Intentionality- Productive Free Time
After these past hectic two weeks, my shoulders are sighing with relief as the weekend fast approaches. Little baby's health is improving, the chaos in my life is working itself out, and I'm finally getting out of the house again! It's been hard to be productive lately and give myself grace for the days I "get nothing done" and let the dishes and laundry pile up. My thoughts and emotions were as disorganized as my house with all the chaos blowing through. It was a mess, but I had to keep telling myself that God is still good and these blips are momentary. Things will improve but I have to go through these trials first.And they did.
Something I came to solidify these past two crazy weeks was that in order for me to be productive (whether or not my to-do list was completed at the end of the day) was to have a planner. I used to thrive on scheduling out my days to a T when I was in college so I could keep track of life, but was adamant I would never succumb to using one again after graduation.I tried finding the most user-friendly phone calendar apps, getting cute wall calendars, writing and leaving notes everywhere, but to no avail. Something always gets forgotten on one calendar or written wrong on another. Somehow the grocery list always gets lost or an event gets missed.Maybe I'm super late to the game or maybe I'm being progressive; I have no clue, but I'm going to go on a whim here and say it, you need to get yourself a planner no matter what stage of life you're in. I feel like it's like budgeting your money, except it's really your time. Just as following Dave Ramsey's financial advice or using his Every Dollar app will tell every dollar you bring into your household where to go, organizing your life with a planner will reveal what you are truly spending your time on, where you have more time than you think you do, and how you can truly invest your time BETTER.
Have you ever thought about how much extra time you could have if you actually told your time how it was going to be spent? Not saying you'll think about doing something and then changing your mind last minute to just relax in bed or on the couch, but actually get up and get out and do what you put your mind to? Have you ever thought how much more time you could have if it weren't spent cleaning and organizing all of your "stuff"?These are two questions I asked myself these past two weeks and challenged myself to put into practice, and the results have been astounding.As I mentioned in the previous post about free time, my husband and I have been gaining a "gazelle intense" speed when it comes to our finances and getting out of (school and car) debt. We do it in a way that glorifies God, in that we make sure we're still giving our tithe to the church and supporting others around us, but also that fits our family. We make sure to fit date nights into the budget, enough to keep up with eating healthy and also adapting to a non-toxic household style ( I'll share more on how we only spend roughly $300 a month on groceries and toiletries and live this lifestyle later this fall).This week I had the pleasure of watching a documentary called Minimalism while I tackled my large laundry pile and posted items for sale to continue downsizing our home. It was absolutely mind-blowing to me. I wouldn't say we're minimalists to the extent of the people in the documentry, but I would say we've adopted a "less is more," and "live like nobody else so that you can live like nobody else someday," mindset for sure. I'd been discouraged by the amount of dishes and laundry that mysteriously kept piling up every couple of days. As I watched the documentary, there was a specific sentence that seemed to scream at me as I grumbled through my chores. The man was sharing his minimalist wardrobe to the camera and remarked that everything he owned clothing wise, were his favorite things. I stopped in my tracks and looked at the laundry basket in front of me. I then immediately walked to my closet and got rid of everything that wasn't either quality pieces that have lasted me multiple years, or that weren't my favorite things. BAM. I then texted my husband that I wanted him to do the same thing when he got home. Double BAM. Then, while I had it on my mind, I ran to the kitchen and pulled out every glass, mug, ramekin and more that I didn't really like or use. Triple BAM.Doing the laundry and dishes have never been quicker. Not to mention, we've made back some money selling these things we hadn't been using! That much more to put towards our debt!DEFINITELY WINNING
After I completed these tasks, I was affirmed yet again, that I needed a real planner. I needed to maximize the time and resources God has given my family and I. I recognized that in order for me to be the best Wife/Mom/Jesus Follower I could be, then I needed to get organized and stick to it!I picked up my search for a planner. Not just a Monday-Sunday kind of thing but one that had everything. If I was going to stick to meal planning to keep our family healthy and our budget in check, I was going to need to write it out. If I was going to make sure I went to the gym at least twice a week, I needed to write it out. If I was going to fully engage in my bible study, I needed to block out time to complete my weekly homework. Even more, I felt like if I were going to keep pressing on with these days, I needed encouragement daily. On and on I could go.It seems tedious and silly, like something you can easily keep up with in your head, but it seems like the best tried and true way is to just write it down! So here are my tips for you, and I challenge you this week to give it a try! You just might be surprised at your results!
After much research, this is the planner that I decided fits all of my needs. It has my daily encouragement of scripture, a clear and minimal setup for my weekly responsibilities and a meal-planning and tear-off grocery list! I don't think I could find anything more perfect. I also love the colorful design, which was something I really wanted so that I felt compelled to look at it and not want to lose!
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For those who would like to opt out of a Christian planner, there's one for you too!
With all this, I hope you take one thing with you. There is grace in this messy process called life. There's really no perfect way to do it, but I promise you, with God, all things are possible. He even tells us this through the Bible, when he leaves us this scripture in particular: