Managing Time
There are 24 hours in a day.
I would like to spend nine of those sleeping, although it usually ends up being more like six.
I spend quite a bit of time on meal prep and clean up, three times a day plus at least two snacks, usually more because Andrew is a bottomless pit.
I spend time every day doing laundry, dishes, clutter pick up, vacuuming, etc. I hate doing this stuff, so it is usually done while I listen to a book, and is usually frequently interrupted by anything else I can think to do
A good chunk of my mornings are spent trying to talk the boys into doing their jobs.
I've been trying to exercise for 30 minutes every day, but it's really hit and miss whether I ever get around to that.
I try to spend some time studying my scriptures every day, but more often than not it's skimming a chapter before I go to bed at night just to say that I did it.
I'd like to spend more time writing, or drawing, or doing something creative every day, but more often than not, that doesn't happen.
I think most of my day is spent procrastinating. I avoid getting my housework done, and so I do other things so I won't have to, but then I don't feel like I can do anything that I really do want to spend my time on because I have to get my housework done first.
I waste time searching the internet. I waste time playing little games on my phone. I wonder how much of my day I really spend doing this type of stuff. Once a week or so, Dean will spend 5 or more hours playing his video games in one solid block, and it really bothers me. He only does that once a week though and the rest of the week he doesn't even turn it on. I wonder if I combined all of the little 1-5 minute games I play throughout the week if it wouldn't total up a lot more than five hours.
Mom once told me that I should set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and work hard for just that amount of time, and then do something else for 10 minutes and then get back to work for another 10-15 minutes. If I think about that it doesn't sound like it would be very efficient because I'd only be working about half of the time. Compare that now to what I normally do: work for 5 minutes, get distracted by the kids, resolve whatever issue they have, play games for 20 minutes, sit down at the computer and kill another hour, then get back to work for 10 minutes before my kids need me for something. If I were even spending 50% of my available working time for working, that would be an improvement.
Yesterday Dean decided that he was fed up with our messy bedroom, and because that room is the last on my list of priorities I almost never get around to cleaning it up. My excuse was that every time I get working I get distracted by the kids, and so I can't get all that much done... not exactly a lie, but definitely not the whole truth :/. Dean's solution was that he would take care of the kids all day long, and I could just focus on getting the work done. I actually liked that idea, because dealing with the kids all day every day does in fact stress me out a lot. Throughout the day I actually got quite a bit done without getting distracted. I listened to my book, and without having to stop it a lot I barely noticed that I was working, and was able to enjoy it. I got my room clean, the laundry washed, folded, and put away. I got the living room picked up and vacuumed. I got the kitchen cleaned up, counters, floors mopped, fridge cleaned out. I cleaned the bathrooms, toilets, tub, counters, floors.
My house actually looks pretty good right now. What made the difference though? I think a lot of it was that Dean was there, and on the day off that he normally would have been playing his game, he spent it with the kids, and motivated by him going out of his way not wasting his time, I felt like I had absolutely no excuses, so the work just had to be done. It's not like he wastes his time every day though. Most days he is at work for 12 hours straight, working in a fairly stressful job, while I am at home with the kids.
I love my kids. I love being a mom. I do enjoy spending my time with the kids, but doing the same thing day after day is stressful. They whine so much, and it seems that everything I have tried to get them to stop has failed. The whining drives me crazy to the point where I just want to rip my ears off. Even a single day where I didn't have to deal with whining once was rejuvenating, even though I was doing tasks that I really don't usually enjoy doing. I did miss playing with my kids, reading to them, and teaching them things. I definitely prefer being a mom to being a full time housekeeper, but one day just to shake things up wasn't bad.
As I sit here I wonder if I'm wasting my time, or if this is actually putting it to good use. I should be upstairs with my kids now. I sent them up to get dressed and make their beds, but that was well over an hour ago, and I'd bet anything that they're both still in their pajamas. Isaac will probably be up from his nap in another half hour demanding attention, and I should probably be done helping the boys with their jobs by then. Maybe I should have made sure they got their jobs done first before playing, and then I should have exercised and gotten a shower. I did this instead which pretty much means that I'm not going to get a shower today until the kids go to bed tonight.
I would like to spend nine of those sleeping, although it usually ends up being more like six.
