Monday can be great, or it can be a train wreck. We have some, but not total, control over our daily outcomes. Let’s look at some ways to bend things in our favor.

I’m what had been dubbed a WAHM (Work at Home Mom). This acronym came along many years ago, when forums were popular and users looked for a way to minimize extra typing and word counts, but still convey a message: We work. But we are at home with our children. It can be a precarious balancing act. It’s a challenging position, and one that requires organization, planning, and a great deal of self control. None of these are my strong suit.

To top things off, my husband generally gets home later in the evening than most, leaving the bulk of afternoon and evening ‘parenting’ to me. When he’s home, he’s all in – and that makes a huge difference. For that, I am truly blessed. I’m able to, at times, completely walk away from my parenting duties – but not without a little forethought and communication.

Below, I’m laying out some action steps to give you, I hope, a little bit of order to your days.

Success begins with habits and preplanning.

• GET REGULAR SLEEP – go to bed at a decent hour! With so many distractions, it can be hard to fall asleep. Try this:
  • Read a book (not your phone or tablet, a book.)
  • Pray.
  • Wind down about an hour before bedtime
    • dim lights
    • put on soothing music
    • turn off electronics, including the television.
    • take a warm bath or shower
  • Consider natural sleep aids
    • An eye mask is my bestie
    • Melatonin helps push me to sleep, even when I think I can’t
    • diffuse essential oils, like lavender, to calm your mind and body.
• HYDRATE! I know, you hear it all the time. There’s a reason for that. The BEST thing you can do for you overal health is to ensure that you are drinking plenty of water!
• MAINTAIN YOUR CALENDAR Most of us have calndars on our phones now. It’s so important to update these as things come up, and as they change. It’s taken a great deal of time, but I have SOMEHOW managed to train my family, including my children, to help with this. Sometimes, that means that my son sends me a text from school of something he doesn’t want to forget…and that’s ok!
• LEARN THE WORDS NO AND MAYBE. It’s ok to be noncomittal sometimes. If a friend or colleague suggests a get together midweek, and you’re not 100% sure you can handle it, try these answers:
  • “I’d really love that. Let me see how my week goes and I’ll get in touch in a few days.”
  • “I’m afraid I’m not available this week. Can we plan something the following week?”
• Communicate with other members of your household what is going on this week:
  • What can they expect from you?
  • What can they do to be prepared?
  • What can they do to help you?
  • What they need to remember to take care of on their own.
  • Make sure they utilize the family calendar! You don’t have to be the family secretary.

Start planning the week before.

On Thursday or Friday (or sooner), look ahead to next week and ask yourself these questions:

• Which days are busy?
• Is there anything on the calendar that overlaps, or needs to be adjusted?
• What do we need to get through the week?
• Can I skip anything?
• Do I have any rest built in?
• What are my personal goals?
• What are my business goals?
• Are there any situations with household members that need outside help?

Now that you’ve asked and answered these questions, here are you simple action steps. Some of these, you can do NOW, some you can handle over the weekend.

