Homemaking & Time Management for the New Year
As a homemaker, now is the time to be planning. This year is wrapping up and the new year is just around the corner, are you ready?
A large part of being a homemaker is knowing how to manage your time. Towards the end of the year we are all so busy with shopping, parties, ministry, and spending intentional time with families that we forget how to manage it all. Plus we are busy planning for the new year: goals, trips, homeschool, budgeting and more.
Are you ready for this busy time and ready to walk into the new year confident as a homemaker? Let me introduce you to the homemaker’s best friend: The Daily Planner.
Homemaking & Time Management
“Spending our time is a little like spending money. Both will evaporate quickly if we do not have a plan. If we can learn to budget our time as cautiously as thrifty people budget money, we can experience the joy of living on a ‘fixed income’ of 24 hours a day. Perhaps we need to consider how we spend our time, because once it is gone it can’t be retrieved and recycled.” ~ Sue Hooley
Schedule Time for God – FIRST
Doesn’t it seem like the first thing to go when you get busy is your bible reading, devotion, prayer, and time with God? Stress creeps in, dishes pile up, clean laundry gets strewn across the living room, and your Bible is forgotten on the table, unopened for another day.
But scheduling in time to be with God as a busy mother and homemaker is so important. On my daily to do list, I actually write in Bible reading and daily devotional time. And it’s one of the first things I do in the morning, otherwise I know it may not happen.
Know Your Limits
I’m a very optimistic person and this also applies to my time management as a homemaker…I am too optimistic about what I can realistically get done in one week, one month, or for one project. I like to add in more things than I could ever hope to get done and then I’m left feeling disappointed when I don’t meet my goals.
Being more realistic with my limits (how much energy I actually have) and not adding too many things to my to do list, really help me to get the important things done and prioritize what really needs to be done with the limited time I have.
Establish Goals
As we look to the new year, it’s so easy as homemakers to get wrapped up in all of our new goals and plans for the year. I get motivated that this is finally the year I will clean out our junk closet(s). I will finally put together that monthly deep cleaning schedule or become more consistent on meal planning and sticking to a stricter grocery budget.
“Written goals give purpose. Otherwise it is so easy to go through one day after the next and barely get the daily duties accomplished. A daily planner helps us to come up with a plan of attack. Habitually using pencil and paper can free the brain from small details which can help us become more productive.” ~ Sue Hooley
In the beginning of the year it’s easy to try and change everything in your life as once…and we all know how that goes. Two weeks later and all of your “resolutions” have gone by the way side. Instead, take out your calendar for the year, and plan a different theme for each month.
Maybe January you will plan to tackle that junk closet. Take it one day at a time and do little by little. Then schedule in February to develop a deep cleaning schedule that you can stick to all year. Establish realistic goals and put them on the calendar!
A Few Budgeting Tricks
“There are three particular areas that help us in time budgeting. A monthly calendar gives a feel for what is ahead. Weekly/daily planning keep us in step with what must be done. A running tasks list helps us stay focused.” ~ Sue Hooley
The only way that I stay sane as a homemaker, is by using a daily planner. But not all planners are the same and many don’t contain what I need to organize my life. As one year ends and I plan ahead for the next year, I once again have to re-evaluate my planner needs to make sure I’m organizing my day in the most efficient way. Here are the things I’ve determined are necessary:
A Monthly Calendar
I need to be able to have a quick glance at each month. When March begins, I need to remember that back in January I scheduled a check-up for my babies. Our home group Bible study meets every other week and my Bible study I do with my sister changes times each week.
Weekly/Daily Planning
While it’s nice to be able to have the “big picture” laid out on my monthly calender, most days I need to be more specific on my daily and weekly planning pages. This includes bible study notes, weekly cleaning schedules, my blog work, and more. It’s how I organize my week and know that I need to prioritize.
Task Lists
Honestly, this is the best thing I do that helps me stay organized as a homemaker. I have weekly to do lists with goals of my things that all need to get done before Sunday of each week. And then I have my daily to do lists with things such as bible reading, exercise, and my daily tasks for the day.
These lists fit right into my daily planner and I can quickly reference my monthly and weekly calender’s to make sure I am doing what I need that day and week. I have everything contained in one notebook that I can carry throughout the house with me and throw in my purse when I need it!
“Written schedules are not laws that can’t be changed, but rather they are to serve as a guide to help you plan what is reasonable. Freely modifying your schedule is not a sign of weakness; instead it is a sign of strength. This approach will help you make wise choices that are good for you, your husband and children.” ~ Sue Hooley
I hope I convinced you of the need for a daily planner for all homemakers and I highly recommend the Homemaker’s Friend Daily Planner! The planner contains everything you need to organize your busy life as a wife, mother, and homemaker, including:
- Weekly Lay-
out - Two-
page spread with entries for each day - Menu planning
- To-
do list - Monthly Calendar
- Year Calendars
- 2014 and 2015 calendars with place for notations
- Perforated shopping list
- Task List and Project & Events Sections
- Untitled pages for you to customize for your own duties and ideas
A Great Gift Idea
I am so excited about my daily planner that I’m going to be giving some away as Christmas presents to my family and friends this year. I often get asked how I juggle twins, being a Homemaker, wife, and mother, and all my online work such as running three blogs…I simply tell them my secret weapon: My Daily Planner!
If you are thinking about ordering these as Christmas presents, The Homemaker’s Friend has a special deal going on right now! If you order 3 or more planners, you get FREE shipping! If you order 5 or more planners, you get $0.99 off EACH planner AND Free shipping!
I would highly recommend you consider getting 5 planners as Christmas presents OR going in on an order with some friends together so you can save money and get free shipping!
A Giveaway!
I am so excited to be giving away my favorite planner: The Homemaker’s Friend Daily Planner to one lucky reader! All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecoptor form below!
