TIME! Who has time for all the things that you are supposed to do everyday?
I know I feel like I don’t. But then again I feel like I should. Life has gotten increasingly crazy over the last few months and now with the advent of baseball season, I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed.
So I need some help. Some suggestions. Some ideas.
How do you do it? How do you keep life in check? How do you keep yourself organized? What is the secret?
I’ve tried doing a daily schedule for myself. And while it does help for a while – after a few weeks I find myself not sticking to it very well. Do you have a daily schedule? Do you stick to it? Or do you just have a daily to do list? What system works best for keeping yourself on track each day? How do you keep yourself motivated to stick with it?
Do you utilize a cleaning schedule? Does it help? Does it work?
Ah and then there is meal planning – yuck! I hate trying to come up with what to cook. I’ve tried keeping a calendar of meals and just rotating them, but I tend to get bored with it. How do you plan out your meals? By the week? By the month? Do you do your grocery shopping daily, weekly, bi-monthly?
Which shopping brings us to a budget – this is something that we are sincerely trying to crack down. We’ve done pretty good so far this year – but do you have any tips for sticking to it? Do you check your financials daily, weekly, monthly? Do you have a computer program that you use to keep track of things? If so, which one? How much do you budget for doing fun things?
Do you put aside time each day to do things that YOU enjoy? I obviously love to blog, so I almost always put aside time for that. But what about other things? Like scrapbooking? I am now like 18 months behind on my scrapbooks for my kids. I am starting think that I will never catch up! And what about reading or other things that you enjoy?
And what about things you don’t enjoy – like for me – exercise. I find that an extra hard item to squeeze into the day.
I guess it all comes down to two questions. How do you prioritize your time? And how do you make yourself stick to a plan of action? I think I must have been given an extra small portion of will power at birth. Do you have any tips to get past that?
11 comments:
On Sunday's we usually plan out our week. We have a big white board that we write our schedule on. It includes workouts, meetings, birthdays, mostly things that involve both of us. Also on the board is a column that has things that I just randomly think of do to, that way if there is a minute of free time I just refer to the board for something to do. It is constantly being added to and erased. I am also a big believer in a to do list including things like naps, showers, blogs, etc. That way I always get to cross things off and it feels so good to cross things off the list.
I think most of us feel the same way. I used to be so organized and scheduled and "on top of things", but with each kid - it got harder and harder. I have never found a magic formula. Like you, things don't stick and, honestly, I think that is how it has to be for me (at least during this phase of my life).
There is a lady in my ward that I have a lot of respect for. She has 7 kids and in Gospel Doctrine recently she made a comment about how our lives on earth are a lot like they will be after we die. Everything has an eternal perspective. We will be learning and growing eternally. She said that it took her a long time to realize that the house will not ever stay clean, she will never be caught up on this or that, and that it is an ongoing process.
I think that we should all keep trying to do our best - but we have to be be happy with the fact that we can't do everything!
And as far as doing everything goes - I think you are pretty dang good at it!
For me I just do the best I can each day! sometimes i get to this and sometimes I get to that. Sometimes we have a nice dinner sometimes pancakes. Each day brings on different challenges. You don't have to do it all just do what matters most!
I absolutely love what Kim said:) My personality is that I have to do everything myself without help. I couldn't even sleep well at night if there were dishes in the sink or anything out of order. I realized a few months back that it is more important to spend time with the family and build happy memories rather than focus on the house being spotless. With children and the older they get life gets a little more tricky. Just take one day at a time and be grateful for the things that did get accomplished that day:)
I think I will save this post in my journal, seriously, to remind me that everyone feels this way... even the people I personally think have it pretty well together (which you are, btw). I love lists because, like Nancy, it feels good to cross something off! Oh, and I have a pretty cool meal planning system Jon made for me; I'll email it over to you if you want to take a look. Keep cheerful Katheryn, you really are doing a great job!
Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I really would sincerely like to know more about what everyone does day to day to create a "house of order". Days like yesterday leave me reeling and exhausted. Between taking Dallin to school at 8:15, then Mandy to school at 9:00, then work for 2 hours, then pick Mandy up at 12:00, then put Layton down for a nap, then work for another 2 hours, then pick Dallin up at 2:50, then put together dinner because there won't be time later, then take Mandy to ballet at 4:00, help Dallin do his homework while she dances, driving 45 minutes into my office to drop off/pick up work, drive 45 minutes home, put the finishing touches on dinner, start a load of laundry, fold a load of laundry, get the kids baths and ready for bed, and then finally a moment to breathe. Now we're going to add in weekly baseball practices and games for Dallin and I really do need some good ideas for 1.)saving time, 2.) being organized, 3.) saving money, 4.) not going crazy!!!
