Do you want to simplify your life? Look, mama – I know you are busy. But take a moment and read this over. You can do it!
No matter if you are a work from home mom, a stay at home mom, a work out of the home mom you are busy. Adding kids to the picture just does that to us… and for us. Because after all those little ones are a precious gift, aren’t they?
The kids, the job(s), playdates, mommy groups, household chores, etc… It can all feel a little overwhelming. No one needs another thing to do! In fact, this year my goals was to simplify. I started the year with being a blogger, Certified Sleep Consultant, a MOPS Leader, a Social Media Marketing Specialist, Room Mom AND a mom of 2 and wife. Are you dizzy reading that? I was overwhelmed!
So, I set a goal to simplify my life. Though with all that was going on, I knew it was going to take a little work to get to a simpler life — and frankly I was ok with that because I felt like life was a little out of control.
While this post may create some to-do’s, I hope that if you too feel overwhelmed with a spinning head, that you too, with a little structure can simplify your life. Here is where I have put into place, I hope it is helpful:
Weigh out what is a MUST and what is a SO-SO:
This is where I started. I am a “YES” person. Anyone else feel me on that? It is so hard to say no. I love to help and I love a new challenge. So, saying yes is so easy for me! This is how I got to so many jobs and activities.
Here’s what I did: I drew 3 circles inside each other (to look like a target). In the very middle, I wrote what was most important to me and where I am irreplaceable. In the next circle, I wrote what is still important and where I am also not easily replaced. In the last circle, I wrote out the things to do and things that were not as important and where I could be replaced.
With this exercise, I was able to take two things of my to-do’s on a daily basis and realize that I needed to start decluttering not just my to-dos but also my home and “things.”
Simplify through planning the schedule:
I have always been a person that just adds to the calendar as it comes up. This ended up with a FULL calendar with zero time for me and little time for the things I enjoy. Taking care of you is important too, mama.
I looked back to how I managed going to school full-time and working full time. I did a lot back then – when I had more energy ;). But my key to success was blocking out specific time for specific things.
I didn’t feel that I could do that so easily in google calendar. A good friend told me about a planner that you could design to be your own. You can set it up the way that you think! It is fully modifiable. Awesome! What could be better?
I started implementing that schedule and all of the sudden I ended up having more time and getting more done. If you’re curious, here is how I set mine up. Once you have a system that works. Spend 5 minutes in the morning, planning out your day and the top few things to do for the day.
Create a system around household chores:
Does anyone else feel exhausted by the never-ending chores? Do you have a partner that says “how can I help?” but you don’t know where to tell him to start (because there is too much to do).
Create a list of what should be done by each day of the week. It solves the conversation or confusion of what needs to be done. Print it, laminate it and put it on your fridge. Your home will be in tip-top shape before you know it. You can also download an example here – or make your own: Clean Home
Declutter:
Let’s be honest, I am STILL working on this. 8 years of marriage and a 6 and 5 year old, plus nostalgic items – you accumulate things! But I realize that the less you have, the less there is to pick up, be visually in your way and you end up more at peace.
So my goal with this is – one drawer at a time, one room at a time. I am not necessarily Marie Condo-ing, but I am asking myself “What is essential?” If it is not, donate, give away or throw away. Seriously, you don’t need it!
Simplify meals through meal planning:
Look, I always found this to be a pain. Because, what if I was in the mood for something else on that night? But then I found myself spending too much time sifting through what we did have in order to figure out what to make. So time consuming!
Take 10 minutes ahead of your week, think about what you want to make and then make a grocery list – better yet, place your grocery order right then! This saves SO much time and quite a bit of money too! Never waste with this plan. P.S. I even added a “meal plan” option to the planner I created.
Make sleep a priority:
As you may know, THIS is what I do. I love sleep! Sleep is important for both you and your child. I think we all know that we learn, think and function better on better sleep. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. We can all be better mamas, wives and employees. If we are getting the sleep that we need.
So for this, I challenge you to make it to bed 30 min to an hour earlier each night, then wake up before the kids do (even if it is just 10 minutes before) to have a cup of coffee and plan your day out. If you are struggling with your kids sleep, if they are waking too early, struggling to go to bed at night or waking in the night – this would be a good time to work with them on their sleep.
Keep the positivity:
It is so easy to get bogged down in the to do’s. To complain. To be overwhelmed. The negativity can run you, if you let it.
I recently learned in a mindfulness class that if you think a thought for 60 seconds or more it can make an imprint on how you are feeling and how you will feel throughout the day. It is important to redirect your thoughts. Doing this is hard, but if you can turn your thoughts to the positive, it can help how you feel and help your day on the whole.
Mama, if you are busy – and I know you are, finding some sanity through a little planning is totally possible. Think: simplify! I think sometimes we need to create a little structure, clear out the clutter to help us feel like our head is above water. You’ve got this!
