Imagine that your life is a plate. All that you fit into your life fits onto that plate.
How big is your plate?
Do you have a saucer or an all-you-can-eat kind of plate?
How much can you fit on your plate? Do you pile it high with things tipping over the edge - or - do you like a bit of space between the items on your plate?
What kinds of things would you prioritise on your plate? Do you prioritise work, friends, family or your pedigree pooch?
What things make your plate feel too full and tip you over the edge? Work? Family? Friends with dramarama? Ironing?
How big is my plate?
My plate is really quite big, I like to think. I like to have lots of things happening and lots of things in the pipeline.
Do I have a saucer or an all-you-can-eat kind of plate?
I think I have a plate that is much bigger than a saucer, but smaller than a platter. I have once tried to have a buffet style plate, it was not for me. I am better to know that I can do a set number of things and do them well. I don't like to do things sloppily.
How much can I fit on my plate?
I am able to fit quite a lot into my life: my own family life, family {mum, dad sisters etc}, friends, house-stuff, blogging, school mum things, cooking for others, playgroup, study etc...
What kinds of things would I prioritise on my plate?
I would put people and helping others WAY ahead of cleaning or cooking or any of that boring stuff!
What things make my plate feel too full and tip me over the edge?
Mundane jobs that need to be done over and over again tip me over the edge, boringo jobs like: ironing, folding, dishes. Sigh. Also things like crumbs and finger marks on the wall turn me loopy lah-lah.
Life can feel too busy at times can't it? I heard about this plate idea a while ago and I think of it often. It has helped to think of life like this. When I add something new to my 'plate', I try and take something off, otherwise I tend to feel overwhelmed. I like to feel as if the things I choose to put on my plate are nicely spaced out and weighted evenly so that it is easy to manage. Being out of control is not something I cope with really well.
How about you? Do you just keep a few things on your plate or do you pack it to overflowing with bits dangling over the edge? Or do you two hold perfectly formed things on your plate that you keep in synchronised harmony?
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14 comments:
Wow i like this concept. Being quite literal i have big plates and have been looking for a new dinner set..go with me..do i go vintage, you know ones that don't match but so much style or a simple dinner set. Sizing and patterns would come first for me, then proportion. I used a platter yesterday for a lovely chicken salad..sharing with the family comes first for me, that makes me stop, smile, laugh and feel satisfied.
I am going through the same decisions about a dinner set. I would love a vintage dinner set in all pastel colours. But I just don't have the time to spend at op shops to find the pieces. Maybe next year when BabyCool is a bit bigger... Or - it might be my Christmas holiday project.
Thanks for your comments and thoughts. I love the idea of platters for family...
I would like a saucer but dinner plate is this week's size...and all my own doing coz I keep saying 'yes'. I am at work every day this week! Thankfully not all whole days....that's be a full-to-overflowing plate and would more than likely shatter into a million tiny pieces by Friday. Pretty plates....something significant about the look of your plate...no matter the size!
Oh it is so overflowing with bits dangling over the edge I in fact have to have a catcher plate! Without a doubt I would like a small plate but hey I have managed my very full plate for so long now think I might be left wanting with the smaller one. I said... I think. Love the post! Cheers xx
For me, it's not so much the size of the plate, but the balance of what's on it. I have to work. If I don't, I get antsy and unmotivated. Work seems to amplify the joy I experience when I'm with my family. But if I work too much, I miss out on too much. I've just knocked five hours (carrot sticks?) off my plate - and I reckon the balance is just about right now.
Nice analogy!
I fit on my plate whatever I can do, and do well. Actually, I like to see my week as 168 hours - the same 168 hours that everyone gets, including really productive people.
I plan to 'waste' some of them - usually two or three hours each day after the kids are in bed. That's my 'me time,' not really an actual waste, but I like to think of it as blissful, beautiful planned wastefulness. Decadent.
I do 12 hours of work - all on one day. I like it that way. (Whoops I've been persuaded to take on an extra 3 on a different day. Note: get rid of these hours asap.)
Then when people ask how I manage to fit in running two kids ministries, I just say that it only takes me 5 hours out of my 168 each week. So it's not all that hard to manage, when I see it like that. 5/168 is a super-skinny wedge on a plate, really. I do devote myself to these hours as if I was employed, and this helps me not to procrastinate or to see it as a burden.
My current challenge is to devote (as if employed) 1 hour a day, 5 days a week to LAUNDRY. Sounds easy, but I'm not currently doing that, and that is why clothes sometimes sit in baskets instead of getting folded and put away. Sigh.
Oooh - I like the hours in the week thing! I will remember that.
One hour a day to do laundry - yes that sounds good. Blah - mind numbing dumb folding. But, life is easier when everyone can find their undies!
Wasting time is not wasting time when you are a mum though! There are not too many occasions to have down time. So... waste away!
Glad you are back in the helm of children's stuff again. Would love to hear how that came about!
Hmmm, I have a variety of plates.
The big white ones which have different shades of blue written across them. Cobalt, aqua, marine, sky ect. These are my every day plates and tend to be overflowing with cooking, washing, ironing, homework, dog walking ect.
Then I have my weekend plates. They are a little smaller and a plain sea blue colour. They get less crowded and have the things I love on them. Visits to the beach, pottering in the garden, meeting up with friends, spending time with the children doing fun stuff.
I have one white plate covered in tiny blue flowers. This is my plate for the weekends the children are away. It's often empty which is the way I like it. The things on this plate just evolve. They aren't planned. It just gradually fills up and I pick the tastiest bit from it.
I do have a dinner service, all matching with serving dishes, gravy boats ect and I keep it in a box. I like my eclectic mix of plates :)
@ Sara Mac - I like this idea of having different plates for different times... Hmmm, yes, my brain likes it lots. Thinking, thinking...
Another friend sent me a message saying that her plate fluctuates with her hormones - sometimes she can cope with a lot and other times, she cannot. Being a girl is tough like that!
I think realistically my plate is much smaller than I feel it is most days. I believe my problem lies with my tendency to push the things I don't like around on my plate like a piece of squash, rather than just getting on with it so I can have dessert! Great post :)
Love the metaphors here between a plate and life..and what fun and beautiful 'plates' you've showcased here!
This is different. We just bought a new dining set - we have a rotten habit of breaking them ;Z
Here from the linky ;D
I wanted to share with you that there's a new writing challenge/linky in town. Every weekend I'll share a PROMPT and every Wednesday everyone can link up there (poem or short story 500 max) response at the Storyteller Linky. This week’s prompt is a Picture. Check it out. :)
I also have a spooky book review and the weekend blog hop right now too! http://wordsinsync.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween-book-review-voice-of-blood-by.html
Love to have you on bored, but have a great weekend either way. Shah .X
This is such a good image. I'm definitely an all-you-can-eat buffet kind of girl. And although I agree with the idea that one thing on needs to equal one thing off...it doesn't seem to be working out that way. The other side of that coin is the "to whom much is given, much is expected" philosophy. And trying to weigh the in's and out's of those two...you know, I think that's a blog post!
Over from Write on Edge this weekend. Fun post. Ver thoughtful. I have to say that my plate is huge and very organized. LOL I am a bit OCD about things, though like my mother, I learned that housework is not as important as people. A good rule to follow. People are not replaceable, but a clean room is.
-Nora
http://norabpeevy.blogspot.com/
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