that Vishal. So important:)
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I learned how to ask for help a few years back. Like many people, I have fallen victim to believing that asking for help is a sign of weakness but as you deftly point out: not the case. Generally now I will ask for help from those who seem to have nothing to do and those who shirk — both of these types complain of boredom. That is how you spot them a mile away. It shows them that there is work to be done and that a division of labor is the way to guarantee that everyone has more free time.
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I completely agree. One has to achieve a fine balance.
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Thank you for thinking out loud for me through this post. The flowers and butterfly look lovely.
Also I am thinking of delegating the work to someone else soon 😉
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Ha ha! I know what you mean.
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I am very good at delegating work Parul! However there are certain things that no one else can do as good as me, and though people ask me to get it delegated I hold them close to my heart and end up spending long hours over them. I totally agree with you – delegation is the key to efficiency
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Good for you but looks like there is scope 😉 thanks Menaka!
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