Anti-Procrastination and Priorities

I want to preface this post by saying that I don't enjoy making myself look bad in front of my readers.  Nobody wants others to know all their faults, and I certainly don't plan on making a habit of letting you in on every single dark secret I have.  However, the purpose of this blog is to encourage ladies to be all that God wants them to be.  Sometimes that means sharing personal examples in hopes that you will learn from my mistakes and be motivated not to repeat them.

When I started this Anti-Procrastination challenge, it was with the intention of getting extra things done without worrying about whether or not every single dish was washed, every speck of dust gone, and every article of clothing folded beforehand.  There will always be more dishes to wash, dust to clean, and clothes to fold, and if I wait until all the “regular” stuff is done, I will never “get around to” other projects like organizing closets, washing the car, and doing craft projects.

However, there must be a proper balance between getting those Anti-Procrastination tasks done, and not allowing my house to be flat-out messy.

It honestly kind of bothers me when I see bloggers posting pictures of their messy houses that they neglected in favor of doing a DIY project.  They somehow feel the need to “keep it real” and show how messy their house is because they were too busy doing a craft project to clean.  I'm not talking about stuff the kids drug out while mommy was busy working or the mess made from actually working on the project or the dishes that were dirtied and left in the sink during the course of focusing on finishing the project.  Those things are completely understandable and normal.  I'm talking about out-and-out neglect to take care of first things first.  Unmade beds and a pile of dirty dishes from the day before are, in my opinion, things that should be taken care of before anything else is undertaken that day.  Most likely if you start a project with the house looking like that, it will still look like that at the end of the day when your husband comes home.  That's not a refreshing sight to him when he comes home from a long day at work.

I'm ashamed to say that was the sight my husband had to come home to yesterday.  It all started out kind of innocently.  Since I've been so weak and tired all the time, I've been trying to get the most important things done first before I run out of energy.  Yesterday was Wednesday, which meant that we had prayer meeting at night.  I decided to get everyone's clothes ready, pack the diaper bag, and figure out dinner first thing in the morning so I could make sure it all got done in time.

Well, I've had these plain t-shirts in my closet forever that I've been wanting to make-over into something cute.  They've been on my Anti-Procrastination list for the longest time, but I always have something else to do that's more important.  I got started on my day pretty early, and I felt like I had plenty of time, so I decided to whip one of those up.  I mean, why not?  That was part of getting my church clothes ready, and I'd be knocking out an Anti-Procrastination task at the same time.  And surely, it wouldn't take very long.

Well…ahem…naptime arrived, (yes, as in several hours later) and I was still in the middle of a battle of wills with my sewing machine.  I had stopped briefly to throw some lunch in front of the kids, but other than that nothing had gotten done.  Nobody's clothes were ready, dinner wasn't even thought of, and I had dishes on the counter that I had been planning to get to “after I got the church clothes ready”.

When my husband got home, I wanted to hide.  I was so embarrassed about the house (okay really it was just dirty dishes, but that makes my house feel filthy, especially since that's the first thing you see when you walk in my back door) and about the fact that we were now going to have to rush to get ready for church on time.  I tried for a frantic second to think of some way to get rid of all the mess and pretend I'd been doing what I should have been doing all day.

Instead I decided to be honest and fess up.  I told him I was sorry I hadn't used my time wisely.  I then thought through what needs to happen in order for that scenario not to play out again.

But, since this post is already running long, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to read the two simple strategies I came up with to help myself stay on track but still be able to get those Anti-Procrastination tasks done too.

In the meantime, why don't you tell me how you keep your homemaking priorities in order?  I'd love to hear about it!

Read Part Two here…

Anti-Procastination Challenge: Try it!

One thing I am really bad about is getting too comfortable in the kitchen.  I get on kicks making certain things all the time because they're easy, because my brain doesn't want to figure out something new, because most of the recipes I see in magazines or on Pinterest look too time-consuming or too expensive, and because I honestly just want to get dinner over with so I can get on with my evening.

I think if I tried something new, though, I might actually enjoy the process of making dinner and eating it, instead of just “getting it over with”.  So as soon as this post is written, I'll be heading out to the kitchen to make quinoa stuffed peppers.

None of us have ever had quinoa before, and we've only had stuffed peppers once.  I'm really hoping we like the quinoa, because it will be a really inexpensive way to add some protein to our meals.  Who says you have to eat meat at every meal?  I've been cutting it out of our meals a whole lot lately. We honestly haven't felt like we were missing anything, but it's saving a whole lot of money.

Anyway, why in the world do I have this Pinterest board called “Recipes to try” if I'm never going to try them?  Time to stop procrastinating! 

What new thing are you going to try this week?  If you need some inspiration you can head over and check out my pinterest board!

If you’re just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. Be sure you’re subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each new challenge!

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Organize It!

I am a horribly disorganized person.  I am one of those people that can have stacks of stuff sitting around, but yet I remember exactly which stack has what I need in it. Thankfully, I married a man who is exactly the opposite from me, and I've really progressed in the area of keeping things tidy.

You know the old saying “A place for everything, and everything in its place”?

Well, my house is not perfect, but if you knew the “former me”, you'd be quite impressed at how well I'm doing with having “a place for everything.”  The “everything in its place” part is a little challenging with three little ones, but I'm teaching them to help tidy up after every activity, and we're managing to at least keep it from looking like a complete junkyard in this house!

So, if I'm doing pretty well at keeping the house organized, then why is this challenge entitled “Organize It”?  Well, you know what I organized?

My schedule.

