one of my biggest adjustments in becoming a mom
has been learning time management.
i have never been super stellar at time management.
& honestly. its mostly because i never really had to be.
when you are single or a newlywed. time management can be flexible.
aside from your job. you are pretty much footloose & fancy free.
you can eat when you want. work out when you want.
socialize when you want. nap when you want.
cook when you want. swim when you want.
watch the oprah show when you want. shop when you want.
do absolutely nothing when you want.
you are basically living on your own preferred time table.
all of that changes when you become a mom.
suddenly. your time is now revolved around these precious little babies.
your sleeping. your eating. your cleaning. your exercising.
even your daily shower time can be dictated by your babies.
the first two months of having two babies
i often felt as if i had no free minutes for just myself.
i felt as if i was constantly being pulled in three different directions.
and i most certainly was.
i was trying to clean while i played with patrick. i was trying to cook while i fed pierce.
i was trying to play on pinterest while i had conversation with my lovie.
everything i did was multitasked.
resulting in divided attention & diminished success.
my quiet times with the lord took a backseat to catching up on sleep.
my playtime with patrick was lacking in quality and attention.
evening time with my lovie was taken over with wanting of few moments for myself.
thats when i realized the value of time management.
purposeful time management.
i realized that i would gain so much more fulfillment in my life
if i were giving 100% to each of my roles. my chores. my jobs. my luxuries.
at this point in my life. my faith & my family are my top priorities.
while my social life may sometimes suffer.
& my community involvement may take a backseat.
i know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the lord has called me to be
his child. lovie's wife. patrick & pierce's mama.
& that is where my time. energy. love. sacrifices need to be poured into first.
to have great success in this assignment my time management needed to change.
purposeful time management looks different to everyone.
this is what it now looks like to me.
it means sacrificing extra sleep to wake up at 6 every morning.
this gives me two hours of a quiet. sleepy. peaceful house.
two hours before the boys wake & run ahead full speed.
two hours to have purposeful me time.
to fill my tank. to have some fun. & feed my soul.
to have prayer time. to play on pinterest. to write.
to put on makeup for the day.
if you know me well. you know i love to sleep. i am not a morning person.
shockingly. this has been one of my favorite changes.
i look forward to getting up early every morning.
i love my purposeful. quiet. alone time.
purposeful time management means putting everything aside
during playtime with patrick & pierce.
dedicating time to just being present in the moment with my boys.
not playing puzzles while i am playing facebook.
not speed racing cars while i speed race through pinterest.
not filling a sand bucket while i am filling an online shopping cart.
not turning the pages to a children's book while i am turning the pages of my magazine.
not building my to-do list while i am building a big block tower.
completely devoted. uninterrupted. undivided. focus on my boys.
this makes for such meaningful time spent together.
purposeful time management means
using nap time to get my household chores done instead of resting.
this way my time with lovie is not compromised in the evenings.
i try to make sure that almost everything is done & tidied before lovie gets home from work.
he works long hours. he gets home after dinner time. & boy does he work hard.
we are both tired at the end of the day.
we are both ready to just relax at the end of the day.
ensuring that most of my chores are done before lovie gets home
allows us to have a few minutes alone together after bed time routines.
uninterrupted. just to talk. just to be together. even if we are just laying beside each other.
being purposeful in the time throughout my day has made such a huge difference.
it has strengthened relationships. it has allowed me to accomplish more.
it is amazing to see the difference of exclusive dedication to each task at hand.
the quality of each assignment is exponentially greater.
how do you establish purposeful time management in your home?
i would love some tips from other mamas.
