Welcome to Day #16 of the 31 Days to Professional Homemaking series. To learn more about this series and to see the list of topics, click HERE. Please know that I am not an expert in marriage, motherhood, or homemaking. I'm just a woman {who happens to be a wife, mother, and homemaker}, trying to figure it all out, by the grace of God. This series is just as much for me as it is for anyone reading.
Before we get started, I'd like to offer you the following button, in case you want to share this series with your readers:
“When you don’t know what to do next, just do the thing in front of you.”
Elisabeth Elliot
Yesterday, we talked about how to create more time in your day. Obviously, you can't literally come up with extra hours in your day, because we're all given the same 24 hours in a day, but you might be surprised that you have more time than you think you do. Especially, when you are striving to be a good steward of every single minute.
So, to piggy back on yesterdays post, I'd like to share some practical tips for making the most of your time as a professional homemaker.
SIMPLIFY + STREAMLINE
If I could only offer you one piece of advice, it would be this: simply and streamline as much of your life as possible.
Remove as much clutter from your home as possible ---> Less to clean and maintain.
Simplify your meals {think: Meatless Monday, Mexican Tuesdays} ---> Less time spent planning meals.
Assign tasks to days {Laundry day, kitchen day} ---> Chores are streamlined.
By "working smarter, not harder" you actually decrease the amount of work that goes into each task, thus freeing up time to focus on those things that you'd like to devote more time to or those things that you feel are falling through the cracks.
FAIL TO PLAN OR PLAN TO... WELL, YOU KNOW
Yeah, that saying has stuck around for a very good reason: it's absolutely true! Taking just a few minutes each morning to plan your day will work wonders when it comes to feeling like you're managing your day, instead of feeling like your day is managing you.
If planning your day {short-term planning} can make such a difference, imagine what the benefits of planning for the mid-to-long term {the upcoming week and next month} could be. The key is that the further out you're planning, the more general the plan. Conversely, the closer the time frame, the more specific you need to be.
For example, I intent to start "officially" homeschooling in January. For simplicity's sake, let's just look at my goal to incorporate "Circle Time" into our morning routine. Here's how I'm planning to do that:
November's Goal: "Research Bible study curriculum and other resources to use during Circle Time".
December's Goal: "Plan out our Circle Time lesson plans for the entire month of January."
January 2nd: Start our first official Circle Time.
No matter how you plan, remember...
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
Proverbs 19:21
SET APPOINTMENTS
This tip technically goes along with planning, but I wanted to make it separate because I want each of you, as homemakers, to understand how valuable your time is. Even though you "stay home", you're still working. However, there are going to be people who don't understand what you "do all day". Therefore, in order to communicate the fact that you are, indeed, working while you're at home, I'd like to recommend that you begin to set appointments in an effort to guard your time.
You already schedule things like doctor appointments, but you can also begin to schedule things like that those regular phone calls to your best friend from high school. You want to keep in touch, but in order to guard you're time, do not allow yourself to just taking the call whenever. Instead, set aside an hour each week to devote to talking with her. It's a win-win for you both because she will feel like a priority in your life because you're carving out time in your week to focus specifically on her. The benefit to you is that you can stay on task, knowing that your weekly phone call is scheduled.
Of course, a weekly phone call to an old friend is just one example of a way you can set appointments. But, what I don't want to happen is that we all get so caught up in "penciling people in" that we forget to be sensitive to the needs of others, nor would we ever want to miss a God-opportunity. So, although I think we should guard our time by setting appointments, I also think we should hold on to our plans in an open-handed way - in such that our time is flexible enough so when that old friend is going through a crises and needs a listening ear, we can be that for her, even if our plans say we should be doing something else.
SET GOALS
About four months ago, I wrote a blog post called How to NOT Reach Your Goals, which was a tongue-in-cheek way of looking at the way we often go about setting a goal and why those ways don't usually work. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so. I think the biggest advice I can give concerning goal-setting is to 1} strive for excellence, not perfection and 2} give yourself grace when you fail, because really, a failure is just an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and try again.
BREAK IT DOWN, NOW!
One mistake of goal-setters everywhere {myself, included} is to try to take on a large goal in one fell swoop. Please understand, there is nothing wrong with dreaming big and striving for God-sized possibilities. Because we know that all things are possible with God. But, we have to remember that not all things are possible for us, on our own.
Even if God is in something, He often does things one step at a time. He breaks down the God-sized dream into steps. Take my friends, for example. This couple has felt God call them to move to Africa for five years. That, to me, is a God-sized thing and it's amazing! But, God didn't call them to leave for Africa right that second. That would have been completely unwise.
They still had a house with a mortgage and they needed to raise some money. So, that's what they've been doing. They sold their house in a down market {God!} and they're close to raising the money that they need {God, again!}.
Have you ever heard the phrase that goes, "God only gives us enough light for the step that we're on"? Sometimes He shows us the bigger picture but, more often than not, He reveals the puzzle one piece at a time. Doing any more than that would completely overwhelm us, because honestly, some of the puzzle pieces are overwhelming enough on their own.
STAY ON TASK
The last nugget of time management wisdom that I will impart to you is to stay on task. Keep your focus. Don't allow yourself to get distracted. I know that is easier said than done, but it is possible. As I said before, though, a friend in need is not a distraction. Likewise, a child who gets a "boo-boo" or someone who needs some encouragement isn't a distraction, either.
In my opinion, a distraction is something that is not urgent and/or not necessary. A friend in need... urgent. A child who gets hurt... urgent. Someone needing encouragement... urgent. A friend calling just to chat because she's bored... not urgent. That television show that just came on... not necessary. There is a difference and it is important for a professional homemaker to learn to differentiate.
Today's Challenge:
Each day, I'll give you a challenge: one small thing you can do to apply each day's topic to your life and your home.
1. Do at least one thing to simplify and streamline your life.
2. Make a list of your top distractions and then make a plan for how you will combat them.
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