Every week I try to spend 1 hour from Monday to Thursday working on something I love. These include sewing (or attempting to sew), creating artwork and projects for our business.
I have so many interests but felt I had so little time to indulge and as result most of my projects have been unfinished for a while. I spent many years barely coping with being a mum and working full time and when I added running a business into the mix many other areas of my life suffered. I was really proud of myself when the kids were in bed by 8.30pm or 9pm as most days I still had dinner in the oven by 8.15pm. I kept late late nights because I was trying to keep up with Uni, or setting up our business website and I was constantly exhausted.
After a while, I decided to give everything a break and focus on just running my family, but my passions were burning a hole in my heart and I knew I had to make things work somehow. In order to find a solution, I started doing some online research on how to fit everything in and still flourish and I stumbled upon a few blogs and websites. One of the blogs that made a huge impression on me with the wide range of planning resources was Planning with kids. Nicole, the blog author, encourages readers to schedule time to do even basic things like meal planning and 15 minute tasks around the house. After taking a look at her timetable, I was inspired to draw up a basic schedule with the calendar on my phone. This worked for a while but I needed something visual to put up on my fridge, and since I love spreadsheets I allocated last week's slot of weekly project time to creating a weekly schedule that would fit in everything I am currently doing including spending one to one time with each child and playtime. I was also keen to get this out of the way as I am about to start my MBA around the same time my Demi Pair leaves which means a major shake-up in my routine. *OMG*
By the end of last week, I was happy with my schedule and so far, it has been working out for me around 80% of the time. I still have to be disciplined with sticking to my bedtime, but I'm pleased with my progress. I realise life is constantly work in progress, so I will be tweaking the schedule as things changed, but I would like to share it with you below.
I have tried to fit in Uni work towards the weekend and extend my bedtime by 1 hour but I've made up for it with a 1 hour sleep in the next two days.
If you would like me to send you a draft spreadsheet, I'd be happy to do so if you send me a message with your email address.
