Day 6: Set Your Priorities Straight

Friday morning, we slept in.

Almost 7:00 a.m.

At this point, I think my body had officially decided it was going to collect on all the sleep I'd borrowed earlier in the week.

And you know what?

Fine.

I got up, drank my first 30 ounces of water, and sat out on the porch with a latte.

Not black coffee today.

A latte.

Some mornings call for one.

And Friday felt like one of those mornings.

Starting the Day on the Lake

Instead of heading straight out for my normal neighborhood walk, we decided to take the kayaks to the lake for my first 45-minute workout.

The lake had been treated earlier in the week, but it was open again, so we took advantage of it.

Morning sun.

Quiet water.

Paddling before the day really got going.

This is one of the reasons I love living where we do.

A 45-minute workout doesn't always have to mean walking circles around the neighborhood or staring at a timer.

Sometimes it means getting on the water and actually enjoying where you live.

Kayaking checked the workout box.

But more importantly, it was just a really nice way to start Friday.

Seven of Cups

My tarot pull for the day was the Seven of Cups.

The message I took from it was:

Set your priorities straight.

Which was interesting considering the conversation I'd had with myself yesterday.

Yesterday I had a full day.

A good day.

Painting.

Cleaning.

Yoga.

An unexpected summer dinner.

All worthwhile.

And still...

I hadn't actually worked on the podcast.

Today I knew I couldn't keep doing that.

There are always going to be things competing for my attention.

Things I could do.

Things I should do.

Things that sound more enjoyable.

Things that are easier.

Seven of Cups felt like a reminder that having a lot of choices doesn't mean they all deserve equal attention.

At some point, you have to decide what matters most today.

Breakfast... and Still No Banana Pancakes

After kayaking, we came home and had breakfast.

My normal.

Two eggs.

Turkey sausage.

Avocado.

Sourdough.

And yes...

I still haven't made those banana pancakes I've been talking about.

The blackberry jam is sitting there waiting for its moment.

One of these mornings it's going to happen.

Apparently Friday wasn't that morning.

After breakfast, we had a few errands to run, and then I came home and went straight back into the podcast.

This time I actually gave it my attention.

Back to the Podcast

I've recorded this episode more than once now.

Every time I've had another problem getting the video uploaded or getting everything to work the way I need it to.

And every time something goes wrong, I go back into the script.

I reread it.

Rewrite things.

Add something.

Cut something.

Try to make the episode better so that when I finally get the technical side figured out, the episode I'm uploading is one I'm really happy with.

That sounds productive.

And some of it absolutely is.

But there's also a point where you can keep polishing something because the technical part is frustrating you.

At some point, it has to leave the document and become an actual podcast.

I'm working on that.

Apparently technology and I are having some kind of cosmic disagreement this week.

I don't think we're even in Mercury retrograde.

But something is definitely getting me.

Still...

I worked on it.

And considering yesterday's realization, that mattered.

Lunch Disappeared Again

I got so focused on the podcast that I skipped lunch.

Again.

This is apparently another pattern I need to watch.

When I'm really deep into a project, hunger becomes very easy for me to ignore.

Suddenly it's hours later and I'm wondering why I'm exhausted.

Not exactly a brilliant nutrition strategy.

But that's where the honesty of writing these blogs every day comes in.

You start seeing your own patterns in black and white.

And apparently mine is:

Get obsessed with project. Forget lunch exists.

Noted.

Dinner: Whatever Was Left

By dinner, we basically had a mixed grill leftover situation happening.

There was some leftover egg scramble with jalapeños, tomatoes, cilantro, and a little potato.

Then we had a little chicken.

A little red meat.

Air-fried zucchini.

Mushrooms.

Basically, everybody invited themselves to dinner.

It was a little random.

But it worked.

Not every dinner needs a theme.

Sometimes the theme is:

Eat what is already in the refrigerator.

And I'm completely fine with that.

Yoga at 9 A.M.

I also taught my 9:00 a.m. yoga class today.

So between kayaking and yoga, movement definitely wasn't something I had to fight myself to accomplish.

That's another thing I've noticed about this attempt.

When movement is built into the life I actually enjoy, it becomes much easier.

Kayaking doesn't feel like punishment.

Yoga definitely doesn't.

The challenge is still there.

But I don't need every piece of the challenge to feel hard in order for it to count.

The Priorities I Actually Kept

When I thought about the Seven of Cups again at the end of the day, I realized something.

My day wasn't perfect.

I skipped lunch.

The podcast still wasn't uploaded.

I still haven't made the damn banana pancakes.

But the things I said mattered for 75 Hard?

I got them done.

My workouts.

My reading.

My water.

My nutrition was pretty good.

And I actually put time into the podcast instead of finding twelve other productive things to do around it.

That matters.

Because setting your priorities straight doesn't mean you accomplish everything.

It means you know which things cannot be the things that get dropped.

That's different.

Some things can move to tomorrow.

Some things can wait until next week.

Apparently the banana pancakes can wait indefinitely.

But if everything becomes a priority...

Nothing really is.

Day 6

The Seven of Cups felt appropriate today because there are a million things I could be doing at any given time.

I run a business.

I have a podcast.

I teach yoga.

I have a house.

A relationship.

A family.

Projects.

Ideas.

A seasonal calendar full of things I want to experience.

And somewhere inside all of that, I'm also trying to complete 75 Hard.

There will always be another choice.

Another project.

Another distraction.

Another thing asking for my attention.

So I'm learning to stop asking:

What could I do today?

And start asking:

What actually matters today?

Today, my health mattered.

My challenge mattered.

The podcast mattered.

The rest?

We'll get there.

Today's Lesson

You don't need to do everything to have a successful day.

You need to know what matters most...

and make sure those things get your energy first.