Several years ago, at a homeschool conference, I heard a woman speak on Setting Priorities, and what she said helped me a great deal.  She made two lists - Things I Do and Things I Don't Do.  These are deliberate choices we make for our lives, based on what is most important to us, what season of life we are in, what God has called us to.   For every thing on the first list, there should be something on the second.  Time given to one activity means no time for something else.

For instance, my lists look something like this:

THINGS I DO:                                                THINGS I DON'T DO:

Homeschool my children                              Work outside the home  

Teach art in the homeschool co-op             Teach Sunday School

Serve weekly in the church nursery              Serve in AWANAs

Support group leadership                             Women's Ministry leadership

Volunteer 3 hrs/mo.at church                        

     Food Pantry             

Mom-daughter Keepers at Home club/       AnchorSoul (huge church

   Yearbook advisor/ Gen.Science co-op        drama / sing in choir / help 

                                                                             with Boy Scout troop

Blog, yahoogroups, computer                      Watch TV       

Walk for exercise (usually with hubby)         Aerobics class

Morning  Quiet Time                                      Ladies' Bible Study                                    

There's more, but you get the idea.  It is a challenge for me, because there are really more things on my DO side than DON'T DO side.  I am one to live by the maxim "If you want to get something done, you just have to do it yourself".  Not necessarily BY yourself, but diving in there, rolling up the sleeves, getting involved...  So I often suffer from being overextended and tired.  I have to be very careful not to neglect my dear husband, who works 60+ hoursa week but likes my attention when he is home.   And I constantly battle at keeping the house looking respectable.

 But having a list written down definitely helps me to say "I'm sorry, I can't" when I am asked to do something on my DON'T DO list, or when I start to feel guilty about not participating in some area.

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