Being busy got you down? Let's face it, we are all busy. Sometimes I like to think "Woe is me" because half the things we've added to our schedule as a family just seem to make more work for us--dairy goats, a small business, big garden. But seriously, we're all busy, even if you live in town with no animals to take care of and no small business supplies taking over every free inch of space you have in your house. So how do we all make it work? How do we all get done the things we have to get done, but still make time for doing the things we want to get done? There are three things in my life that I'm trying to remember right now to help me prioritize my life. Mind you, I have not perfected these, nor am I the best example of time management in the world, but these are small baby steps I'm trying to take in order to make my life smoother. In no particular order, here they are.
Number 1: Respect the season of your life.
My season of life right now is being a momma of preschoolers and toddlers and babies all at once. Only one of my children can buckle his own carseat. This same son is the only one who can actually get in his car seat by himself, or put his coat on alone, or open a door. Needless to say, we don't go out much. There are times I want to take the kids here and do this and there and do that, but I respect that in the season I'm in right now, it is near impossible to go anywhere without bringing myself to the brink of exhaustion before even pulling out of my driveway. So we stay home most of the time. It keeps me from over-tiring and blowing up, the kids from over-tiring and having major melt-downs, and the house from practically falling down because I've neglected it all week due to the million and one playgroups and field trips I felt obligated to attend. I'm not saying if you have small children, you can never go out. I'm just saying it's important to evaluate the season of your life and what you can cut out for the time being. No season lasts forever. Maybe you're newly married and you want to spend your free time with your new spouse instead of with your old buddies, maybe you have teenagers and instead of letting them sign up for another extracurricular activity, you would like them to stay home one night a week to eat a meal together before they fly off to college. Maybe your kids have already flown the roost and you can finally make the time to pick up that hobby you always put to the side while you were raising the kids. Whatever it is, drop something from or add something new to your busy schedule accordingly, and try not to dwell on whatever it is you had to let go. Remember, it's called a "season" for a reason.
Number 2: You CAN'T do everything (and neither can I).
This is the hardest one for me, because frankly, in my perfectionist world, I can do everything. In my mind, there is nothing I cannot achieve or accomplish no matter how many children I have running around me or growing in my belly. I love to do things on my own, start from scratch, be self-sufficient. But in reality, I just can't. It's taken me a while to get over the fact that I cannot make my own bread on a regular basis like I did when I had one baby. I cannot make all my greeting cards. I do not have time to dust the house weekly. I cannot make all my own salad dressings, make homemade tortillas every time, wash and reuse every Ziploc bag (yes, I used to do this), make my own detergent 100% of the time. If you choose to do these things, that's fine. But something else has to go. We've chosen to start a small business and run a small dairy farm. To keep that operational, it means that sometimes I have to buy a few extra groceries to save time. It means sometimes I use Tide. It means sometimes I ask my mom to mend a few of my clothes, and I ignore that picture I have in my head of another mom looking at me disparagingly for letting someone else do something I could have done myself. There are some things in our life we just have to let go of because we just can't do it all. No one thinks less of me (or you) because you used a cake mix for your kid's birthday cake. Let it go (AND DO NOT FEEL GUILTY), and remember your value as a human being does not come from how much you accomplish in a day, a week, a month. Your value has already been established by a Savior who gave His life for you. Let's just rest in that.
Number 3: Make a schedule (No, I'm serious).
This is another biggie for me. I am not an organized person. I like routine, but I don't like a schedule. For one, I have to finish something I've started, so it is nearly impossible for me to walk away from something when it's time that I really be doing something else. Dave Ramsey is a big proponent of budgeting every last dollar. Why? Because if you leave $25 floating in your bank account, you usually blow it on something silly like a quick treat at Burger King or a new shirt you didn't need. We need to be the same with our time. If we don't account for every hour in the day, we blow it on something like surfing the internet or watching something silly on TV, or whatever is your biggest time robber. Last year I read the book "Managers of the Homes" by Steven and Teri Maxwell. Man, this book blew me away. The book advocates spelling out every hour of the day for each person in the home. Time for doing school? In the schedule. Time for little Johnny to take a nap? In the schedule. Time for Mom to take a shower? In the schedule. Time for reading to your little ones (or that other thing you always say you'll do with them when you get done doing something else)? In the schedule!! If you need 15 minutes a day to sit alone in a corner and eat chocolate, then put it in the schedule! It doesn't matter what you need or want to get done in a day, just schedule it out. I can't say that I've implemented it totally in my life, but definitely as our family grows and their school needs and responsibilities grow, I will be putting us all on a more strict schedule. I encourage all moms, wives, or anyone really to read this book, because I think scheduling can be very freeing. How? Because you can take control of your time, your responsibilities, your family's needs! Don't let time (or lack thereof) take control of you.Lastly, I need to take my own advice. It's easy to know what to do, but not so easy to put it into practice. Start with one thing you need to let go of: a play date, one of the kid's sports (they'll get over it), a club, a task, whatever it is, and just forget it. Then use that time to accomplish something else that's more important, like spending one-on-one time with one of your children every week, or doing that one household chore you hate and leave until it becomes a monster of a task. We all have busy lives whether you're married, single, have one child, none, or 10. God has given us enough hours in the day, we just have to learn how to manage them and be good stewards of the time He has given us. Don't let being busy give you the blues. Just make sure you're busy doing what truly matters.
