Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Embrace that Project Calling your Name! &FOCUS Goals for Feb 25, 203



We are having snow day #3 at our house today, 2 days last week back on Monday and home again today. This of course interrupts my routine a bit, but I don’t mind I love having the kids home, it is bonus time with them in our busy lives!

Last week I didn’t cross a lot off my list. I don’t think I even posted a score last week trust me if I had it wouldn’t have been good. With that said I actually did accomplish a few projects that had been sitting waiting for my attention. Sometimes you have to embrace what you are driven to get done even if it’s not on your list. I find that forcing myself to stick to a project I have planned when another is really calling my name that day results in slow progress or even sitting idle all day. I am not saying procrastinate things that need to be done there is definitely a fine line, but changing projects is not always a bad thing. Normally I can accomplish things faster if am working on something I have true motivation for finishing.  So I took a few detours this week but I am glad I did.

The outgrown clothes tubs in the girl’s room are empty and packed away into their appropriate tub by size for others to grow into. What a relief as they were overflowing, which I guess counts towards the “Girls room Purge” so it’s not as much of a detour as I thought.

One of my laundry baskets has been tied up for months holding hand-me-down clothes from our niece for the girls. It was also emptied in this process and sorted into the appropriate tub by size.  I gained back 1-1/2 x 3 sf area in my room.

Finally my overflowing make shift household command center that has been staring me down for weeks finally got my attention. So glad it did, it made the rest of the week easier when I wasn’t digging through every folder each time to find something my “order” was disorder. I had found an idea somewhere online on how to file to do items. They included bills and other mail too I stuck to my system for that because it worked. I gave the idea a go 6 months but it just isn’t working well for me. It has helped limit the piles of to do’s on the countertop, only to move them into overflowing file folders which were harder to sort through when I needed something.  So if I was going to need something soon it ended up in a pile by the phone for easy access the next time. I am now trying a variation on the folders, writing about my mail sorting last week gave me an idea. I’ll give it a try and let you know how it goes.

Simple solutions that work for Our House:
Problem: My mind couldn’t store all our family’s places to be.
Our Solution: For many years now we have hung a large calendar by the phone to schedule all our events. Everything is available at quick glance. When a phone call comes in with a new date, it goes immediately on the calendar. As do all the dates for school, church, sports practices and games, meetings, birthdays, appointments etc... I think I will still keep my calendar even if I learn to have a phone calendar someday like the rest of the world.   

FOCUS Goals for week of Feb 25, 2013
New Goals, comments, and excuses are in purple below.
Goals for a Better Home
1. Personal Focus to better my relationship with God.
Daily: Start and end each day with prayer. Read two chapters in the Bible. Serenity Prayer  
Weekly/Monthly:
Read Part II Chapter 1 & 2 in “The Lamps Supper” and answer questions. Unfortunately due to weather we cancelled the second session, and we didn’t even end up getting the big snow bummer! Oh well we are reading on and I am learning a lot! I am so glad to be reading this book.
 Run 4 days.  I think I forgot about the running last week, or maybe dismissed it from my mind. I hope to get back on track this week by dropping back to 4 days.  

2. Remove distractions at key times.
Daily: No computer 6:30-8:00am and 3:00-5:00pm (after everyone is home)
Weekly: Control volunteering but still get things done! Still trying to find the right balance!
Monthly: CUT BACK ON ELECTRONIC TIME! So easy to pick them up yet hard to put down!  

