Rhythms of Time, Forced to Time Manage and Love it!

Easily, I could think I was unique in being "forced" to manage my time. I have five children, and a long list of to-do's every day, but the fact of the matter is, EVERYONE is racing against the clock in one way or another....even children nowadays have homework galore and deadlines from first grade on...I probably feel the HEAT of managing my time poorly, because I see or feel immediate results, but I am definitely not alone in needing good time management skills.

Organization is an area in which I am naturally gifted, but I still have pursued time management skills in every area of managing the house. Flylady, at www.flylady.net has been a great resource for me that's free and has lots of support, ie: radio/podcast show weekly, and other free information and outlets on keeping your home clutter free, body clutter-free, closet clutter-free...etc. LOVE Flylady! But really, when I summarize all I have learned and do on a daily basis, I have to say that I have said a little prayer about a "home area" or "kid issue", and God has consistently sent me an answer on how to do things. Either a book, news article, person, or just a "knowing" on what to do...He gets the message to me somehow.

I have little things that I do that seem to help the process along. I ALWAYS make a to do list at night or even in the morning. This one tip makes me so much more accomplished on a daily basis. If I forget to do this, I begin "wandering" through the day with very little purpose and by the end of the day have not really accomplished much. I got a fancy ap on my phone, but for some reason, the little crumple of paper seems to work best for me. If I lay it on the kitchen counter and look at it only once, my day is immediately more productive. I bake bread, make kombucha, finish school, read 10 books aloud, and paint a painting with time for a nap. On the days I don't "do" my list, I wander around the house, pick up things off the floor, check facebook 10 times, fold a little laundry, put the kids in front of videos, and then wonder what happened to the not-so-productive day at the end??

Another BIG trick is setting the timer. This is a Flylady deal. Set the timer for 15 minutes and do a chore you don't want to do. When it rings, stop doing the chore. Don't get into perfectionism, just DO IT for the duration of the Timer and feel awesome about yourself when the Timer rings. This one is for the down and dirties like cleaning toilets, washing AND FOLDING laundry AND getting it put away, and things like that. If you only set it twice a day, you'll feel like a champ for getting the rough stuff done each day.

I like to read books on organizing-well, to be an honest, a book a year. I read on book on "Speed Cleaning" how to clean your house in the fastest amount of time...Homeschooling, How to Organize Everyones's schedule....and these books, or at least one or two tips from each book, is part of my day.  I have a daily routine....school is routine, meals are routine, naps are routine, reading books to kids, bedtimes....all of those are MUSTS and many times I have typed out the exact TIMES just for me. It helps to look at these parts of the day pretty often, so that you don't run behind (at least for me). The routine makes the children very stable and secure. All of the "to-do's" get sandwiched between the "must-do's".

One thing I have realized, and the reason I named this article "loving it", is I have had a little resentment for HAVING to manage my time so diligently. I have been forced to manage my time for a decade now, and I think I have grumbled or complained more about this issue (inwardly and probably outwardly) more than any other. If I go shopping, it's not leisurely nor is it enjoyable. It's literally, me, running as fast as I can to the lingerie department, yanking my sizes off the sale rack, and yelling to the cashier to hold my purse while I make sure my boobs are still the same size....something about the intensity of that has made me a pouter more than once....until now. Now, I'm grateful. Time is precious, and I know it. I have figured out how to manage my time by force, but enjoy my time immensely and appreciate the minutes-those golden nuggets called minutes.

Finally, and really, I could write a whole book on this subject, I try to maximize each minute to the best of my ability. Appreciate time, and viewing time as precious, has been one of the motivators for my successfully handling "time", and not taking it for granted. Time is the one thing, if lost, I will physically cry over. Birthing 11 pounds, whatever........wasting 2 hours of time, let the tears fall and get the kleenex ready.

MUST brag on Rewards System for kids

This is too cute. I was going to facebook, but it's too much information, so I'm blogging it.

I have five children now, and the task is almost too daunting at times. What task, you ask? Name one. Potty training, schooling, reading EACH child their books....if you have one child, times what you do times five and then try to neatly organize all of it into each day.
One of the issues I have had, and other moms make it sound so easy, but I want to instill work ethic and reward system without breaking my back and spending too much time on it. I had a "star" system, which was a little row of pockets that I had made and popsicle sticks with glittery stars on them. When the kids did something great, or I wanted to reward them, they got a popsicle stick with the star and put it in their individual pocket. Things were great for awhile, but the kids started "re-arranging" the stars in the pockets as well as other "favorite pastime" items (with the handcrafted stars) that they so enjoy doing when I run to the bathroom.

SO THEN, I found an application for my phone called iRewardChart. Yes, I have an iphone, so you may have to make the wall chart if you don't, but for all of the busyness and really, how little time I WANT to spend on charting chores and which child did what, this has worked out AWESOME.

 You get to name your own rewards in the application for each child. Mackenzie was saving up and trying to get enough stars for Disney World (500 stars), but ended up trading in stars for money and got an American Girl doll and wardrobe instead. The excitement this sparked when she got her box in the mail was over the top. Megan and Max immediately wanted to make more stars and they ran out and cleaned up the entire yard, which has been our outdoor shoe collection area for a month. In the photo, Megan is cleaning off one of the shoes they found.

Michael, the three year old, is not that motivated by the stars, but I give him stars on purpose when he does certain things I personally REALLY want him to do on his own....wiping his bottom after poo-poo for instance, or DRESSING HIMSELF, for goodness sake....if he dresses himself, I make a BIG deal out of it, run get my phone, and let him give the stars to himself (they make a nice "ringing" sound with each additional star). I would give him 100 stars at once if he started dressing himself every day, but for now, it's two at a time.

Along with earning stars, one gets to LOSE stars. This is used sparingly, but lately has been VERY motivating for the kids at dinnertime. They don't eat, they lose 2 stars. No sweating, nagging, begging, bantering, and stomach upset...just put the "weight" of the deal on the kids. Now that they are enjoying some of the rewards of "getting" the stars, having them taken away is hard to swallow. No pun intended. Brussel sprouts and asparagus are now being eaten quite well.

With each child, I have certain things I want them to do as a habit alongside of the chores and jobs. For one, the girls like to wear their hair down but didn't like to brush it. For awhile, they could earn stars for brushing their hair daily. After it became a habit, the hair brushing star magically went away....I'm sure it was in the grocery line one day.... But that's how I use the star system with the iRewardChart on my phone. Not all rewards are monetary. Many involve our time-date night with dad is so many stars as well as video games on ipad....You can customize the rewards as well as the chores with each child that you have....I may start a chart in there for my husband as well as the dogs. Well worth the .99 cents or whatever this app cost for a mom of five.