Have you ever really looked at the Flylady system? I'm serious! She goes through ALL of this! She has cleaning routines and menu planning and budget advice and monthly calendars and more. I am far from perfect but her system helps keep my house clean and dinner on the table as soon as Jason walks in the door from work. I suggest checking out the website and starting with babysteps. You might be surprised at how taking her babysteps for cleaning/organizing will affect your entire life. www.flylady.net
I used to use Microsoft Money for budgeting, but now I just use an excel spreadsheet that I made myself. It works better for me personally. I've also heard some great things about a online budgeting site called mint.com.
With my work, I never know from day to day when I will be working so it is impossible for me to make any kind of schedule. I just have a spiral notebook on my desk that I write things on that I need to get done eventually. Things like blog ideas, scrapbooking pages, cards to mail, and other various household things. That way I feel like at least they are on a list, so they are bound to get done eventually!
And meals - those are kinda crazy now that Curtis is gone. Like Laurel said, somedays it is pancakes!
I think that no matter how prepared and organized you are, there are bound to be days like your yesterday. That's just part of being a good wife, mother, employee, and member of the church.
Oh I love you! To me YOU are my hero I look at you and think "how does she do it all?" I am a little thrilled you have a little craziness as well.
With Aaron and I at the beginning of every month we decide bills, tithing, savings, etc and then we take out cash and that we have for fun things or things that come up. We put away our debit cards except for big things like groceries and once the cash is gone it is gone. That has work best for us. Aaron's parents have done that there whole married life and it worked for them I think wonderfully.
I do like Nancy and we have a white board that Aaron and I write EVERYTHING on.That way we know each others plans and can make time for one another as well. It works good for us.
The cleaning and cooking is always last. If the house is clean I smile and if not I do it the next day. Since Aaron works nights we do dinner at lunch and so i think I have it a little easier because I have more time to clean it up.
I have made a goal to spend personal time with each kid and ENJOY them everyday and Harris gets the morning while Abi is at school and Abi gets at night when Harris is in bed. That to me has worked wonders for ME. Even if the house is crazy and the day was wild if I can go to bed knowing I spent personal and loving time with the 3 most important people in the world to me I sleep better.
You are a amazing and your friendship this year has really meant the world to me so if you every need a moment do not forget I am 2 mins. away and drop of the little ones. That is what friends are for!
I realize you've gotten some great advice but I must throw in my 2 cents. I always feel as though I'm an unorganized mess (or as Kim's mom use to say, a "creative mess"). I feel SO unbalanced and what can I do? So I bought this little book called "Confessions of an Unbalanced Woman." I just knew I'd get some great insight from this fabulous church member. And at the end, she only helped me accept the fact that we all feel unbalanced. Do what's most important and don't sweat the small stuff.
I think we should start a message board of some type. Challenge each other to be better each day. Sometimes its the challenge that drives us. I sometimes put on my facebook how many loads of laundry I'm challenging myself to do for the day. And then we all feed off each other. It could be the 10:30 am cleaning break. We do what we can in 15 minutes. Maybe we should start a support group, meet together in person late at night?! ;)
Personally Katheryn, I think you're doing great. Like others, I want to be more like you. But more importantly, I hope you start to feel better about what you ARE doing. Don't discount all that you do.
Stacy, I'll take that dinner planning program! ;)
Okay, here is my two cents' worth . . .
I have tried it all. Charts, schedules, calendars, etc. My experience is that life interrupts every single one of them and when I didn't keep up with them perfectly, I felt like I had failed. Not my style.
I tried the online gurus like Flylady. Keeping my sink sparkling shiny didn't do it for me either. It was too much pressure. Now granted, I do try to keep my dishwasher empty so that the dirty dishes go straight into it and my sink stays mostly empty, but it never remains spotless and I am okay with that. It's a sink.
I tried cleaning the house after the kids went to bed, but then ended up missing out on my time with my husband. Not good. Scratched that idea.
I could clean while the kids are at school, but I work from home. You know what that is like . . .
So . . . I take about 15 minutes to get the dishes and laundry going in the morning and wipe down my kitchen counters.
Then I attempt the daily feat of juggling working with a 3 y/o while kids are at school.
At some point after the kids get home and before dinner, we ALL clean the house. Sometimes we all pick different rooms. Sometimes we turn it into a game. Sometimes we just all work together while singing along to something crazy like "Whip It". Either way, I get a cleanER (not clean - lol) house and time with my kids at the same time. The kids learn the value of hard work, cooperation, and just plain having a good time.
So, I would have to agree with my little sister - do what you can and don't expect perfection just yet. It will take an eternity. :)
Oh, I almost forgot! A timer is my favorite thing ever when it comes to cleaning. Set it for 15 minutes and clean as much as you can in that time. Then stop and you'll be surprised at how much you accomplished and how much better you feel. :)
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