We’d like to help you declutter your schedule by giving some tips and tricks that have helped us! Leah just did a talk at a Women’s Conference and this was one section she spoke on. I’m going to use parts of that talk and adding in some items that I try to use as well.
ARE YOU CONSUMED BY SOCIAL MEDIA?
If you’re looking for something to blame let’s start with social media. It’s very useful but everything in moderation is what I TRY to remember. Looking at others lives on Social Media has gotten us into this rut of feeling like we have to be so busy, busy, busy just to keep up.
BUT I’M FILLING MY DAY WITH GOOD THINGS!
Many times, the events that we fill our day with are good and positive. We also really don’t want to say no. But at what cost? Are we giving up time with God in prayer and His Word, time with our families or time for our bodies to rest? This reminds me of the story of Mary and Martha!
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
If you find yourself saying yes to all of these things, here are some ideas to consider. Schedule time at home. Read Housekeeping for the Busy Mom if you need some ideas of how to enjoy a clean home without all the stress. If your calendar has an empty day, fill it with one word – Home. Use that time to work on a hobby, play games with family or read through a book of the Bible in one sitting. In Mark 2:27, Jesus tells us that He made the Sabbath for us. Let’s make sure we are receiving that gift that He has given us!
BATCH YOUR ERRANDS INTO ONE TRIP
One idea is to try to group all your errands into one trip on the same day. This may seem obvious but I sometimes find myself just wanting to get home so I don’t finish what I need to do while I’m out. Then I get frustrated because the next day I might be able to have a full day at home but I have to go finish my errands. I find that if I can have one day for errands then that usually creates more time at home to get done what I need to do there, not to mention relax and enjoy my family.
Another trick is to drop your child off at practice and run errands while they are there or tack on one or two stops on the way home. We spend so much time in the car trying to get to different places. If we can decrease the number of times we leave the house, we can free up some great quality time!
MAKE DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
Along those same lines, try to make do with what you have. Our grandma definitely had the Depression Era mindset. She was always trying to use the things that she had on hand to substitute for something that she needed. You can use the internet to find substitutes for recipes instead of going to the store. For example, I never have buttermilk on hand. However, if you add some vinegar to milk and let it sit for a short while, voila, there is your buttermilk substitute! Also, who wants to buy a whole carton of buttermilk and end up pouring most of it down the drain?
PRIORITIZE WHAT’S IMPORTANT
Have you ever heard the phrase “you can tell where someone’s priorities lie by looking at their calendar and their bank account”? We can talk about finances later but for right now, take a look at your calendar and what’s on there that’s really not that important. There may be some items that can be eliminated all together. There may be some items that can be moved to another phase of your life. If you have small children it may not be the ideal time to take up a hobby traveling around the world. You may need to wait until they gradutate high school. Now that may be a little extreme but you get the picture.
What about the small things on there? Do you need to pare those down to a just a few items and add the others back when you have more time in your life? I love to crochet but I had to wait until my youngest child was driving before I could start. I now crochet in the evenings while I watch TV with my husband, but I used to drive kids all over God’s creation to their multiple activities. And when I was doing that I tried to fill my waiting times with other “me” time items (I hate that term but more on that later) like bringing along a book, walking a trail or getting a pedicure while they were in a class or practice.
NOW MAKE YOUR PLAN TO DECLUTTER YOUR SCHEDULE
I hope that you have learned some unique ways that you can organize and declutter your schedule without feeling overwhelmed. Take some time to think your new plan through and how you can modify your current routines. It might be realistic to just choose one area first, such as running errands, and get that down. Remember that it took you years to form these habits so it will take time to let them go. Also, if you try to do too much at once, you may become emotionally overwhelmed and you may not make good decisions.
Try to visualize where you are at and where you want to be. We need to try to keep balance on what’s important in the season of life that we’re in right now. Believe me this season will go quickly and you will wish you had some of it back.
Happy Scheduling!
Stacia (and thank you Leah for your content as well)