2015 has been chaotic for me. To-do lists hounded my days and I was always harassed, stressed and dead tired. Running after finishing one deadline after another. And it is not because I have so many things to do, it was because I was so disorganized and quite frankly, I was as slow as a snail on tranquilizer.

This 2016, the following quotes will guide my year.

Sleep is essential to me and when I don’t get enough rest, my whole body feels it and it functions on 1mb.

2015 had me sleeping late and waking up tired and stressed. I trudge through the day, brain half working causing me to produce what should have been a 2 hours worth of work to 5 or 6 hours! And because I lack sleep, I wasn’t a ray of sunshine to my little people. This year, I will try to hit the sack by 10pm and haul the kids to bed by 9:30pm.

2015 went by with to-do’s falling down my lap. In short, my to-do list was controlling me instead of me controlling my to-do-list. It was exhausting and really quite depressing.

This 2016, I’m writing down my goals and chunking it down to realistic, actionable to-do’s with timelines and hours that I need to spend on it.   The clock should be my ally reminding me to stick to my plan. A timer is essential to keep me focused. For instance, when I write a blog post, I have to put a 2 hour cap for writing and a one hour cap for finding photos. Therefore I can’t spend 2 hours finding inspiration on the net!

Finally, I end with my very own quote. I want to be kinder to myself and find balance. Read my full post about Balance here.

With the swirl of things happening around, it is essential to make a choice and . Did I plan and choose 4pm to be a time for my pre-schooler? If I did then I should not feel bad for the work left behind. Did I plan and choose to spend a few hours catching up with friends in FB? Then I should enjoy it.  Did I plan to work on accounting for the business today? Then I should feel accomplished. I’ll make a choice and find peace and joy in that choice. It’s alright, I made that choice.

New Year.  New Beginnings.

Amidst the busyness of parenthood,  I wish that all of us will find our truest and purest joy this 2016.