Do you ever get this feeling that you’ve had an incredibly busy day but didn’t get anything done?

I googled that question and found out that it’s quite a common problem. With simple solutions such as “cut your list of priorities” or “say ‘no’ more” or – and I really like these for their simplicity – “get website blocking” or ” scheduling apps”.

All of which might work if you work in Facebook, Google, AirBnB, LinkedIn, Twitter, eBay, SAP, Oracle or IBM.

I’ve been feeling like this for weeks now.

Partially because I spent most of my ‘free’ time, the time I did not spend with Pádraig, chasing other people who did not get back to me as they promised the would: builders, sales people, health professionals, civil servants and others.

Partially because I see less and less certainty and predictability in life – maybe that is gone forever.

Partially also – and here I will need to change – because I have to prioritise better.

Pádraig spend the afternoon with one of his sisters while we went to enjoy a wonderful Sunday lunch with friends we made when our children went to primary school – in a different world. When I got out of the car at their house I made a wrong move and hurt my back – a reminder, if that was necessary, of the need to take a little more care. Later in the evening, Pádraig had a visit from a friend who brought him a wonderful scarf from remote town in northern India where she had gone to visit a friend (who is also a friend of Pádraig’s). When I came down to the kitchen, they were sitting around the kitchen table with tea and chocolate biscuits, and Pádraig had a huge smile on his face!

Happy days.

It was brilliant and beautiful to see him enjoying the chat and the laughter – and contributing to our happiness about him being there with us, taking part in his own way in the craic.

My sister in-law – no-one I know has done more hiking than her – put together an info pack for the Dingle Way / Kerry Camino and the Camino Inglés which I have started to study.

Just thinking – maybe I’m getting loads of things done but in a different way, different things, not ticking off lists, not ‘delivering’ priority stuff?