A work in progress
Over a year ago, I wrote about wanting to stop being lazy and start holding myself accountable for getting things done… oops! In some ways, I did accomplish that goal – when I wrote it, I was a few weeks pregnant with our second child! After an incredibly hormonal pregnancy and several months of postpartum issues, I am finally back on my game! With a weekly deadline, no less.
I love being home with my children and it is truly a dream-come-true to be able to spend every day with them. But as all of you Marvy Moms reading this can attest to, kids are messy. Not just in the ‘need a bath’ sense, but also in the ‘no schedule goes uninterrupted’ sense. In my working life, I was much more of a micro-manager than I ever thought I would be, and I have found it catching up with me.
After 2 years of being out of the working world, I have come to accept that I need outside deadlines. No matter how many cleaning schedules I try to follow, my house is never clean until 2 hours before a guest comes over. I take books out of the library with every intent to be a voracious reader, and wind up trying to cram it all in the day I get the email saying they are overdue. Gifts? Bought on the way to birthday dinners. Dinner? I forget to defrost meat or turn on crock pot and so I end up throwing something together from leftovers or make my husband pick up something on his way home. You get the picture. I need routine and structure and something other than my two nonverbal children to hold me accountable.
So how do I do that? I’m trying, but it’s an uphill battle! In a social media world, public humiliation is my weapon of choice. Our lovely blog leader Emily is holding me to a deadline for my Marvy Moms blog posts. I’ve joined Facebook accountability groups for minimizing clutter that require before and after pictures. I’m making a Facebook book club in an effort to read AND get out for some much-needed adult socialization. I even bought a pretty new planner that fits in my wallet and I’m making my husband sign like I’m a elementary school student finishing their homework. (Can I forge his signature? I was always really really good at forging my mom’s…)
What are ways that you keep yourself focused? Help a girl out in the comment section!
About Molly Grace
Molly is a ridiculously happily married stay-at-home mom to the Bug. After working with kids through BOCES and Hillside Children’s Center, Molly is beyond excited to be able to focus on her own little one. Molly is an artsy-craftsy Pinterest and tie-dye addict who is trying to find little ways to bring some extra income into her now one-paycheck home. Molly is learning the ropes of taking care of a newborn while trying to be as frugal as possible so that she can stay home with all of her future little ones, including her two lab-mix furbabies. Molly is also an avid reader, and may have contributed single-handedly to the building of several area libraries with her overdue book fees.