Balance

It is very easy for me to get distracted by unimportant things. And the more caught up I get in those things the easier it is to have feelings of depression or being down. I had a little extra time to myself these last couple of days as the kids have been gone. There was so much that needed to get done and yet I spent a lot of time on unimportant activities. The more time I spent on these things the more difficult it became to cope with the emotions that I was feeling. Today I was feeling really down and realized that it was because I was trying to escape rather than cope.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with entertainment as long as it is balanced with more productive things. Some things that help me cope are playing the piano, writing, taking a bath, baking desserts, or visiting my sister. Some of the things I turn to that tend to lead to feeling down are playing video games (yes, I play too many video games) or browsing the internet. I haven’t been allowing myself to play very many video games lately but these last couple of days I started playing again. I can’t believe how fast time passes while playing a game! Before I know it, it is past my bedtime and I haven’t gotten my chores done.

So how can I find balance? I think it is really important to set boundaries and stick to them. Normally we don’t turn on the xbox during the week and there is a time limit on the weekends. I don’t tend to have rules when my kids are gone so I think that setting boundaries and rules for myself is just as important as having them for my kids. Probably the most important thing for finding balance and staying out of depression is having goals. When I have projects that need to get done I tend to do better with staying positive. I had plenty I could have done these last few days but I chose to blow them off.

I do think that occasionally it is okay to just let everything slide and not worry about getting everything done as long as it doesn’t lead to feeling down. Maybe setting aside a couple of hours for being lazy or playing a game instead of letting the whole evening go by without being productive.

So I guess the thing that I learned about myself today is that I have to find ways to be productive or else I start feeling down and have a harder time coping with my stress. I learned that I need boundaries every day, not just when my kids are home. I also learned that gluten free cheesecake makes a really great dinner. That’s a secret I am going to keep from my kids, though. ;)

How do you spend your time when you are left alone?