SYL - Week 16

I just have to say..... Week 16?!?!?!!!! That means there is only 10 more weeks until the middle of the year. Wow! Ok now better get on with it! (see what time management is so important for me? I'm already wasting blogging time!)

When I read that this week's task was all about slowing down I knew that it was going to put me a little out of my comfort zone. I am so used to doing 10 things at once and having 100 things on my mind at the time. I was determined to give it a go though, I was even a little excited at the thought of clearing my head and getting less done but doing it better. That is exactly what I got.


I started off the week by writing myself 3 tasks to do each day. These were to be the minimum effort required. Every day seemed to focus on something different as well, me time, family time, hubby time, exercise, it was all in there. I was proud of the way I had set it out and I put it as the desktop background on my laptop so I could look at it during my down time at night.

Week Start

I had lots of success at the start of the week. I was more organised and had taken the pressure off myself. The decluttering of the previous week had really helped here as well. I knew what I had to do and I was getting it done. I also sat with the kids (Trav was at work) and we came up with a 1 week meal plan. They really enjoyed this and have referred back to it many times this week, even if once Sophie, 11, had a tantrum because she got her days mixed up and looked forward to chicken schnitzel all day when in fact we were having spag bol. I understand her pain!!

At the end of the week, I sat and reviewed my list of tasks.

Week End

I am really proud of the way things went for the first 4 days. Thursday night Trav did the dishes for me because I had a really busy day. That was really nice. From Thursday, the wheels started to fall off. I was busy sewing new items to sell and got really excited and carried away and forgot to stop and reflect on what was important and urgent. Most of the tasks still got done for the end of the week but they weren't all done on the intended day. I made myself cover as many as I could though because quite a few involved spending time with Trav and the kids and they were loving that.

I was really upset that I had finished the week badly when I realised that I had just been shown how planning works and why it is beneficial for me. The start of the week was refreshing and almost easy, the end of the week we were running late, I was anxious and overwhelmed again. Why? At the start of the week I planned and stuck to it, at the end of the week I had all but forgotten about it until the end of the day.

So I am totally in love with planning now, even meal planning. Already knowing what was for dinner really was a load off my mind and Cameron, 14, even helped me prepare dinner most nights. He is cooking at school and instead of me being all flustered and sending him out of the way, we both knew what we were cooking and had fun. I am now a meal planner!

I have decided to go back to my baby steps and plan from Monday to Thursday and then do a new plan on Thursday that will cover Friday and the weekend. I am not used to looking a week ahead and planning activities, I need to just do a few days at a time and then, as things change, I can include them in the plan later in the week. Once again, somehow, I have managed to start a day feeling very down on myself but stopped and looked and saw my lesson to be learnt. 

Life is not easy but if I plan and go easy on myself then I can do this.

SYL - Week 15

Conduct a time audit. 4 simple words that, as soon as they were read, spelled reality to me. Time to stop, look, listen and think. How much time did I really have in each and every day? How many tasks did I need to do each day? How many was I getting done? How many of these are actually important?


I have never seen a time management matrix before and I now love it and have spent the week thinking of things in terms of the 4 quadrants. It is great to see and notice the difference between urgent and important and urgent but not important. It is that quadrant, number 3, that gets me off track and wastes my time the most. The email I HAVE to check, the Facebook post I HAVE to read. All very urgent but not at all important. Especially if I'm in the middle of cooking dinner! Unless an ingredient is stored inside my laptop, I shouldn't be touching it whilst in the middle of preparing a dish. Seems simple but I have been getting distracted by things like this because I never bothered to slow down and consider if they were important at that very moment or not.


I have realised that I don't have enough time to complete all the things I should, or think I should, be completing each day for 2 reasons.


1. I don't prioritise. I need to stop thinking of everything as a job I need to do today. Yes I need to trim the trees but if I have done 5 loads of washing, the dishes, bathed the kids, vacuumed the floor and done some sewing, then it's not surprising I haven't trimmed the trees. I need to make a list of what needs doing and when, then I will be able to work in order of need and everything should eventually get done. (Should!! I've yet to put this in to practice properly).


2. I get distracted. This happens because I feel overwhelmed. I manage to clean 3 rooms at once and can't see what I've done in the last hour. I need to get one job done at a time so I can see results. Making lists will really help me here as well. I will be able to chip away at the jobs, already knowing what comes next so I can easily move from one to the next.


So the next move forward is to write a big master to do list and also have a go at a 'brain dump'. I'm sure I'll feel so much better with a concrete list to look back at all the time instead of carrying everything around in my head like an overfull handbag! (we all know how those can get don't we ladies!). It will also help hubby know what needs to be done instead of having to always ask. His brain doesn't work like mine, he seems to have an open box that things just fly out of instead of a bottomless handbag haha.


Priorities will go like this... Housework/Family. Me time/Sewing. Facebook/Socialising. 


