After reading The Happiest Mom by Meagan Francis and profiling it on MomColoredGlasses, I was inspired by one of her suggestions. She said to detail a few days of activities to see if I can “find” more time for myself. I decided to kick off the week by documenting my Monday.
This is what I scribbled on Sunday’s church bulletin throughout the day…
5:15 – 5:30: Rock Fiona back to sleep
6:30: Wake up to new alarm clock…after being scared half to death, turn it off and go back to sleep
7:00 – 7:45: Take shower, pack Madi’s lunch, get breakfast for everyone except myself, head out the door
7:45 – 8:05: School drop-off
8:05 – 9:10: Go grocery shopping, try to keep the peace between Parker and Fiona on the bench seat of the cart…unsuccessfully
9:10 – 9:40: Unload and put away groceries, comfort Fiona after The Fresh Beat Band “scared” her (really…grownups pretending to be teenagers…I don’t blame her for being freaked out), check e-vite draft for bracelet making party
9:40 – 11:15: Attend Gymco class, make phone call to my Mom on the way
11:15 – 11:30: Make lunch
11:30 – 12:00: Eat lunch, read old newspapers, watch kids do amazing tricks with food
12:00 – 12:25: Unload dishwasher, wash dishes, take out trash
12:25 – 12:40: Put Fiona down for a nap, bring down laundry, pick up random items strewn throughout the second floor
12:40 – 1:00: Print coloring page of Cubby from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, start laundry, print Groupon for Friday’s date night
1:00 – 1:25: Color picture of Cubby with Parker
1:25 – 1:35: Switch laundry
1:35 – 2:25: Make dinner reservations, answer email messages, reschedule doctor appointment, download pics from camera, answer email messages, start a blog post, answer email messages…while Parker watches a show and creates more projects (thankfully by himself)
2:27 – 3:35: School pickup and trip to Toys R Us to buy Parker a “bug collection”, Madi a hula hoop, and Fiona YET another ball
3:35 – 3:45: Answer Hilger Hammond emails
3:50 – 4:20: Help Madi with homework, read school newsletter, get snack for kids, open bug collection
4:20 – 4:30: Switch laundry
4:30 – 5:30: Play outside in the warm sun with the kiddos
5:30 – 6:15: Prep dinner, switch laundry, wash up kids for dinner
6:15 – 6:45: Eat dinner, talk about our day
6:45 – 6:55: Sprint around block…in the middle of a hailstorm…
6:55 – 7:05: Help Ben finish the dishes
7:05 – 7:25: Put Fiona to bed
7:25 – 7:40: Switch laundry, check in on Parker and Madi’s bedtime with Ben
7:40 – 8:00: Take shower
8:00 – 8:20: Collapse on the couch to talk to Ben
8:20 – 8:30: Switch laundry
8:30 – 9:15: Watch TV, answer email, answer phone call, blog work
9:15 – 9:25: Switch laundry
9:25 – 11:20: More email, more TV, more email, more blog work
11:20 – 11:30: Switch laundry…one more time
11:30: Go to bed
It was an interesting exercise. As I went through the day, I was definitely hyper-aware of how I spent my time, and came to realize how little “free” time I actually have in my day…which I’m sure is true of most people’s schedules.
A couple of observations…
- While I do a pretty good job of “scheduling” time to do things I enjoy like soccer, book club, and time with friends, I am not very good at making “me time” a priority on a daily basis.
- When I do have extra time, I tend to immediately jump to my to-do list instead of doing other more “relaxing” things like reading one of the five books I have started but not finished.
- I have too much email to answer…and too much laundry…:)
- Even though most of my day was taken up by kid-related activities, that doesn’t mean that I was miserable. I have a ton of fun going to Gymco with the kids, playing outside, helping Madi with her homework, reading stories, and doing crafts with Parker. I don’t feel shortchanged about my life with my kiddos…:)
- Even so…there are other times where things get a little out of balance, and perhaps I would be able to avoid that if I practiced daily self-care…and put daily devotions on the front burner too. Imagine that!
