As soon as you have that baby, life gets complicated. I remember in my pre-kids days how I "thought" I was busy... I laugh at even the notion of that now. Honestly, it was a cake walk back then to how life is now. That being said, I wouldn't have it any other way. My babies bring me SO much joy even with the crazy schedules we have.
On top of being a mom to a 3 year old and 3 month old I'm also a wife, and a business owner. My husband travels A LOT for his job and it seems like the "to-do" lists are sometimes never ending. I've been told often that I "look" like I have it all together, but don't be fooled friends. I think that's the thing about social media that is disheartening is that you're only seeing glimpses of my REAL life. While I would say I have a pretty good handle on things I'm sure there's several things you can do way better than I can.
While I stay on top of fitness, babies, business and basic chores I DO NOT claim to have a picture perfect house. Its often a mess and it gets cleaned up on the weekends or in the evenings. During really busy seasons of my life, specifically when my husband was gone for months at a time I have outsourced cleaning because I could just not make it happen. And honestly... just taking a shower most days is a struggle! That brings me to my first tip....
1. DO NOT TRY TO DO IT ALL!!!
Seriously, I think its SO wrong that as women we are expected to have the picture perfect happy family, look like a supermodel, make a delicious healthy meal for our family, have a spotless house, please our husbands and run a highly successful business. Ladies, all things are not possible ALL the time. I've learned that I have had different seasons of my life where some things had to be thrown to the waist-side.
I can tell you what works for me but YOUR life is different than mine. Your priorities may be different than mine. My best advice is to figure out your top 5 priorities and stick with that. For me its my faith, my marriage, my kids, my business, my health - in that order! Everything else that could possibly be on my to-do list gets put in around the rest.
So what does that mean for me? Sometimes the laundry gets done, but not folded. Sometimes the floors don't get swept. I get my basic stuff around the house done, toys get picked up at night, vacuum once a week, laundry on weekends, counters wiped down, dishes done, but honestly beyond that.... its just not my priority anymore and I put it at the very bottom of my list. I've learned that anytime you say YES to something that is not a priority you say NO to something that is more important.
2. Brain Dump and Schedule
Since having a new baby this has gotten harder BUT I still do try my best to make a "loose" schedule for my day. At the beginning of each week (usually on Sunday evenings) I sit down and write out EVERYTHING I have to do in the coming week in every area of my life (what I like to call the brain dump). Each night I sit down and write out a tentative schedule for the next day. Everything gets scheduled - workouts, quiet time, work time, outings, date nights, laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, everything! This has helped me SO much just stick with my guns and get things accomplished in a 24 hour period. When you write out your schedule it also helps you to see how much time you're wasting during the day (which is more than you probably think)!
3. Lower your expectations
If you have a new baby this 100% applies to you! Instead of feeling like a failure because I ONLY got a few things done in one day I have started to list out my top 3 priorities for that day. 3 is a simple number that I feel like I can easily check off my list. So my top 3 priorities for Monday might be a good workout, following up with my customers and creating a new meal plan for the week. Each day is different but if I can simplify to just 3 BIG tasks a day I can usually get them checked off and feel more accomplished. And if I happen to have time for more than that I feel like a freaking super woman!!!
Each day is different but you certainly don't need to set yourself up for failure by giving yourself 1000 tasks to do each day. That can be overwhelming and just make you want to crawl up in a ball and cry and do NOTHING (been there)! When you have toddlers or babies at home with you your life is NOT your own mama. You just can't expect to get as much done as you used to. Its just a season of your life you'll go through and when your kids are a little bigger you'll be back to your old SUPER productive self (this is what I keep telling myself at least)! Be OKAY with the season of life you're in and keep doing your best.
4. Choose your Days
What I mean by this is to choose days where you're going to do specific tasks. For example, I know that every Saturday I do laundry. Sunday's I fold it. Mondays are more work related tasks like blogging and emails, Thursdays are meetings and team calls and Sunday's I meal plan, etc. You can figure out what works best for you but I try not to do everything in one day otherwise I get overwhelmed!
5. Discipline
Scheduling in your workouts, your meal prep, your business, your kids... all the things in your life that are important to you is not going to be easy! Its going to take discipline to make it all happen BUT if you want it bad enough you'll just do it. One thing I've been teaching my team to do is to pick 3 words. 3 words that describe the person you WANT to become. Perfection is not one of them because this journey of #momlife is all about growth and progress. "Disciplined" may be one of your words. Words that come to mind are "intentional", "confident" "productive" "organized" that describe the person I want to become. Choose your 3 words and repeat them to yourself daily. Set a reminder in your phone 3 times a day that will remind you to be still in the moment and repeat your 3 words to yourself. The more you put energy into becoming more productive, disciplined, intentional (whatever YOUR words are) the more you are going to become that person who "Fits It All In." I know it sounds a little cooky, but from some one who was once the most unorganized person on the planet to now a productivity junkie - IT WORKS!
I hope these tips help you on your journey to getting healthy, fit and feeling more FREE! For more tips make sure to follow me on social media OR if you want to get some of my FREE Meal Plans CLICK HERE.
Be sure to check out my "SIMPLE + HEALTHY MEALS FOR REAL MOMS COOKBOOK eBOOK" for recipes the whole family will love!
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