I am feeling so positive today and I'm starting to realise that I have plenty of time in the day, I just don't always spend it on the right things. Time to revisit my goals and values and take another wonderful baby step in the right direction. I've never managed to continue anything for 15 weeks in a row I don't think!! I only made it to the 3rd day of the photo a day in April, oops! In my defence, I was away for half of it with no internet access so forgot what to take photos of! lol.


I'm so glad to have some wonderful blogs to read, gorgeous people to comment on my blog and a focus towards a simpler life than I have ever had before. Huge, giant, enormous thanks to Deb for her post every week that helps me clear my head and keep stepping forward xo

SYL - Week 14

Time Management - Planning


Let me just start by saying I am not a planner. I fly by the seat of my pants and never write lists or notes. I am starting to think that this is why things get out of control and overwhelming. I was overwhelmed just reading this weeks task but I am already starting to see the point in it. Planning and writing things down can show me both what I need to do and what I have already done.


I'm so glad that Deb talks about baby steps this week, I need to take teeny tiny ones. This is new territory for me and I can see how important it is to get every step right before I move on to the next one. 


I am sneaking in at the end of this week as I have been busy with Easter family holidays. I left home with 4 children and came home with 6! haha. I do adore my nieces and they are all having a great time which is lovely to watch. This means that I haven't done any planning yet!! I am off to check out the printables though and decide which ones can work for me.


I wasn't joking when I said baby steps!! I'm just happy to have found the time to blog :)


oh and for those following along with my goals, my house now has 4 organised rooms!! 
The bathroom (has stayed organised for a few weeks! win!)
The kitchen (is now under control, even the cupboards have been sorted!)
The toilet (yep I'm calling this a room because it has become part of my routine and I'm proud of that)
and finally, The lounge room (This is now something that is easy to clean/pack away at the end of each day which means I can sit in peace and relax properly after my busy days)

SYL - Week 13

Checking in

This week for SYL we are revisiting our goals, checking in to see how we are going. Week 13 - Checking in

When I first read that it was a week to stop and look back, reflect and evaluate, I took a nice deep breath in. This was a good week! One where I didn't have to confront any demons or tackle any of the big issues. Boy was I wrong!!.....

My first goal was to do with my relationship.

Goal 1 - To repair, strengthen and enjoy my relationship with hubby.

Mini goals were to spend one night a week technology free. Just hubby and I reconnecting and finding ourselves again.

I must admit that we did this once. The first week. It didn't even go that well, we just didn't really know what to do and I'll also admit that it was hard for me to not be on the computer and it was harder for Trav. I really want to keep this goal exactly as it is but I think we need a little more structure to that night. We need to have a set time to have the kids in bed and we need to have already decided what we shall do. Maybe we can plan something earlier in the day and then save it for when we have time to ourselves.

So goal 1 is definitely still a goal. I don't think it is the most important goal, I have realised that it sits in second place because Trav and I spend some time together but I spend MOST of my time in the house which is why goal 2 is actually my most important goal now. The house/home environment is my biggest bringer of frustration!.....

Goal 2 - To declutter and organise the house so it can be maintained easily.

Ok goal 1 was also broken down in to mini goals. The first one was to organise one room at a time, make it manageable. This bit we are on track with. The bathroom and toilet are under control and have been for a few weeks. When I walk in to a clean bathroom, I get a sense of calm and relief. I have also noticed that when I ask one of the big kids to take the dirty clothes to the laundry or wipe the basin, they don't even complain and I think that is because it is a simple task. There is no giant bathroom monster hiding in there somewhere! It is just one tiny job that is simple and easy so they do it and it is one less thing on my list.

The second mini goal was to write a list of the chores to help us all see what needs to be done and to help keep on top of everything. I think I had just written this one and totally forgotten about it. I am going to write this list this week and stick it up for everyone to see and use. They can tick off jobs, possibly even earn points if we can work out a system and a reward. Things like that work so well with the kids.

This was part of the closing of my goals blog...

So in the next few weeks I would like to have this house running like clockwork. A bit of hard work to start with but hopefully the habits build and I can get in to a great routine and end up having tons of free time to relax and enjoy all our hard work.

It has been 7 weeks and I am a little sad that my house isn't running like clockwork but at least I am working on it. Parts of it need a lot more work and I think my biggest problem was that I wrote the goals and then didn't revisit them enough. I am going to print them out or write them somewhere so I can see them a lot, just like my vision board.


Another problem I have is that to achieve my goals I need to rely heavily on other people. This is difficult when the other people don't share my want or need to fulfil the goals. They understand why I want these things but they don't necessarily want or need this stuff for themselves. We all have different priorities and I know mine are very different from Trav's. We will get there. We have made some progress from the week 6 challenge and I know that I have made amazing progress within myself.

Onwards and upwards! :)