Trying A New Strategy For Balancing My Activity Level

Early on in August I wrote about coming to the realization that I was stretching myself thin too often between the additional tasks involved in home-ownership and the increased social opportunities. My body wasn't able to handle all the things I needed to do AND the things I wanted to do so I decided to take the month of August off from social engagements.

I spent the month pondering how to better balance my additional responsibilities with my desire to spend time with family and friends. Working with such limited amount of time that I feel up to participating in social activities and limited energy to spend on any activities I just wasn't sure how to move forward in a healthier way.

Then it hit me; start small and simple. Now that August is coming to a close, I'm going to start by limiting myself to no more than one social engagement a week. I think I can accomplish two things by doing this:
1. I will have a rule to follow that will help keep me focused on taking care of myself, which will prevent unnecessary flare-ups, increases in really bad days and overall just feeling worse.
2. Once I've communicated this simple new plan, everyone in my life might be able to set their expectations of me so when I have to decline an invitation they will understand why. At least, that's what I'm going to tell myself so I don't feel so bad when I have to say no.

I see this as a jumping off point. I'll give it a try through the end of the year and see if it has been helpful or not. If not then I can make changes.