The Mom Crowd

Today I was over at Zen Habits and I came across Leo’s most recent post titled, “There’s No Task Easier Than No Task.” The point of the post is how the fastest way to get an item off your to do list is to “just delete it or don’t put it there in the first place.”

How freeing is saying no when asked to do something? Do you find it hard to say no? Do you find it hard to put some things off for another day?

Moms loves to multi-task. We wear how much we get done in one day as a badge of honor. When my husband gets home from work I love to list out everything that I did that day for him. He could care less. As long as the kids and I are healthy, he is happy.  Sometimes we moms are the only ones putting these demands on ourselves.

Here are 3 Ways to Decrease Your Life’s Demands:

1. Only tackle 2 or 3 large items each day.

I have been taking each day as it comes and breaking it down into what 2 or 3 big items I can complete that day. Today my 3 items are a meeting at church, writing this blog post, and finishing a book for tomorrow’s book club meeting. Of course I will care for my kids and make dinner, but anything else that gets done is icing on the cake. Maybe tomorrow I will tackle some laundry, but I won’t try to wear myself out tackling every project that needs to get done.

2. Only do things you are passionate about.

I am passionate about my kids, my family, this site, running, and some functions at church. How many times do we go to meetings or events that are boring or you just feel obligated to go to? I feel obligated to help friends paint a room or bring a meal, but sometimes I have to say no. My children are not into extracurricular activities yet, but I often make play dates for them and myself. I am the one that does a lot of “extras.” I need to say “no” for me and my family.

3. Rest!

Do you ever feel guilty about taking a night “off” or taking some down time? During the work week I try to keep one day open where the kids and I stay home and recover. I rest before a big eventful day or the day after. We stay in our pajamas and watch a movie. I think my kids will appreciate these days where we get to hang out together more than the days we are rushing around.

There are some things that must get done like cleaning underwear, but other things can wait. We should consider what is essential and what is non-essential when making our to do lists. Maybe an item never has to be on your to do list in the first place.

Do you feel like you put more demands on yourself than anyone else? What can’t you say No to? Do you stress out about what you haven’t got done?