Prioritizing Balance

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How is it time for my March goals?!

I’d like to chalk it up to February being a shorter month, but the truth is that I haven’t been prioritizing this month, and as a result, I haven’t met most of my goals.

However, I did make some big life choices and am actively streamlining my life, which is a really hard process for me – someone who’s afraid to close any doors. It all falls under the umbrella of striving for minimalism, which is a bit of a theme for me this year.

Prioritizing Balance: Part of the Motherhood & Minimalism Series

I’m not aiming to become a full-fledged minimalist, but I really see how the principles of minimalism can help me focus more on what I find important in my life.

Two big changes that are happening in March are that I’m leaving my job at the church and reducing the number of children in Child’s Garden Montessori. I’m somewhat terrified at the loss of income, and it’s sad to be ending some relationships, but something had to give as I was not balancing it all and I refuse to live my life always feeling overwhelmed and ten steps behind.

When I wrote the Cost of Minimalism, I had no idea that part of the cost might be actually reducing my income to achieve my intended lifestyle, but working two jobs left me with less time to manage the house and achieve my personal goals, and having a full daycare meant that I had less time to connect with my daughter, Ella, throughout the day, and was left exhausted most nap times and evenings (my “personal time”).

What I’m surprised at is that I don’t feel like I’ve failed. I’ve never had much grace for myself, and it’s weird to actually be able to quiet my inner critic. Maybe it’s because I’ve been trying to balance it all for so long now that I’m willing to admit that things were not working. I know I can be guilty of saying, “things will work when X stops happening” or “things are out of balance because X happened, then X, then X…” but the truth is, that’s life (especially with kids) and it’s a pattern that keeps repeating itself.

I’d rather get to a place where, if the unexpected interruptions and delays don’t occur for a sustained period of time, that I actually get ahead or am able to take a break — not just catch up on tasks that are now majorly overdue.

So, my goals for March are pretty basic and involve preparing us for the changes that will be taking place, and enjoying our time with the children who will be leaving Child’s Garden Montessori..

  1. Plan a graduation party for the kids
    This will involve:

    1. organizing my pictures to make a slideshow and/or photo album for each child documenting their time here
    2. making or buying graduation presents
    3. writing a letter to each child
    4. organizing the date/time with each family
    5. planning all the other party necessities — food, decor, etc. We might try to host the party somewhere exciting, like our local children’s museum
      .
  2. Finish purging the basement
    This task could be done by now, but I am trying to be really thorough and also stop when I feel overcome with decision fatigue. I am also going back through bins and shelves that have already been organized and purged and doing a second (more ruthless) purge.
    .
  3. 15 minutes of quiet and reflection every day
    5 minutes isn’t enough!
    .
  4. Get my eBook up and available!
    I’ve figured out a low-cost way to share my Hands-on Geography eBook with readers, so now it’s just a matter of changing around some of the formatting and uploading!
    .
  5. Caught up on school assignments
    There is no excuse for how far behind these are, but the aforementioned daily exhaustion doesn’t help. I’m waiting on some feedback for a couple of assignments, but I need to get back into doing my research first thing in the morning so that if we have a particularly draining day, at least that is done.

motherhood & minimalism: prioritizing balance

This is my third goals post in this monthly series, Striving for Less and Giving Up Busy & Productive are the first two.  I would love to hear about your goals — please leave a comment and tell me what you have planned for March!


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14 Comments

  1. I admire that you recognized you were not balancing your life well and took the next step to creating that balance. I wish you much success as you work toward your goals for this month. Thank you for joining The Weekend Brew.

  2. I love the honestly of this post. It’s true that most of the time we are too buried with all our responsibilities but we tend to forget ourself. My goal this month is get back to my exercise regime, lose all the extra weight gained during the holidays… and feel lighter and happier!

  3. I know what you mean about being afraid to close any doors. I tend to let lots and lots of “to-do’s” pile up (whilst forgetting to prioritize them) and end up having a breakdown. It has taken a couple of months to realize that I need to just leave those doors closed UNTIL I am ready to open them. Kudos to you for striving for minimalism, because you will certainly maximize everything you already have and grow them.

  4. You got a plan, girl! You can do this! I also need to step back and minimize as well as prioritize my life. The crazy cycle is CRAZY! LOL! I look forward to reading next months goals and how this month worked out for you. 🙂

  5. I love your posts. It’s always to nice to see people that are real. I can agree that reflection is an important part to everyday. I finally found my perfect time for reflection and it includes locking myself in my closet. 🙂

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