Sherry, who is doing a series on her blog about Emerging from the Chaos, had a post last week where she invited people to make a goal list and take a picture of it and send it in to share.
Well, I'm going to share my list...but I'm not writing it down on paper. Why? Because I've done this so many times before I know it's pointless. I either loose it or forget about it (usually both).
But I DO see the point of goals....and getting into a daily schedule (her list of goals read sort of like a schedule). The trick for me is internalizing this schedule!
There are things I want to get done on a daily basis (except Sunday for some of them). Now, if I tried to remember ALL my goals at once...the perfect, I want to get this done every day schedule, it wouldn't happen. So, what I've been doing, and it's starting to work, is focus on one goal until it becomes a habit...then adding my next one.
Here's the goals I've gotten internalized already (or making good progress on)...
- Do a load of dishes and two loads of laundry before 3:00
- Accomplish one other thing (honestly, doesn't always happen...but I'm aiming for it) before 3:00
- Bible Study at 3:00
- Ask kids about day and look through folder when they come home.
- After their game-time, do a BLITZ with the kids.
- Get Dinner started by 6:30
- Read to the kids before their bedtime.
- Kids in bed by 9:00
- Me in bed by 11:00 (barring sleeplessness, which can't be helped)
Now, there is other stuff I would like to add...
*Kitchen Counters cleaned daily
*Kitchen floor swept daily
*Table cleared before breakfast
Of course, that's not the final "where I want to be" but I'll just stop there until I get those down (or somewhat near there).
I want to talk more about a couple of the items on my list.
BIBLE STUDY
You will not believe how helpful that has been! I struggled for so long to find a regular time to spend praying and reading God's word. In the morning I was groggy, at night I usually left it until too late. But 3:00 pm is perfect! It's long enough before the kids come home that I have time to spend on it, and it helps prepare me for their arrival. That, and it gets me off of the computer so I'm not still in the middle of a project when they come home. It's a great transition.
THE BLITZ
The blitz is something I discovered on a blog (click here to read the post). It was the first progress-making step I was able to make on THE MESS. It's a way to get your kids involved in a mad, fast as you can, fifteen minutes of cleaning. It's amazing. But the problem was, I hadn't found a good time for it. When they came home from school they didn't feel like doing it (and I didn't blame them...they were worn out). But if I waited they would disappear to play with friends and by the time they came back I was mid-dinner-prepping and it just got left by the wayside. So, now what I do is when they come home is I set a timer and let them have 30 minutes of screen time (TV/games, whatever) and then immediately after they blitz. Works like a charm!
BEDTIME
That's on there for a reason. Messing up my sleep messes up my world...I really struggle to get enough sleep regularly, cause I'm always tempted to stay up later and later. And I'm a big glob of pudding (or worse, explosive clump of tired dynamite) when I don't get enough rest. So that's an important one. One I'm breaking right now (but it's Saturday...I can today).
More To Do List Posts and Goodies:
Good for you, (uh, I don't think I know your name). Your schedule looks great. I love your Blitz. We do something similar called a five-minute drill (followed by another one if people weren't hustling), but we don't do it on a regular basis. Setting a specific time for it is great. Also, your Bible study time at 3:00 is great. This would have worked really well for me when my kids were in public school, but alas, we home school now, so there isn't a time in the day when they aren't around. Still working on that one. At least we have our family Bible time well-established, right after breakfast. Bed time--I hear you. Gotta go there now. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteStopping by from Don't Waste Your Homemaking link up. This is actually something I'm working on, though not quite in the same fashion. I've recently decided to clean one room per day of the week. What I also need to do is what you suggest, internalizing some other smaller tasks to be done everyday, like laundry, or picking up random things. Thanks for posting!
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