Budgeting Life

Not only am I balancing my calorie intake and my finances lately, I am running short on time so I now have that 'budget' to balance too.

The positive thing about balancing my food intake, is that it has saved a small fortune on groceries, snack items and take out food. My financial state of affairs is looking much better than I anticipated it would, as this month comes to an end.

The other good thing about concentrating on exercise and moving more, is that it is very time consuming. There is no time at the end of the day to fritter away. No idle time = less time to eat. Less time to eat = balancing the calorie budget.

The pitfall of this, is that it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day. I have book keeping work that I squeeze into my babysitting days, with the family history book looming on the horizon. I dance 2 nights a week, there are the mundane errands that must be run week after week and this exercising takes up an extraordinary amount of time. Anything above and beyond ... runs over the allotted time budget.

I didn't realize just how tightly I had my life scheduled until Dale invited us out for supper tonight. I had to figure out when I would get the errands run that were on tonights agenda. He took it as an insult. It wasn't that ... it was just a timing issue.

Then there are the TV programs that I have started following. I tape everything so I save 15 minutes per hour (as I fast forward through the commercials). But I am obsessed with keeping up to date on 'my shows'. I am so excited that the season is winding down to a close! I just don't have time to watch an extended amount of TV in this new found busy life.

I should really get up an hour earlier so that I can exercise in the morning. If life gets any busier than it is at the moment (which really isn't all that busy), something will have to go. Exercise has been tossed by the wayside far too long. It's time to bump up its priority in my allotted time budget.

I am enjoying the outlook of a more diversified life that isn't driven solely by what can be accomplished in a short time frame. Taking time to sit back and relax (which is why I'm sure there will always be at least one TV show that I have to watch) is something that I must work into the budget. Taking time for friends and family is at the top of the list. A social life is starting to be something that I yearn for ... but it's just not in the 'budget' right now. Soon.

How did I ever manage to work in my Saturday job? I have filled those 6 hours that I worked with at least triple the amount of obligations. The difference being, that it is work that can be done on my terms, within my home and squeezed in between everything else that I have going on around me. I love having that control. It works well in my 'time budget'.

I have a busy season ahead, after a long dormant one. I used to be far busier than this. I have just learned to recognize the value of keeping life in balance. As necessary as it is to keep busy and vital, it is also important to have down times. I'll just continue to 'juggle the books' and make it work.