Do you find yourself at the end of the day feeling like your to-do list only got longer?
Do you feel like your days seem to disappear?
Does your child seem to disrupt every effort you make to get something “actually productive” done?
I know the feeling. I’ve had many a day fly by in a flash and as I laid my head down on the pillow I felt this nearly crushing sense of overwhelm that I’m never going to get ahead.
So, let’s start with the fact that every time you have those feelings, remind yourself that there is another mother (probably thousands) who feels exactly the same way! You are not alone in the overwhelm of early motherhood, not ever alone! Reminding yourself this, relieves your brain of the additional fear of isolation and that in itself can nudge you toward feeling better!
Then, ditch the traditional to-do list as your guide to your days. You’re never getting through it and that is ok. A productively used to-do list is one that is referenced occasionally, say 2-3 times a week to remind you of what you may have forgotten, when you feel as though you have space to take something else on.
Instead of a random list of all the things I need to do, my to-do list is laid out in this way:
Things to work on in the next 1-2 weeks
Things to complete this month
Things to begin this month
On the horizon
With this type of list, it is a lot easier to make a plan for your day that is thoughtful rather than reactive. But there is 1 more step in how to plan out your daily schedule, referencing your to-do list as needed.
Begin with 4 categories of activities that are of highest priority for you. These can shift and change over the course of seasons and years…
For example if you were on maternity leave your 4 categories might be:
Health
exercise, eating, sleep, pelvic floor therapy, dr appointments
Home
laundry, dishes, cleaning, fixing, grocery shopping, errands
Social
phone call, email, social media, coffee dates, mama meet up
Childcare
breastfeeding, hygiene, floor time, enrichment activities
When you have your 4 categories, each week you can look in each category and immediately identify must happen tasks. To continue this example perhaps you know you have the following must do activities: a doctor’s appointment, a mama meet up, grocery shopping, return items to Amazon, send thank you notes and review your work email.
Then you identify have your guaranteed daily tasks… eat, sleep, breastfeeding, baby hygiene.
Lastly, identify your “soul enriching activities: walk in park, daily nap, calling your best friend, reading
I then like to work through my whole week… placing the time specific tasks in, then penciling in my guaranteed daily tasks approximately where they will land and finally finding space for my soul enriching activities. Once this is done, my calendar isn’t typically full and that is a win!
If yours is full, ask yourself these questions:
Is there anything I could receive help with?
Is there anything that isn’t essential, meaning there will be NO negative consequence if it’s not done? If so, push it off
Now, each evening fill in only 1-2 additional activities on your schedule from your to-do list. If these get done, you rocked it! If not, no harm, no foul- you did all the essentials!
I call this “Mindful Scheduling” because it’s not about jamming your day with all your to-dos but rather filling it with a balance of essentials and soul enriching activities. This method supports a prioritization of you and when you are cared for, you show up better for all of those around you!
In Health,
Hilary
PS: Soul-Aligned Motherhood has arrived and doors are open! Find out all the details HERE!
Soul-Aligned Motherhood is a private coaching container for mom’s looking to go from surviving to soul-aligned! It is based around my RISE method which includes an entire section about how to better optimize your routines and habits!!
Not ready to dive that deep? Dip your toes into my work with “RISE within Motherhood” CLICK HERE and experience what it could be like to transform your motherhood experience with me by your side!