I spend quite a bit of time on meal prep and clean up, three times a day plus at least two snacks, usually more because Andrew is a bottomless pit.
I spend time every day doing laundry, dishes, clutter pick up, vacuuming, etc. I hate doing this stuff, so it is usually done while I listen to a book, and is usually frequently interrupted by anything else I can think to do
A good chunk of my mornings are spent trying to talk the boys into doing their jobs.
I've been trying to exercise for 30 minutes every day, but it's really hit and miss whether I ever get around to that.
I try to spend some time studying my scriptures every day, but more often than not it's skimming a chapter before I go to bed at night just to say that I did it.
I'd like to spend more time writing, or drawing, or doing something creative every day, but more often than not, that doesn't happen.
I think most of my day is spent procrastinating. I avoid getting my housework done, and so I do other things so I won't have to, but then I don't feel like I can do anything that I really do want to spend my time on because I have to get my housework done first.
I waste time searching the internet. I waste time playing little games on my phone. I wonder how much of my day I really spend doing this type of stuff. Once a week or so, Dean will spend 5 or more hours playing his video games in one solid block, and it really bothers me. He only does that once a week though and the rest of the week he doesn't even turn it on. I wonder if I combined all of the little 1-5 minute games I play throughout the week if it wouldn't total up a lot more than five hours.
Mom once told me that I should set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and work hard for just that amount of time, and then do something else for 10 minutes and then get back to work for another 10-15 minutes. If I think about that it doesn't sound like it would be very efficient because I'd only be working about half of the time. Compare that now to what I normally do: work for 5 minutes, get distracted by the kids, resolve whatever issue they have, play games for 20 minutes, sit down at the computer and kill another hour, then get back to work for 10 minutes before my kids need me for something. If I were even spending 50% of my available working time for working, that would be an improvement.
Yesterday Dean decided that he was fed up with our messy bedroom, and because that room is the last on my list of priorities I almost never get around to cleaning it up. My excuse was that every time I get working I get distracted by the kids, and so I can't get all that much done... not exactly a lie, but definitely not the whole truth :/. Dean's solution was that he would take care of the kids all day long, and I could just focus on getting the work done. I actually liked that idea, because dealing with the kids all day every day does in fact stress me out a lot. Throughout the day I actually got quite a bit done without getting distracted. I listened to my book, and without having to stop it a lot I barely noticed that I was working, and was able to enjoy it. I got my room clean, the laundry washed, folded, and put away. I got the living room picked up and vacuumed. I got the kitchen cleaned up, counters, floors mopped, fridge cleaned out. I cleaned the bathrooms, toilets, tub, counters, floors.
My house actually looks pretty good right now. What made the difference though? I think a lot of it was that Dean was there, and on the day off that he normally would have been playing his game, he spent it with the kids, and motivated by him going out of his way not wasting his time, I felt like I had absolutely no excuses, so the work just had to be done. It's not like he wastes his time every day though. Most days he is at work for 12 hours straight, working in a fairly stressful job, while I am at home with the kids.
I love my kids. I love being a mom. I do enjoy spending my time with the kids, but doing the same thing day after day is stressful. They whine so much, and it seems that everything I have tried to get them to stop has failed. The whining drives me crazy to the point where I just want to rip my ears off. Even a single day where I didn't have to deal with whining once was rejuvenating, even though I was doing tasks that I really don't usually enjoy doing. I did miss playing with my kids, reading to them, and teaching them things. I definitely prefer being a mom to being a full time housekeeper, but one day just to shake things up wasn't bad.
As I sit here I wonder if I'm wasting my time, or if this is actually putting it to good use. I should be upstairs with my kids now. I sent them up to get dressed and make their beds, but that was well over an hour ago, and I'd bet anything that they're both still in their pajamas. Isaac will probably be up from his nap in another half hour demanding attention, and I should probably be done helping the boys with their jobs by then. Maybe I should have made sure they got their jobs done first before playing, and then I should have exercised and gotten a shower. I did this instead which pretty much means that I'm not going to get a shower today until the kids go to bed tonight.
You know, in much of the world, people wait until the evening to take their showers anyway. It keeps the bed clean and it's comfortable. Thanks for sharing.
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