I tend to keep pretty busy. In the past year, I’ve come up against more limitations than ever. It really boils down to time and energy. There is only so much of either. Sure, I can do things like eat better, sleep more and drink less. That gives me more time and energy to accomplish cool things. Still, there are limits.
I keep coming back to this idea of core priorities. Given a blank slate, no noise, what would I choose to do? When I started this thought experiment last year, the list was long. Live healthier, play shows, write web apps, be an awesome husband and father, record another album, interview artists, start a blog. When you start breaking those down into tangible steps, what it will really take to accomplish them… well, you come up against limitations.
Each time I revisit the list of goals, I whittle it down a little more. It’s painful cutting things out, quitting to get more done. I’ve realized that my biggest challenge is to slow down, do less, pause more and be present. In order to get more done, I have to start doing less.
So what are my core priorities? I want to live healthier. I want to be more present with my family and enjoy our time together. Our daughter is almost three now. It’s going by quickly. If I’m trying to record songs and program during weekends and evenings, that eats into my opportunity to be present with my family. I don’t want to be distant when I’m reading my daughter books or listening to my wife’s latest work adventure. I need to cut back my goals and shelf them for later. It’s not an easy decision to make.
The race is long. On my deathbed, I won’t be wishing I had written one more song or computer program. I’m sure that I won’t regret a minute of family time either.
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