Are you a big fan of summer, enjoying lazy days of relaxing, being less scheduled, getting some much needed “r&r”? Or do you suffer from summer guilt, trying to enjoy yourself and your children but really wanting to be productive (which can be almost impossible with kids around all day)?
If you’re in the first group, give yourself a pat on the back, stop reading, and go sit by the pool with a good book and a big glass of lemonade while the kids splash around. If you find yourself wishing you could just get a little more done (so you could THEN go sit by the pool and relax), read on.
If any of your kids are at least pre-school age then you understand the dilemma; you want to enjoy their company and make the most of your time together, but still manage to get a few things done.
How do you best balance productivity, kid time and me time?
- Pare down your to-do list. Try to separate the tasks that would be nice to get done from those which have to get done, and let some of the non-essentials go.
- Look for blocks of time. Even though moms often operate in 5-minute increments, you’ll get a lot more done if you can set aside a solid half-hour (or more) to plow through chores uninterrupted.
- Beware of the time vaporizers – e-mail, TV and the phone. If you need to find a little extra time in your day, see what impact these three culprits may be having.
- Set aside some dedicated time each day to focus on your children, and perhaps share a special activity. Some moms find it easier to give their full attention to their kids if they leave the house, regularly taking a morning walk to a nearby park, for example, or making a trip to the gym pool as part of their daily routine.
- Make time just for yourself as well. Personal time can be especially hard to come by in summer, but no less important than any other time. Take a couple hours (or longer if you can swing it) at least weekly, for whatever renews you – getting together with friends, taking a quiet walk by yourself, or simply relaxing without anything to do at all.
- Cut yourself some slack. You’ll never get everything done, but this fact doesn’t stop a lot of moms from trying. Instead, give yourself credit for whatever you do manage to get done in a day, and rest assured that your to-do list will still be waiting for you tomorrow… or whenever you get back to it.
Your assignment: If you feel like you’re focusing too much on productivity and not enough on enjoying your children and yourself, look for ways to scale back your to-do list, make the most of the time you do have, and set aside time specifically for the kids and for yourself.
