Guest Post: Not Enough Hours in the Day

Several weeks before our sweet baby was born, my bloggy friend Kristen emailed and asked if she could help me out by doing a guest post.  My answer was a resounding "YES!"  And when I found out what she planned to post about, I was even more excited.  Because, you see... I needed it for me.  And so I have been blessed by the encouragement here.  I hope her words and tips bless you as much!

So introducing, Kristen...

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As I cozied up on the couch with my blanket and snack to watch a movie with my husband, I remembered that I had a heaping load of clean laundry to fold.  I considered leaving it for another day, but knew that grocery shopping awaited me in the morning.  How was it that I had checked off my list all day long and this chore had escaped my doing?  I moped as I mentally made a list of things to be accomplished tomorrow: pay the gas bill, change sheets, make a menu plan, and buy a birthday gift.  How was it that I had worked and worked and yet there were so many things left undone?

“There are not enough hours in the day,” I grumbled.

As I folded towels and sorted socks, I thought about my attitude.  When God created the world, he gave us 24 hours per day. In His infinite wisdom, He knew those 24 hours were all we needed to work and play and sleep.  Could it be that the problem wasn’t with the clock but with me? 

I came up with my own system to keep my mind in check:

  
1)  Name my household priorities.
I made a short list of necessaries—things that I considered priority.  If one of the kids got sick or life got crazy requiring me to drop all extras, what still needed to be done anyway?  For me, the list included putting meals on the table (simple though they may be), keeping up with the laundry, and teaching (home)school. 

2)  Schedule the extras on a weekly basis.
I am a task-oriented person and I don’t feel productive unless I’m doing something.  At the same time, I can overwhelm myself by making a large list and only checking off two things.  I began making a weekly list instead.  I scribbled a master list of anything big or small I wanted to do in a given week—everything from clean the bathroom to make cookies to blog about my book list to mend my sweater.

Then I rewrote the list by day.  On Monday, I will change the sheets and return that phone call.  On Tuesday, I will run errands and make muffins for the freezer.  If a particular day awarded me extra minutes, I grabbed from another day’s list, but if I over-planned, I also freed myself to postpone something for another day. 

3) Accept that God is in control of my plans, my schedule, and my hours.
I have a confession.  I am still a busy mom.  I still do too much and stress myself out and stay up too late trying to fit everything in.  I still slip and wonder how I’m expected to do all I feel is expected of me. 

When I am tempted to say, “There are not enough hours in the day!” I remember that my hours were preordained my Him.  Either He wants me to eliminate something or He will provide a way for me to get it accomplished.  I rest in that assurance. 

Kristin met her husband Brian fifteen years ago when they both worked for their local library during highschool.  Love blossomed and they have now been married ten years and have five children, ages 1 through 9.  Kristin blogs about books, homeschooling, and the struggles (and thrills) of mothering at Bits and Pieces From My Life.