Octomom: Bad mother or just bad planning?

All of the furor about the Octomom has recently turned to accusations that she is a bad mom. My opinion is that it was extremely bad judgment to have any more children given the number that she already had, her financial situation and her inability to care for them without extensive outside help. However, I don't know that she is a bad mother to her children.

It occurred to me that this situation is a metaphor for good businesspeople who take on too much with the misguided idea that they can do it all. Does it mean they are bad at their job? Not usually.

Ambitious people say "yes" a lot. The drive to do more and be more may be admirable, but doing more and being more takes time, and activities dumped into an already full schedule set us up for overhwhelm, stress and unmet expectations.

Make conscious decisions about what you take on. Be deliberate about how you spend your time. The Octomom is responsible for 14 children and there's no going back. Even she has admitted she wishes she had thought it through more thoroughly.

Fortunately, when it comes to managing our schedules we can rethink the choices we make and adjust accordingly. And so we should.