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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

3 Things A Busy Mom Absolutely Must Do to Get Organized!

Organization has to do with finding and creating established ways of  "doing life" which reflect your priorities. Follow this three step cycle for sustained success!

Let Go! It may sound ominous, and even make you think of being fired, or giving up something precious. Throwing out something you haven't used in two years can be hard, because you may be worried you might need it "someday." Deleting a social obligation because it interferes with the one time of the week you can have family time can be uncomfortable. Even more insidious and difficult to let go are certain socially accepted thoughts about organizing which moms commonly share with one another as excuses. (See my post from yesterday.) However, if your priority is to make room for something new that is going to help you and your family, to spend time with your family on a certain day each week, and to actually make changes and get more organized, then keeping unused stuff, extra appointments, and mental baggage are clearly counterproductive!

Learn! Working harder will not cut it if you really want to get organized! All the extra concentrated effort will simply put you into burnout mode, and will magnify your mistakes in your mind. Your family won't feel like supporting your efforts, either, when they see how you suddenly have time or energy for nothing else but trying to get organized and complaining about how hard it is! When it comes to succeeding at something that you have yet to master, nothing beats getting advice from someone who has been in your shoes. Following someone else's system also helps you establish rhythm, which leads to being able to create your own established ways of staying organized! 

Lean! Set yourself up for success with a buddy, a mentor, or a network of friends or experts, and learn to ask your family for help. Leaning on someone that you PAY can also increase your results. (If you spent the same amount on a babysitter so you could concentrate and create a meal plan as you would on dining for not being prepared, wouldn't that constitute future savings?) This could be a babysitter, a professional organizer, a cleaning service, an errand service, or more! Leaning on others will increase your results. One Asian saying/proverb tells that putting more than one shoulder to a task makes the work lighter. Don't relegate yourself to mommy martyrdom with trying to do it all yourself!

Make these steps a habit, and go through them constantly. You will see more order sneaking gloriously into your life! So, what are you going to let go of today? Where will you go, or who will you consult to learn how to start making changes on what is bugging you most? Who are you going to lean on for support?



2 comments:

  1. I have this room that I wish I would dare go into and start attacking it! I keep the door closed, but it doesn't help! Love all your tips.

    Following you from VoiceBoks!~Lisa
    I am all a twitter about life
    Find Me on Twitter

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  2. Thanks for following Lisa! And grab a trash can and timer and a pad of paper and a pencil and go into that room! When you get in there, set your timer for 15 minutes and start throwing away what is trash, and only doing things that take 2 minutes or less. Everything else that makes you start getting a headache, write down on that list for the next time! After 15 minutes, GO OUT!

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