I have decided that a reasonable goal is to post to this blog once a week. I need time to research and write the articles I'm planning and realistically, that's going to take at least a week!
I'm still trying to figure out time management. Being a stay-at-home mom is really challenging in this area. I NEED to be disciplined and organized, but these characteristics are not inherent in the job. The mom has to create structure and maintain it herself. I have grand ideas about how to set things up and get all sorts of things done, but I always fail to allow for the inevitable interruptions and I haven't yet come up with a great strategy for getting back on track once I've been derailed!
Here's an example:
I decide that today's big task is getting paperwork filed. I dive into my pile of "to-be-filed" stuff and just as I begin to make some headway with organizing the papers, Big Boy comes running in. "Mommy, gotta go potty!" I encourage him to go on his own. "Mommy help?" He refuses to go without help and starts dancing around.
I put everything down in a hurry, trying to get him to the toilet before he gets his underwear wet. He has waited too long again and can't quite get there and get his pants down in time. He decides he needs to sit on the potty and do BM, so while he's working on that, I get a change of clothes out for him.
While I'm in his room, I discover that his bedding is damp and needs to be washed, so I strip the bed. I check on him and he says he isn't done yet, so I strip Big Girl's bed and start a load of laundry. He's finally done, so we wipe, wash hands, and put fresh clothes on. The soap dispenser needs a refill, so I fill it back up. I wipe down the sink and toilet with disinfecting wipes because Big Boy dribbled on the toilet and the sink just needs it.
By now it has been 15-20 minutes since I got up from the filing task and I realize that it's now 4:30pm and I need to start dinner. If I'm lucky, I'll remember to move the laundry along and make the kids' beds back up before bedtime, but that's only if I am making a dinner that I can leave for a few minutes to do that (and if I remember to do it and don't find something else to do!).
So the pile of papers actually looks worse than it did, even though it's sort of organized into categories. It's spread out in piles on the desk and on the floor around the desk, waiting for labeled file folders. I don't have time to finish the task and I can't leave it all out or Big Boy will put his touch on the filing and I'll have to start all over. So I pile it back up and put it back on the desk for another day. It doesn't look like I've accomplished anything and I'm discouraged because I really did spend time on it but I have nothing to show for it.
Like I said, I haven't figured out the remedy here. Ok, well, I DO know one remedy for the filing situation -- I should file the papers when they come into the house instead of building a pile that takes an hour to sort and file! But not all tasks are like that. I'm working on my bad filing habits but I have to eliminate the current pile first and then train myself to file the mail and the paperwork from meetings the day I get home. Then it will only take 5 minutes and I can find 5 minutes any time!