For weeks, I've made lovely to-do lists containing the item “Redo daily schedule”.  But I've been procrastinating about actually sitting down and doing it.

Maybe I'm a rebel, I don't know, but I hate being told what to do, especially by a piece of paper.  When I do make a schedule, I follow it for about a week (an extremely productive week usually), then I get bored and throw the schedule out the window.  Not literally of course; that would be littering.  And it would make my yard look junky.  Then I'd have to clean it up.   Hey, at least I'd have another Anti-Procrastination Challenge to post: “Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Cleaning up the Yard”.  Anyway, whatever.  I'm getting totally sidetracked.

I've known for a while that I need to get back on a schedule, or at least some kind of routine.  I have lots of excuses for not doing it.  I don't do well with a schedule – I think I have ADD (not really); I sleep in too often since I've not been feeling well– that would mess up my schedule; the baby's schedule is always changing – it's a pain to always be changing my schedule; etc.

But the truth of the matter is, I just flat out get more done when I'm following at least a basic routine.

I sat down last night and ground out a brand new schedule.  The only problem is, I have to follow it now.  To tell the truth, I didn't even follow it today.  I slept in again, and it threw my day off.  I've got to figure out a good plan to get myself into a “sleeping-in day” routine.  If anybody has any ideas how to get into a productive groove even when I've slept in, I'd love the advice.  My schedule is based on getting up at 6 am, which I honestly enjoy doing, but until I get feeling better, that's not always practical.  Maybe I should make a separate “sleeping-in” schedule.  I don't know, then I might be tempted to sleep in every day.

Anyway, I'm kind of talking typing to myself now, so I'll get on with the challenge.

I don't know if it's your schedule you need to organize, or something in your house, or what, but you know what it is.  So whatever it is, it's time to get it done.

If you'd like, leave me a comment and tell me what you're working on!

Oh, and if you have any advice about the sleeping-in thing, let me know that too!

Oh, and if you’re just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. Be sure you’re subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each new challenge!

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Vehicle

Whenever our family arrives home and unloads out of the van, my hands are usually full of kids, diaper bags, Sunday School papers, sippy cups, and a plethora of other miscellaneous objects.  Thanks to my super-organized husband, who absolutely can't stand to have things a mess, there's not usually much left in there that doesn't belong.  If there's more stuff than we can carry, he's usually the one to go back and clean it all out.  I guess I sort of take it for granted that the van is always tidy, but that has nothing to do with me.

However, it does need a good vacuuming every once in a while.  And the outside?  Let's just say it doesn't get nearly as much attention as it needs.

I got my van washed and vacuumed this week; now it's your turn.

Go get it done!

If you’re just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. Be sure you’re subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each new challenge!

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Refrigerator

I know you're all going to just love me for today's challenge, but it must be done sometime, right?  And if we're not going to procrastinate, it needs to be done now, right?

That's what my husband and I decided right before bed last night.  The nasty refrigerator was just bugging us way too much, and really, when are we ever going to find a good time to clean it out?

So, last night it was.  It took an hour.  Honestly, I didn't think it was that bad (and chances are it wasn't); you just have to know my husband.  He says he's not a perfectionist, but I don't really know what else to call it.

Every single shelf was wiped down, and the old food was thrown away, which is fine.  That's the way most people clean out their fridge.  But, he wasn't content to stop there.  He wanted to use up any food that was about to go bad…now.  As in, let's make a gigantic fruit salad at bedtime.  As in, “Honey, you might as well wash up these blackberries and get them in the freezer.”

I'm always like, “I will.  Tomorrow.”  Which I guess is why I realized that I needed this Anti-Procrastination challenge this year.  And which I guess is why there was food in the fridge that already had to be thrown out.  It must have all been stuff I said I was going to use up…tomorrow.  Apparently, “tomorrow” was too late.

Sigh.  So, I guess know I'll be glad tonight at supper when we get to eat this wonderful fruit salad that I didn't feel like making last night.

Anyway, enough of my rambling about my woes of late-night fruit salad making.

It's time for you to get busy cleaning out your fridge!  And I don't want to hear you saying that it's not that bad!  You'll be sorry when you're throwing out food at bedtime one night.  And, ahem, if you really need to –  go ahead and make that fruit salad.  Just don't tell my husband I suggested that.  He'll think I thought it was a good idea.

Anti-Procrastination Challenge: Being Intentional

One thing I really want to do better with is being intentional in my mothering.  I want to plan ahead more to spend time with the kids.  Sure, there is a place for spontaneous time together, but that honestly doesn't happen very often.  There are always dishes to wash, clothes to fold, and floors to sweep.  The work is never ending, and the time to spend with these little ones doesn't often just happen by accident.

I decided that since I'm all about Anti-Procrastination this year, that I was going to purposely make time to spend with the kids today.  Instead of waiting until everything magically fell into place (which it never would), I purposely cleared my schedule and gave my undivided attention to them.

And guess what?  I think I had more fun than they did!  Granted, I'll need to stay up a little longer tonight and finish folding the laundry, but what is more important?  Claiming my children's hearts as they grow up right before my eyes, or folding the laundry that will always be there?

One of several activites we did together today

What about you?  Is there something about which you need to purposely be more intentional?  Maybe it's not your kids; maybe it's being a better wife, a better nieghbor, church member, or friend.  It's time to stop planning to do better and just do it!

Have you been challenged to be more intentional about a certain area of your life?  Leave a comment and tell me about it!

If you’re just now joining our Anti-Procrastination challenge, you can read all the details here. Be sure you’re subscribed to email updates or follow me on Facebook to receive each new challenge!