Mar 26, 2012

Back to Blogging and Motivation


Hi friends! I'm back and I have sooo missed blogging!


Nothing super special has happened over the past month or two. We've just been enjoying the spring weather and our new family pass to the zoo. We've been going every Sunday afternoon.

While I was at work one evening about a week ago, I began reflecting upon my many frustrating life moments and my failures and the things that have caused others to feel disappointment in me. You see, I do a lot of reflecting at work. Perhaps its my mothering ability to juggle two or more things at one time. I can build displays, shuffle merchandise around to make room for new items, keep an ear out for my name over the walkie-talkie, and reflect on my life. When I have such melancholy reflections, I often conclude that I have good intentions but that isn't always enough to ensure great results.

As a wife, mom, and homemaker, I have the responsibility to accomplish many things. There are daily cleaning tasks, laundry, meals to cook, diapers to change, floors to sweep/vacuum, and bills to pay to name a few. Add that to actually getting dressed before noon 8am and going to my job whenever I am on the schedule (about three days a week). Its a lot to get done each day. I have been guilty of not doing everything necessary even when I made to-do lists and having the best of intentions. Sometimes I must admit that I can be lazy, easily distracted, overly consumed by my own feelings of being tired, and easily succumbed to a lack of self control when it comes to my internet time.  For some reason, I thought of Alice. You know, Alice in Wonderland? I felt I could relate to her because she always thought she was doing the smart thing or had a better idea of how things should be done but in the end she found she was not happy.

 "I give myself very good advice,
But I very seldom follow it"
Alice in Wonderland

I have been guilty of giving "myself very good advice" and making list upon list of what I need to do but that hasn't been my most effective form of motivation when it comes to getting life accomplished. I know I am not going to be made perfect while still on earth. Even Paul admitted as much.

"Not that I have already obtained all
this, or have already been made perfect,
but I press on to take hold of that for which
Christ Jesus took hold of me."
Philippians 3:12 (NIV)

In an effort to be the best homemaker I can be, it is the pressing on that I must strive for. I get better each day with the help of a few suggestions:
  • Daily reading in my Bible. It really is a great way to start my day. What changes? Certainly not my children or my home's ability to multiply messes when I blink. My attitude toward it all certainly does improve and I do feel more equipped to deal with each situation in a more calm and patient manner than usual.
  • Prayer throughout my day but specifically at the beginning of the day asking for His help, patience, and strength. I am still trying to remember to actually pray instead of immediately reacting when my kids do things like destroy things I've repeatedly asked them to not touch and steal food out of the cupboard by standing on top my youngest's highchair.
  • Communication with my husband. I ask him what he wants me to accomplish and I prioritize those things in an effort to show him respect and to streamline my day in the most effective way. Spending all day organizing our shoes in the closet might not be his top priority over the dirty pots from cooking beans and chicken all weekend...
I've found that recognizing my own areas of weakness and taking tangible steps to resolve them is the best way to better serve my family rather than point fingers or get depressed that I can't seem to accomplish "it all." Starting with just what my husband finds important ensures we're all happy at the end of the day.

Now a to-do list just might be helpful to you. That is, if you don't find you can lose more than one to-do list in a day before you've accomplished anything... What do you do to motivate yourself as a homemaker?

♥Shari

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6 comments:

  1. So glad you are back! Of the few blogs I follow yours is one of may favorites. Probably because what you write is where I am too. It's so helpful knowing that I'm not going at it alone.

    Alicia :)

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    1. Thanks Alicia! That is such a blessing to hear.

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  2. Oh my goodness woman...you sound just like ME!!!!

    I definitely have to agree with doing what hubby likes first. Yes, I get annoyed because I'm putting him first so to speak...but if just those things are taken care of...then I can relax. I know hubby likes a clean kitchen and nothing on the floors. I personally hate a dirty bathroom sink and toilet...that doesn't seem to bother him. lol.

    I don't know if you ever read my post on what to do when you just don't want to clean, but I have had to take my own advice this past week.

    I think what motivates me is to take a day off and do nothing (or at least the bare minimum). Watch TV, play on the computer and so on. And then towards the end of the night start thinking about what I am going to do the next day (cleaning wise).

    I have created a to do list (sort of) on my fridge. Using post it notes that I have taped a magnet to and covered in packing tape (hope to make prettier some day lol), I have written a task on each one. They start on one side of the fridge and as they are done, each one gets moved to the other side. There is something about moving it to the "done" side. It also makes me feel good that it is sort of "public." Hubby can SEE what I do all day (I'm guilty of adding even the simplest of tasks on there just so I have a long list lol!)

    Sometimes when I'm just really not in the mood to clean and it really needs to get done, I'll time myself for 5 minutes and go as fast as I can and see how much I can accomplish...it's surprising how much you can get done.

    Yes, the balancing act is very hard. I don't think we can ever truly perfect it. Once we do, something changes...such is life. I think God does it to us on perfect...otherwise we wouldn't need to rely on Him or go to Him every single morning.

    Glad to see your back! Sorry for the long post...sometimes the ability to type fast can be my enemy lol!

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    1. Yes I did read your post! I love your post-it note method! :D Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  3. Also...not sure if you are aware of this (many bloggers aren't), when your readers comment they have that word verification box to type that code in. Not sure if you knew that (it's a blogger default, but they have upgraded blogger so spam goes into a spam folder)...just letting ya know.

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    1. Well, I didn't really know although I do see it on other people's blogs. How do you fix it?

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