The WAH Juggling Act

While I was working out this morning, I was wondering how the women that have more than one child, home school, wah and run their households do it.  I sometimes feel like I’m fighting a losing battle.  I get up an hour earlier than my husband and son, so I can get a workout in before they get up.  I fix breakfast clean the kitchen, make the beds, read and respond to more than a dozen emails, research and jot down notes for blogs, wah ideas, lesson plan notes and ideas,  and designs for my Cafepress shops all by 8:30 am.  Then three days a week I teach my son, that is when he isn‘t teaching me.  I then try to get laundry and housework done.  I won’t bore you with the rest of my daily schedule, but suffice to say, I don’t always feel like I get everything that needs done, done! 

I find it helps tremendously to prioritize!  Figure out what things are the most important, is it spending time with your family, home schooling, work obligations, etc.  Obviously if you have deadlines, you need to take care of them.  I am a firm believer that you keep your word.  If you tell someone you will do something and you have a timetable you’re working on, be sure to do what you need to do to meet deadlines.  Even if it is working for yourself.  Set yourself a period for doing projects and stick as closely to it as possible.  Just be sure to work your schedule around the other important things in your life. 

If you find yourself starting things and not finishing them, you need to reevaluate what you are doing.   Are you taking on more than you can handle right now?  Or could it be more of a question of organization?  If you answered yes to the first question, then maybe it would be wise to cut out one or two things or ask your husband and child/children for help.  It could be just a matter of making a chore list and assign everyone things they can do that will make life a bit easier for everyone.  You can also make a to do list and at the end of every day right out the things you need to get done the next day, and try to stick with it as best as possible.  Be flexible though because things change or happen and you need to be able to adjust, or go with the flow.

As I said at the beginning, I get up an hour or so before everyone else to exercise, because I feel my health and fitness is very important.  I want to be around to see my son grow up have children of his own.  I also know that I have to get it done first because if I don’t I more than likely will not be able to fit it in.  My top priority is taking care of myself.  If I’m not fit and healthy, I cannot be my best or give my best to my family.

My only problem now is that of staying up too late.  I know it is important to get 8 hours of sleep each night and I’m averaging 6 hours.  I am being honest with myself and I realize that I don’t need to spend so much time on my computer late at night.  I rarely have deadlines that would necessitate my working past midnight, yet I have been doing it for months now.  So I’m going to take my own advice, adjust my schedule a bit, and make myself get off the computer at a certain time every night.

I will be doing this in baby steps, so I’ll let you know how it’s going.  If you have some tips on juggling all your responsibilities I’d love to hear them.  Hope to hear from you!  Enjoy Life!!!