September 2010 Newsletter

So Much To Do

24 hours

...So Little Time

How many times do you end the day in frustration because the majority of your To-Do list remains unfinished, again?

Your daily agenda, whether written down or mentally kept, probably includes more items than can realistically be achieved in a day. If this is you, and you can't just shake it off when you come up short, this is for you: Stop trying to be SuperWoman. She doesn't exist; she's only a fantasy.

Okay, maybe "Before," you were able to successfully manage an overachiever's to-do list; when you were responsible for and accountable to, only yourself. Now that your quiver has a few more arrows it's time to retire that Type-A To-Do List mentality.

Why? Because unmet expectations lead directly to frustration. Being frustrated is an unpleasant and potentially troublesome way to storm through your days. For many, frustration gives way to anger, and then everyone pays for, er, I mean, experiences the wrath of mom's personal frustration.

Below is a pseudo-schedule/to-do list reflecting a day in the life of your typical mom. Over half the list is not marked off. Notice the many compromises necessary to achieve a few of those precious check marks.

What I Hope For:	What Actually Happened:
Get up at 6:30	✔ Hit snooze button four times, finally up at 6:58.
15 minute devotions	✔ 30-seconds: read today's verse and thought for the day from "365 Scriptures for Maniacally Busy Moms" perpetual calendar. (Will ready my Bible later...really!)
Shower/Dressed	✔ Splash water on face, scrub off stubborn mascara smudges, apply eye wrinkle cream. ✔ These pajamas can pass for lounge-wear.
Feed kids healthy breakfast	✔ Cereal with microwave sausages (and vitamins!)
Read book to children at table	✔ One chapter...kids prefer two.
Eat a healthy breakfast	✔ Coffee with milk and sugar (3 food groups, right?)
Make lunches	✖ Will make and take before lunch period. Later, slide into cafeteria, late; Burger King bags in hand. ✔
Hair/Make-up	✔ Brushed hair. Okay, where's my baseball cap? ✖ I'm giving my skin a break today; yeah, that's it.
7:30 Drive kids to school	✔ Left at 7:45. Practically left skid marks screeching in at 8:00 on the nose.
8:15 Coffee Social with school moms	✖ No shower, no make-up and still in jammies...uh, I don't think so.
Grocery shop Get oil changed Car wash	✔ Grocery list left on kitchen counter; forgot milk, bread and bananas. Dang. People smirked at me. Embarrassed, went home after groceries. Note to self: poodle PJs do NOT pass for loungewear. ✖ Oil Change ✖ Car Wash
Work-out	✖ All this running around feels like a workout! (✔)
Do dishes	✖ Later
Housecleaning activity	✖ Get to it tomorrow (along w/yesterday's chore).
De-clutter project	✖ There's so much clutter that I can't focus, plus I'm behind schedule.
Eat a healthy lunch	✔ (+/-) Bowl of cereal. Hey, I ate something...
15 min. web-browsing for fun	✔✔✔✔ 60 minutes...where does the time go?
Work on writing project(s)	✖ Distracted. Couldn't stop thinking about that cute (but totally indulgent) sequined handbag I saw online...ultimately resisted urge to go back and buy it. Don't I get credit for that? (✔)
Dinner prep	✖ Napped instead. (✔)
Read 30 minutes for professional development	✖ Will do it tonight, after kids are down. (Ended up falling asleep while watching Glee re-runs on Hulu.)
Go to library to return books	✖ Hey, what's one day of late fines...on 15 books?
Pick-up kids from school	✔ Kids were herded to "Homework Club" because mom was late, again. Does Homework Club cost less when you use in bulk?
Make snack	✔ Cookies and milk, anyone?
Oversee homework	✔ "Huh, what's that? I know, let's find it online. No, kids, that's not cheating!"
Volunteer project for kids' school	✖ Later. It's not for another...week.
Dinner prep	✖ What's to prep? We're having pizza, again.
Play games with family	✖ Cheated at Hide-n-Seek by going out of bounds; kids never found me hiding at the mall.
Read to kids before bedtime	✖ See Hide-n-Seek (above). Came home late, hoping husband had put kids to bed. He did. ✔
Project time after kids are down	✔ Tonight's project? Sleep.
Romance my husband	✖ Sidetracked by tonight's project (above). Good thing I didn't mention this to my husband earlier today.

If this schedule looks familiar, and the end of your day often finds you feeling incompetent, unproductive, discouraged or annoyed...it's time to adjust. Either adjust your expectations and keep your to-do to a MINIMUM, or learn to let it slide in the knowledge that "tomorrow is another day...".