Last Monday I was co-leading a MOPS meeting about organization and I put together this handout from tips I found online. I also read and did a little activity from a blog of a friend and author Tricia Goyer. It is focused on organizing and safety and 13 tips for the overcommitted/overloaded. Be sure to check out the full entries on Tricia's blog by clicking on the links! It's a 5 part post so click on the next entry to keep reading on the 13 tips!
This is a some of Tricia's advice that I included in the handout:
Change can happen. Especially when we realize getting our priorities in order makes us available to God and to those most important in our lives. To summarize, we can stop the insanity by 1) focusing on what’s most important, 2) concentrating on key people, and 3) using ministry as family bonding time. Only then will we be truly available to the work of God in our lives, in our families, and our service.
Major on the Majors
Want to focus on the most important? Try this:
1. List everything you do in your day, your week, your month.
2. Rate these items on a scale from 1 – 4. “1” being most important, with “3-4” things that are nice but you can live with out. (For example, cooking dinner, giving kids baths, reading your Bible, spending time with your spouse would all be “1s.”)
3. Ask yourself: “Will this really matter five years from now? Ten? Is God at work here, or is it my own ambition?” Also, “How does this task rank in light of eternity?”
4. Eliminate out all the “4s.” Consider which “3s” you could put off for now. This may mean taking your toddler out of dance class. (Will she even remember it a few years from now?) Or cutting down on your television usage.
5. Revise this list over the coming weeks. Ask God to show you what tasks to focus on.
Major on the Majors
Want to focus on the most important? Try this:
1. List everything you do in your day, your week, your month.
2. Rate these items on a scale from 1 – 4. “1” being most important, with “3-4” things that are nice but you can live with out. (For example, cooking dinner, giving kids baths, reading your Bible, spending time with your spouse would all be “1s.”)
3. Ask yourself: “Will this really matter five years from now? Ten? Is God at work here, or is it my own ambition?” Also, “How does this task rank in light of eternity?”
4. Eliminate out all the “4s.” Consider which “3s” you could put off for now. This may mean taking your toddler out of dance class. (Will she even remember it a few years from now?) Or cutting down on your television usage.
5. Revise this list over the coming weeks. Ask God to show you what tasks to focus on.
When prioritizing remember these tips:
1. Get a good night’s sleep.
2. Take control. Don’t blame others for your overload.
3. Say “no.” Prayerfully consider every request.
4. Set boundaries to protect your family time.
5. Seek solitude in order to sift through your daily problems and brainstorm solutions.
6. Ax the guilt. No one can do it all.
7. Refuse to compare your weaknesses with someone else’s strengths.
8. Decide what things matter most in light of eternity.
9. Realize that kids will someday be grown up. Enjoy them now.
10. Spend quality time with your spouse. Encourage each other.
11. Don’t get caught up in the “extracurricular activities” trap. There are many successful adults who never played t-ball or took piano lessons.
12. Realize the values children learn from down time and home life will set a foundation for their future households.
13. Seek God. Our limitations remind us how much we need Him.
2. Take control. Don’t blame others for your overload.
3. Say “no.” Prayerfully consider every request.
4. Set boundaries to protect your family time.
5. Seek solitude in order to sift through your daily problems and brainstorm solutions.
6. Ax the guilt. No one can do it all.
7. Refuse to compare your weaknesses with someone else’s strengths.
8. Decide what things matter most in light of eternity.
9. Realize that kids will someday be grown up. Enjoy them now.
10. Spend quality time with your spouse. Encourage each other.
11. Don’t get caught up in the “extracurricular activities” trap. There are many successful adults who never played t-ball or took piano lessons.
12. Realize the values children learn from down time and home life will set a foundation for their future households.
13. Seek God. Our limitations remind us how much we need Him.
What changes do you need to make in your priorities?
What is one small step you can take towards that?
Remember: Today is Someday. The things that are most important on your priorities, focus on TODAY!
These are some other tips I gleamed from books and other resources:
Tips for organizing and de-cluttering your busy schedule
Prioritize your schedule and daily activities. Cut out unnecessary things that just make you too busy. (see other side for tips in doing that)
Do quick pick ups through out the day to help with the mess build up so you don’t have one huge mess at the end of the day when you are tired
Plan meals ahead to help with last minute meal anxiety. Pre-boil eggs, pre-wash and pre-cut, veggies etc when you have a little more time so that you can quickly throw lunches and meals together. When possible, buy groceries and drugstore items in bulk to save a trip to the store. When you prepare one casserole, make one or two extras and freeze them.
Try a timer. Multitasking doesn’t always work when it comes to keeping yourself organized. Sometimes, you need to be able to focus on a single task in order to really get it out of the way. Using a timer can help. It's amazing how much you can get done if you’re trying to beat the clock!
Get a great planner to help organize your schedule. Put your PDA to good use, try managing your time online with Google Calendar, or go with the tried-and-true -- an old-school day planner. Even a basic, notebook-style planner with plenty of room for you to jot down notes will help you manage your time more efficiently.
Designate Days. Choose a day or night to do your grocery shopping and errand running each week. Choose a day to clean your home. Stick to your schedule and forget about these responsibilities the rest of the week. Maximize Your Trips. On your way to town, are there errands you can run so you don't have to do them at night or on the weekends?
Teach your child how to prepare a drink mix, do laundry, empty the dishwasher and clean his room. An extra set of hands goes a long way.
Streamline housework. Let the voice mail pick up calls while you clean, to help maintain momentum. To make daily tasks go more quickly, use comforters instead of blankets (to make beds more quickly) and keep cleanser and sponges in each bathroom (to do quick scrubdowns). Organizing the house better makes cleaning up not seem like such a monumental task. To get rid of kitchen clutter, for example, clear counters of anything you don’t use at least once a day. Clear out drawers and closets of outgrown clothing. But don't do everything at once, break down the work into a task or a time frame. For example "I'll clean one closet every week until I'm done.'"
