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February 27, 2007
Schedules
It's official now--we are a big family. We have four kids and have outgrown the sedan. The grocery bill is getting bigger. The laundry pile is reaching mammoth proportions. And the dishes! Well, lets just say we're thanking God for our new dishwasher. It came just in time. The dinner table has become a joyfully noisy blend of all kinds of conversations. We adults struggle to be heard, but with thankful hearts that that is the way it is. Souls are growing fat as well as little bodies, so we don't mind.
The days of flying by the seat of my pants to keep up with daily duties are also officially over (at least, that's my goal). We are now servants of the schedule. I do not use the word "slaves" because that implies we are strictly bound without any moving room. That's not it at all. Having the schedule on the fridge is kind of like having someone there to remind me what to do, to keep me on track throughout the day. It's not good enough any more to have it in my head. Honestly, it makes such a difference to have it written on paper. And when I come to the end of a day in which I haven't stuck to my agenda, I see I haven't gotten nearly as much done, even though I've been "busy" all day. One of my favorite times of the week is Sunday afternoon when I get to sit down and set goals for the coming week. I don't always achieve them, but it feels good to have a map for the journey anyway.
One of the most helpful pieces of advice I've recently heard is that you have to choose what you're not going to do as much as you have to choose what will get done. I'm not going to do laundry on Wednesday if that's not laundry day. I'm not going to mop my floor instead of loading the dishwasher. Focus, Laurie, focus! I've had to resign to the fact that my children are really more important than clean floors and folded laundry. All that stuff will get done, and the house isn't going to be perfect. But that's OK! We are going to do our best and leave the rest alone.
I'm learning a lot about how to kill two (or three or four) birds with one stone. You can do a lot while you're nursing a baby--like read to the children, blog (thank goodness for Boppy pillows!), write notes or journal, make important phone calls, etc., etc. Setting a timer does wonders when you're cleaning house, too. You really do get more done.
I've also started giving the children individual playtime in their rooms. It's about 30 minutes a day, just enough time for me to gather myself in the middle of the morning and do something without interruptiions. They enjoy getting special things to play with by themselves.
We rarely go out anywhere during the day, but it's a real treat when we get to. Staying home keeps me focused on what needs to be done, and it keeps the children content. Oh, did I mention it saves a ton of gas?
Reading self-help books was never very appealing to me, but I've actually been enjoying them and am trying to apply the principles to my home as well as my business. I would highly recommend this practice for moms as well as business people. It really makes a difference. And it's interesting to observe how they mesh with Scriptural principles. That's not a coincidence.
A few thoughts on how my life is going right now...I need to get back to the schedule.
Posted by lhyink at February 27, 2007 01:07 PM
Comments
I've been trying to stay more scheduled myself and realized the biggest thing I need to do is get up earlier and take a shower and get myself together before the kids get up. It is the hardest thing for me to do.We'll have to share tips.
Posted by: Kimberly Swait at February 28, 2007 12:32 PM