3. Add something to give more of me to my family.
Daily: Give my family a proper send off and welcome home each day. Focused one on one time with each family member.  Family Lent study. This has been better for the 3 oldest the younger 2 ask me to read out of their children’s bible afterward so we have been doing that too.
Weekly: Send a handwritten letter.  I still have not taken the time, so sad. We did mail about 6 letters my 7 year old had piled up waiting for me to address, stamp for her and send. These were in my to do folders.
Monthly: Take my husband on a date.  
Goals for a Better House
1. Daily Check Points: Weekly Plan Sheet (Done)
2. Weekly & Monthly Tasks, Chores and To Do Lists: Weekly Plan Sheet & Monthly Cleaning Schedule. Cleaning still always a catch up game, but having a schedule has helped me to stay on track a little more.
3. Weekly/Monthly Project to Do List:  
Monday: Weekly: Catch up! Prep Book Study, Soccer emails(snow is causing the need for much communication!) Monthly: None
Tuesday: Weekly: Help kids with science fair Topics Monthly: Continue Girls Room Purge AGAIN!(I can’t wait until I can cross this off)
Weds: Weekly: Cleaning Catch up; Monthly: Continue Boys room Purge AGAIN!
Thurs: Weekly/ Monthly: Cleaning Catch up
Fri: Weekly: Cleaning catch up; Monthly: Continue Kitchen purge.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

FOCUS Goals for week of Feb 18, 2013



 FOCUS Goals for week of Feb 18, 2013
Simple solutions that work for Our House:
Problem: Mail build up.
Our Solution:

When I get the mail I sort it right away, trash, to do, file or read later.

Trash: Items go immediately into the trash; sometimes I do this before I even go back in the house.
To do (bills & other things with a time restraint): I open and write the date it has to be done or paid by on the outside of the envelope and put it in order by date in a container that hangs on my wall. It is in a location I walk by multiply times a day. So at a glance see the next pending date.
File: Items get taken to their file or my “to file” box (our file cabinet is in the basement).
To read later: Items with no deadline go into a different slot in my wall file. Every now and then it starts to bulge so I have to empty it and some things don’t seem as important to read anymore and make their way to the trash.
This instant sort has cut back my paper piles. Unfortunately that is not only paper that enters my house.
New Goals, comments, and excuses are in purple below.
Goals for a Better Home
1. Personal Focus to better my relationship with God.
Daily: Start and end each day with prayer. Read two chapters in the Bible. Pray the Serenity prayer every day.
Weekly/Weekly: Read Chapter 3 & 4 in “The Lamps Supper” and answer questions. Run 5 days.  The first study session was great. I am even more excited now, we have good reading and a great group of people to share with and learn from.

2. Remove distractions at key times.
Daily: No computer 6:30-8:00am and 3:00-5:00pm (after everyone is home)
Weekly: Control volunteering but still get things done! Finding the right balance is hard!
Monthly: CUT BACK ON ELECTRONIC TIME! Funny now my kids are calling me out on my electronic time, lead by example!  

3. Add something to give more of me to my family.
Daily: Give my family a proper send off and welcome home each day. Focused one on one time with each family member.  Family Lent study. Reading has been good it even has a question to talk about at the end I am glad we are doing it.
Weekly: Send a handwritten letter to someone that I do not see often. I am not sure why but this is not getting done!
Monthly: Take my husband on a date. We went to the Ash Weds Service as a family.
Goals for a Better House
1. Daily Check Points: Weekly Plan Sheet (Done)
2. Weekly & Monthly Tasks, Chores and To Do Lists: Weekly Plan Sheet & Monthly Cleaning Schedule. Cleaning was not good last week; I never seem to stay on track when the kids are out of school. Catch up this week is a must! Reintroduce the chore schedule we used in the past for my kids, I think when I get to this it will be a kid’s version of mine; they have been asking me about it since it is hanging on the fridge.
2 &3 Weekly/Monthly Project to Do List:
Monday: Weekly: Catch up on Laundry, Soccer emails, Dentist app, Prep Book Study, Soccer team handouts. Monthly: None
Tuesday: Weekly/Monthly: Review soccer league schedules. Send questions on new soccer building.
Weds: Weekly: None, Monthly: Finish Girls room Purge
Thurs: Weekly: Call about internet and Basement, Monthly: Finish Boys room Purge
Fri: Weekly: Cleaning catch up, Monthly: Finish Kitchen purge.