One of my biggest resolutions this year was to learn how to make small, achievable goals. It’s far too easy for that list to open up and swallow me whole, especially when I’m having one of my down days.
I can’t say that I’ve done very well keeping up on my daily
to-do commitments. Between my daughter’s sprained ankle, both the boys having a
virus and generally being exhausted from getting up early for work every day,
plus the usual lineup of homework and afterschool activities, I’m way behind.
Even more so since Tuesdays and Thursdays are now my days to slog down to
physical therapy.
Even being behind, however, there’s a tremendous amount of
freedom in being able to give myself permission to get just a few things done
each day. I promise myself I’m going to do six things each day-and three of
those things are physical therapy, ONE load of dishes and ONE load of laundry.
It’s a sanity saver, because I’m not beating myself up. I
don’t spend all day agonizing over everything I didn’t get done. I can do what
I need to do, then give myself permission to relax and enjoy because it’s
enough.
Granted, it’s resulted in an unbelievably messy house. I
have laundry stacked to the ceiling after re-organizing all the kids’ rooms.
(Princess C apparently has a previously undiscovered gift for stashing laundry
in the darndest places. After cleaning out her room, I think I need to do a piece
on hoarding next!!) We’re definitely going to need to get back to evening chore
lists once the kids are all healthy again.
A little clutter and mess, however, is more than justified
by how much more relaxed I’ve been this week. I’ve been doing my writing and
cleaning right after work, so I have the night to sit and relax with the kids.
I can lay down with G Money when he has a cold without stressing about all the
cleaning I’m (not) doing.
Then there’s the whole “working two jobs” bid. In the past,
I’ve gotten overwhelmed and fallen behind on writing projects because I would
schedule too much to do each day. Then, when life happened and I wasn’t able to
get it ALL done, I’d freeze up and wouldn’t get ANY of it done. It feels now
like I don’t get much done, but I’m caught up on my projects and actually
managed to carve out some time to write a few hundred words each day on my
personal writing projects.
What do you think of that? Now if only I can get my living
room shoveled out before my dad gets here tomorrow night…
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