Fringe Hours

N. Turner Jessica

Description

Every woman has had this experience: you get to the end of the day and realize you did nothing for you. And if you go days, weeks, or even months in this cycle, you begin to feel like you have lost a bit of yourself.While life is busy with a litany of must-dos--work, parenting, keeping house, grocery shopping, laundry and on and on--women do not have to push their own needs aside. Yet this is often what happens. There's just no time, right? Wrong.In this practical and liberating book, Jessica Turner empowers women to take back pockets of time they already have in their day in order to practice self-care and do the things they love. Turner uses her own experiences and those of women across the country to teach readers how to balance their many responsibilities while still taking time to invest in themselves. She also addresses barriers to this lifestyle, such as comparison and guilt, and demonstrates how eliminating these feelings and making changes to one's schedule will make the reader a better wife, mother, and friend.Perfect for any woman who is doing everything for everyone--except herself--The Fringe Hours is ideal for both individuals and small group use.

Sujets

• Time management
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 17 février 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441246165
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

© 2015 by Jessica N. Turner
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-4616-5
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled Message are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published in association with literary agent Jenni L. Burke of D.C. Jacobson & Associates, an Author Management Company, www.dcjacobson.com .
“Do you feel overwhelmed with life and everything you’re juggling? Do you wish you had time to recharge your batteries, but your to-do list is so long that the idea seems like an impossibility? I’ve long admired how Jessica manages to do so much and yet still have time for things she loves—like hanging out with friends and family, scrapbooking, and blogging. In The Fringe Hours, she unveils her secrets to success and gives you the tools, tips, and techniques you can use to find time in your full schedule to refresh yourself and refill your tank too. This book is a must-read for busy women everywhere!”
— Crystal Paine , founder of MoneySavingMom.com and New York Times bestselling author of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode
“I want to give The Fringe Hours to every woman in my life, because this is the conversation we’re having over and over, at soccer practice and church and crammed between meetings. Jessica’s practical style made me feel like another way is possible. I love this book!”
— Shauna Niequist , author of Bread & Wine
“Jessica Turner has done an enormous favor to women who are exhausted from struggling to fit it all in, feeling pressure to be perfect and guilty if they don’t put themselves last. The Fringe Hours is like one gigantic permission slip to carve out some space in your day for the things that give you joy and feed your soul. Filled with the stories, challenges, fears, and triumphs large and small from hundreds of women who answered survey questions on her popular blog, The Fringe Hours offers a space for reflection as well as practical and often spiritual guides for how to get started. Making the most of the margins of time is the first step toward, as Turner writes, crafting a good life.”
— Brigid Schulte , author of the New York Times bestselling Overwhelmed : Work , Love , and Play When No One Has the Time
“Jessica is a fantastic teacher—through her own life, she models for those of us in the thick of life that we’re never too busy to be a good friend, to work hard, and to invest our whole heart into our God-given passions. I’m so thankful that she selflessly shares her wisdom for the rest of us—my life is richer and braver because of her.”
— Tsh Oxenreider , author of Notes from a Blue Bike : The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World
“We live in a culture where far too often, women’s creative passions get squashed and squeezed right out of their lives. Jessica Turner’s The Fringe Hours is an honest and encouraging account of how women can make time for what fills them up most. I hope it inspires many women to once again embrace their passions.”
— Tara Sophia Mohr , author of Playing Big
“Whether you are yearning to pursue the passions of your heart, take better care of yourself, or invest time and energy into what really matters, The Fringe Hours holds the key. Jessica Turner masterfully combines creative ideas with stories of real women that leave you nodding your head and feeling empowered to create sacred space within your day and your life. This book does not offer a one-size-fits-all solution but rather a deep look inward to help you live in a more fulfilling and meaningful way.”
— Rachel Macy Stafford , New York Times bestselling author of Hands Free Mama
“ The Fringe Hours offers inspiration to become more mindful about your daily life—to identify the snippets of time you’d normally find frustrating or boring and flip them into windows of opportunity to fuel your interests and passions. Though I’ll continue to devote my early morning fringe hours to ‘more sleep’ (as the mom of a toddler I am, in fact, passionate about sleeping!), I’m inspired to seek out fringe minutes during the day and spend them well.”
— Christine Koh , coauthor of Minimalist Parenting : Enjoy Modern Family Life More by Doing Less
“Have you ever claimed to be busy but lost an hour to Pinterest? In this gentle yet no-nonsense book, Jessica nudges us to question how we spend our time and to find ways to bring joy into the little and large spaces of our lives.”
— Laura Vanderkam , author of 168 Hours
“With each page of The Fringe Hours , Jessica offers gentle encouragement, creative ideas, and maintainable solutions that can help us reclaim our time and make our own self-care a top priority.”
— Tracey Clark , author of Elevate the Everyday : A Photographic Guide to Picturing Motherhood
For Matthew, who has always believed in me and my passions. I love you more than the sun.
Contents

Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Endorsements 5
Dedication 7
Epigraph 11
Before We Begin 13
Part 1: Explore 17
1. Pursuing Balance 21
2. Letting Go of Self-Imposed Pressures 37
3. Eliminating Guilt and Comparison 51
Part 2: Discover 71
4. Shifting Your Perspective 75
5. Identifying How to Care for Yourself 93
6. Finding Your Time 111
Part 3: Maximize 131
7. Prioritizing Your Activities 135
8. Using Your Time Efficiently 153
9. Embracing Help 171
10. Overcoming Obstacles 193
Part 4: Live Well 207
11. Cultivating Community 211
12. Finding Rest 225
13. Living Well 239
The Fringe Hours Manifesto 249
Acknowledgments 251
The Fringe Hours Survey Results 255
Notes 263
About the Author 269
Back Ads 270
Back Cover 273
You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.
Charles Bixton
Before We Begin

Wake up. Dress and feed the kids. Barely get makeup on. Leave. Drop the kids off at school. Stop at the bank. Work, work, work. Fill the gas tank. Pick up the kids and rush home. Prepare dinner as quickly as possible to avoid the cries for snacks. Baths. Stories. Bedtime. Clean up the kitchen. Chat with my husband. Fill out that permission slip. Respond to email. Fall into bed.
Sound like a typical day in your life? Or at least a variation of it?
Let’s face it. As women, we are really good at juggling a lot. Sometimes I get to the end of my day and when I look back over it I am amazed at all that was packed in.
But all too often, the one thing we don’t make time for in our busy days is ourselves.
Do you ever crawl into bed and as you try to turn your mind off realize you did nothing for you? Instead of reading that book that has been on your nightstand for weeks or picking up a pen to write an overdue thank-you card to a friend, your day was filled with meeting the needs of others.
And if you go days, even weeks, without that needed time, life can feel really hard.
I’m here to tell you that you not only can but must make time to do things that matter to you, no matter how busy life gets. It may seem like there aren’t enough hours in a day—particularly if you are juggling a lot of responsibilities—but I promise you, it’s possible. You should use your gifts and passions not just for others but to fill you up. It is all too common today to run on empty, but I have learned that life is so much better when you make yourself a priority. No matter how busy we are, we all can make time for ourselves.
Like you, I have a lot on my plate. I’m a wife, mom, full-time marketing professional, and blogger. Additionally, I love to travel, scrapbook, bake, and read. These aren’t once-a-quarter hobbies either. I do something for me almost every day. Because these hobbies are incredibly fulfilling to me, I often talk about them—both on my blog, The Mom Creative , and in my personal life.
Consequently, not a week goes by without someone asking me, “What’s your secret—how do you do it all?” Usually I just laugh and say that I don’t do it all. I bring up my dusty mantel and my laundry piles. I point out that no woman, including me, does it all, and that any perception they have of me in that light is wrong. But still they press on, eager to know how I make so much time for myself. This book is the answer to that question.
I believe this book will resonate with you because it was written for every woman, regardless of lifestyle, career, or location. Single attorney? Married mother of five? College student? Grandmother? Yes, yes, yes, yes. The Fringe Hours was written for you —a woman who needs and deserves that time.
I surveyed more than two thousand women in the course of writing this book and interviewed dozens more. I asked them questions about how they spend their time, what their days are like, and what they wish they could spend more time doing. This research was incredibly important and helped me gain insight into how women spend their time, what they are passionate about, and what their struggles are on both a macro and a micro level. Their storie