My friend Sarah once described being a stay-at-home mom as being the CEO of a self-starter company. OK, so a lot of people have described it that way but it really hit me that particular time that she mentioned it in the context of time management. It's not just a cutesy way to explain the job (yes, please can you add me on LinkedIn as an Independent Nonprofit Management Officer? HAHAHAHAHAHHAaaaaaaaaa. aaaa. uhhh). CEOs get paid a lot (or pay themselves a lot I should say) because their jobs are kinda complicated, and their companies are only as good as they make them.
That's how a mom's home is. (stay-at-home or not.) eh? ehh?? A mom has to decide every minute how she's going to handle things at home, how she's going to use her resources. There's no one else to rely on or pass the buck to, at least not during the day, if you don't count all the texts I send to Matt...sometimes on an hourly basis.... Some days are better than others. I guess if you really want to get way into the metaphor you could imagine my little company on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 (whatever those are) as being a bit volatile at times. One day my stock is way up, the next way down. Investors might be a little wary of us. I guess they'd only be interested in the long term, since...this is the hope anyway...that's when the big payoff will be.
For now we get little payoffs every day. Sometimes big ones actually. What's better than the rush of power I get from all the fires I need to put out. Who else can answer the burning question, "Mom, can I leave these undies on from yesterday, or should I put on new ones?"
So actually I have some great thoughts for you on the subject of "time." Well, they are not so much my thoughts but they are other people's thoughts that I have adopted, and that is the beauty of them. To start, a chapter from Gretchen Rubin's new book (there's that name again) - chapter 1, "Time: Cram My Day with What I Love." Stop it, Internet. How do you keep coming up with this stuff for me? More on the subject of Time later...from the likes of Neal A. Maxwell, the Wall Street Journal, and yes--Gretchen Rubin--so that I don't overwhelm this post, but I have found some doozies lately. I mean that in the very best way.
5 comments:
I think time - and its management - never ceases to be at the center of all we do.
i just used the title "non-profit manager" on the kids emergency forms when they asked what my title was. :-)
Time management, I spend much of my time banging my head against the wall in anxiety because I get overwhelmed with all the stuff I have to do. I'm pretty sure that profits my company very little. And I've listened to Elder Maxwell's speeches and I love them! He has so clearly trod the path of the disciple that I love his insights on how to do it, you know?
Babs - you are right. The thing that gets me is the lack of a boss in almost every aspect of life, since most of my life is at home. A little unnerving.
Bonny - awesome. I think I just put "mom" - yours is way better.
Susie - I adore Elder Maxwell. His book All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience is amazing.
Hmm. I haven't heard the use of CEO and Mom interchangeably. That is very interesting. It does alter my perspective on things, for the better, I should think.
Thanks for being my "now-it-all" so that I can read up on interesting things.
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