A couple of weeks ago, I had an aha moment after several days of feeling overwhelmed.
I do not have to do it all!
There is SO MUCH that goes into running the household and I live with three other humans who are
capable of helping me BUT, I never ask. We have tried the chore charts before but I decided to go a different direction with things this time. I realized that because I am doing so much work behind the scenes, the rest of the family isn't aware of all of the tasks that go into our day to day routine. Things like keeping the house clean, getting dinner on the table, managing schedules, planning get togethers, or making sure things are in order for our fur kiddos.
Last week, on Friday afternoon, I created a quick print out to keep on the fridge. It read, "Help Wanted!"
On this printable, I listed all of the tasks that needed to happen for the weekend. This included vacuuming, dusting, emptying trash cans, bathing the dogs, picking up the dog poop, etc. I simply asked that everyone do 1-2 things on the list before they had their fun for the day. There was no pushback whatsoever!
Two things happened!
One, my overwhelming list of things to do became shorter. I could focus on planning a birthday and Father's Day because I had help with the household tasks.
Two, it gave my family insight and a gentle reminder of all the things that need to be done to keep the house running smoothly and in order, just like we all like it.
Here is your reminder to ask for help!
it takes the overwhelm off of everyone when the family is working together.
Click the link below for your "Help Wanted" printable. If you find it helpful, I would love to hear form you.
Enjoy!
I spent all of 2022 doing "thought dumps" or "thought downloads" at the beginning of my day to help get myself into a better headspace. It was a new routine I had worked into to my mornings and loved the shift I saw in my approaches to the hard days and weeks. Getting my thoughts out on paper helped me sort through my emotions and mindset. It was a game changer when it came to starting my day.
Cue a few weeks ago when I woke up on a Monday morning and overwhelm hit. I knew the weekly to-do list in my head was a mile long. However, the thought of "all the things" left me feeling frozen and stumped on where to even begin. I have always been a pen and paper gal so I quicky started making one long list for the week. I love being able to cross tasks off as I tackle them. However, this time I was still feeling the overwhelm. It dawned on me to categorize my to-dos. One list for things to be done around the house, one for my new speech therapy business, one for my essential oil business, one for the boys. I quickly prioritized all the tasks. I pulled what needed to be done right away from each list and put it down for Monday. Then I wrote down what my list needed to be for Tuesday, and so on. When I saw that long list turn into short, doable lists organized into days, I felt a weight lift. In a matter of minutes, my brain dump turned into an organized week of tasks that would be crossed off by Friday!
For the past two weeks, I have been quickly creating a hand drawn grid with pen and paper to create my Monday Brain Dump. Today I decided this habit was going to stick and created a printable that would make the "To-Do List Break Down" look more organized and clean!
You are invited to start this habit with me. Enjoy the free "Weekly Brain Dump" printable below!
