More Hours In A Day

Do you sometimes feel that you're going through life with all the stress slowly making an imprint on your supposedly youthful face. More than the important and large tasks that we need to accomplish for the day, it's those little minute details, those seemingly small but urgent tasks that eat about 80% of your to-do list, that makes you want to run for the dark cave up the hill and hibernate for 6 months.

Though technically easy to carry out, the fact that they nag you the whole day, jumping out of your diary or organizer, shouting URGENT! PAY NOW! LAST DAY! DEADLINE TODAY! makes you feel like your mind is being chased by the bullet train, leaving you exhausted more than necessary. They come in little packages giving the illusion of simple, effortless jobs or errands or chores, you'll just be surprised to be looking at the clock and realizing that the day is almost over, but your tasks are nowhere even half done.

You know those business diaries you can get from the local bookstores, I have one of those. I don't buy those that have two or three days allotted for each page. I look for the ones that have just one day per page, all to itself. Heck, I wish they would make 2 pages for each day, so that I could fit in all the little tasks, without having to attach more post-it notes for mid-day additional errands.

But sometimes, the list seems to go on forever. At the end of the day, you find yourself listing the undone tasks once more for the next day. 24 hours would hardly suffice the exaggerated number of minuscule chores, and you wonder how something so little and easy can eat up your whole day. I do know, though, that I have to allot some time for myself for me to be renewed and thus be more efficient to take on all the tasks. It's finding the time for me that posts more of a challenge.

Let's see, there's the bills I have to pay, the checks I have to issue, the deposits and withdrawals I have to make, the papers I have to file, the letter envelopes I have to open and segregate, the accounting and payroll reports I have to review, the clients I have to call, the business prospects I have to meet, the meetings I have to attend, the rental inquiries I have to answer, the ads I have to post and update, the demand and collection letters I have to sign, the delinquent lessees I have to talk to, the production inventory I have to follow up, the purchase orders I have to approve. Ok, this will probably take all night, and that's not even mentioning the big important tasks.

Let's go on to the homemaker part. I have to go to the supermarket for household supplies, order food to be delivered (did I mention I don't cook?), wash the dishes, clean up the house (damn, I hate those ants), do the laundry, fold and put away the washed clothes, return my daughter's toys on the shelves, wash and bathe my daughter, help her with her homework, feed her, prepare her school things for the next day (my husband's household task is to play with her, hmmm... mind trading places, dear?), check my e-mails, update my blog, drop some EC, read some posts, visit those nice enough to leave comments, look up ways to earn online, dare I go on? I fear not, I am about to succumb to my beckoning bed, with its springs about to be sprung, the culprit of which, my lady toddler jumping away to the beat of whatever theme song is playing on the Playhouse Disney channel (remind me to buy a new mattress, and fast, lest I plan to visit my orthopedic doctor for my aching back).

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining of these tasks which help me create business, which means income, and the time I spend being a wife and mother, I just feel there aren't enough hours in a day to accomplish all these, much more give you some breathing room within the day to relax and collect yourself. With all these in tow, I definitely need my reading time, it's the one thing that keeps me sane (and shopping of course, that does the job too!).