I arrived upon a car crash today just seconds after it occurred.  It looked like a one car accident with a single person in the car.  The car was pretty smashed but the driver looked unharmed other than being dazed and seemingly in shock.  This was a Sunday afternoon in a suburb so not like an urban holiday when crazy drivers are everywhere.  It’s rattling to be around the strange energy of an accident.  I wondered, what was going on with this driver?  Was he thinking about unmet commitments at work? Relationship conflict? Not spending enough time with his kids? Or maybe even sleeping at the wheel from exhaustion?  Whatever the case, he wasn’t present.  I’m sorry his Sunday afternoon was traumatized but I thank him.  You see, he gave me a gift.  Just another reminder to continue to work on being present at whatever I’m investing myself in every given moment.  Like most working mothers, I’ve got a lot on my plate.  It’s easy to spend too much time on one thing and get out of balance on the others.   Everyday I must continue to strive to get better at focusing on the highest of my priorities and to really be in the moment.  For me, this means I must rank priorities often and make sure every task I do is in line with my goals.  I keep a list of my top 10 goals with me all the time.  When I feel I get off track, I just need to refocus and realign my tasks to the goals and I feel more centered.  This means, if something is on my to do list that doesn’t fit my top 10 goals, then it’s deleted or delegated.  It’s not a grey area, it’s black and white.  It’s the only way I can keep up.  Now, let me confess, my life is clearly not black and white.  When it comes to my family, I can’t control or predict what they need.  However, having personal clarity allows me to have an available margin to offer when the unexpected pops up…and it always does.  If you want to work on being present in your life, I suggest starting with Steven Covey, The Franklin Covey website has lots of good stuff in their online library.   Enjoy!