• Call, text, email, etc., to reschedule, cancel, or make any appointments that may be needed.
• Make sure items are ready for school and extracurriculars.
  • Uniforms washed?
  • Lesson books where they belong and tidy?
  • Backpacks cleaned out and tidied for whatever school environment your child is in this week?
  • Laundry caught up enough to get through most of the week?
  • Any school supplies needed? Pencils, paper, tissues, masks, etc?
• Make a meal plan. Even if it’s just for the first couple of days of the week – this will help you to move through your day with one less thing to worry about.
  • Check the pantry and freezer for anything you can use this week.
  • Check to see that you have what you need for lunches and snacks, including extracurriculars.
  • Go shopping, or order anything you need to make those meals.
  • If you can, prepare ahead any fresh ingredients (chop veggies, mix marinades, etc.
  • Know that a meal plan CAN include a night of eating out. That’s ok, too! GRACE.
• Make sure that you have the resources you need to meet your business goals.
  • Are there any special events next week?
  • Online meetings on the calendar?
  • Are you running low on any supplies (printer ink is my kryptonite)?
  • Confirm any in person or online meetings you have planned.
• Make sure that you have the resources you need to meet your personal goals.
  • snacks, drinks, etc.
  • Meal planning?
  • Laundry done or ready to be done?
  • Any supplements or medications running low?
  • Check in with any accountability partners you have and make sure you’re on the same page for next week.
• Check the calendar for the next MONTH (yes, month!) for birthdays, upcoming holidays, or other family/friend occasions.
  • Plan to pick up or order cards and gifts.
  • Block off any calendar days that my be used to get together or celebrate.
• If your week is going to be particularly busy, get as much rest as possible, starting now.
  • Take a long Sunday nap
  • Prioritize social commitments.
    • Gracefully bow out of anything you need to skip
    • For your children’s activities, carpool with friends! Stay home while they go out.
      • Be sure you can return the favor on future occasions.
      • Discuss with you children whether it’s ok to bring friends home from the event, or go home with a friend after the event.
        • This will save you an argument later. “I know you want to spend some time with your friend. This weekend, it’s important to get some rest. We will plan a get together soon.”
        • You are the parent…I know it’s easier and more fun to say yes, but your children need to learn boundaries. A happy, well rested parent will make their days better, too.
  • You set bedtimes for your children, right? Set one for yourself as well.
  • Try to get up around the same time every day. Yes, we all deserve and need a good sleep in day every now and then…but, a regular routine will help more than you’ll ever now…until you try it.
• Not much going on this week? Congrats! ENJOY!
  • It’s LITERALLY ok to plan a day, or even a week of doing absolutely nothing.
  • Spend some time checking in with friends. Plan a lunch or coffee date if you’re up for it!
  • Look ahead and think about things you can start working on now to lighten a busy season.

Confession: Following these steps precisely is never going to happen. Give yourself some grace. Today, I’ve already had a couple of hiccups – but, guess what? I anticapated we have some, especially with so much on our calendar today! So, we just keep moving. The good news? I thought we would be home very late for dinner, and ALMOST didn’t start the crock pot. One of those hiccups means everyone will be home for the night at least an hour before I expected…so, we have dinner already taken care of. One less night of take out.

Also, it’s 1:00 pm as I’m typing, and I’m still in my pjs and robe. I’m ok with this. Why? I knew I had several back and forth and round and round drop offs and pick ups this morning. Those really don’t end today – it’s one of those days I feel like I should have a chauffer license…I’ll get dressed…within the next hour or two. There’s time worked in for that. What I didn’t want to do is dress for one event late in the evening, knowing I would spill something – turns out that that is the event that was hiccupped, and I won’t be able to go…so, I only need to actually dress to sit at my daughter’s basketball practice…and that means some comfy pants, sneakers and likely a hoodie.

I’m experimenting with some hair methods this month (post coming late next month about that – see how we plan ahead for success?), so my hair is not exactly on point. Most of the people that know me know that my hair is rarely perfectly coifed, and if they cared, we probably wouldn’t make great friends anyway. Right?

The point of this confession? Accept your realties. Accept your limitations. Accept the things you cannot change. Roll with the punches. Be prepared for the day, so that the hiccups don’t put you in a tail spin. We all have good days and bad days, and we all find that tail spin at some point, regardless of how well we plan. I assure, if you can just do ONE THING to make tomorrow, next week, or even just later today better, it will be worth it. My prayer for you:

There you have it friends, how to make your week better, in a nutshell. The most important thing that I want you to take away from this post…no mother’s day or week is likely to be perfect, much less always go as planned. Give yourself some grace, and be flexible. If you’ve done the preplanning, the hiccups will be much smoother!

What are some specific things you do to ensure that you’re ready for the day or week?

Next week, I’ll be sharing some more specific and personal routines and strategies that I use to carry me through the day, and I’d love to include some of yours, with your permission of course!

WANT MORE MOTIVATION?

Much Love to you and yours!

Cindi

^{Self proclaimed Godmother of the Messy Bun Mafia.}

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