Managing myself is hard. I have to constantly assess what is most important and then spend time on those things. I must be diligent about how I invest my energy or it will be wasted on the unnecessarily urgent, the things that matter to other people, and the tasks that are fun.
I have been managing myself, my household, my kids, and my homeschooling for over 15 years. Most of my adult life has been doing jobs that I have not been paid to do. Therefore, I have learned that my energy and my time are the most valuable assets for me to keep an eye on. I only get so much each day. When it gets used up, it’s gone.
So, I do not waste my most productive energy cleaning floors or folding laundry. I do not plan our next vacation when I am tired late at night or use my early morning quiet to check social media.
When I have a kid-free moment of time; I assess my current emotions, my energy level, and my time. I choose what’s most important for that block of time and then I focus on that task. When something new comes up I put it on a list. (see: My Life in Lists)
Photos from Unsplash.
What kinds of energy levels do you have throughout the day?
There are 5 types of energy levels that I will discuss here –
High Energy, Low Energy, Feeling Drained, Rest/Sabbath, and Sick day.
I am sure that there are plenty more. There are probably some that are specific to your life. I encourage you to think about your categories and what that means for you.
What kinds of energy levels do you have throughout the day?
Photos by Hello I’m Nik, Daniel Cheung, and others on Unsplash.
High Energy
This feels like starting my day, in the zone, I am motivated, ready to face a challenge, and I have something specific to work on. I have a household project or task that requires thinking that I am ready to tackle and get done. These can be like a rare unicorn. When these times show up take advantage of that! Do not waste it! You will be so much more productive, effective, and relaxed.
– How can you make the most of your High Energy times?
– What time of the day do you feel the most energy?
– When in your week do you have time for High Energy Household tasks?
(I use my Saturday mornings to focus on Household Tasks.)
My typical High Energy Household Tasks: (I choose whatever is most important to that week.)
- Planning – My Weekly Planning & Lists or Vacation planning
- Organizing kids toys, kids clothing, sorting, decluttering, and organizing the pantry.
- Meal Planning – Meal planning, weekly food prep, and cleaning out the fridge.
- RV projects and prep for a trip
- Shopping for birthday gifts, holidays, or major events.
- Planning out the garden, prepping for planting, and seeds organized.
- Cleaning out animal pens, doing farm chores, and organizing feed bins.
- Deep cleaning – those things that don’t happen very often and need a lot of attention
- (cleaning the fans, above my kitchen cabinets, detailing the van, washing all the windows, vacuuming under the beds, sorting the garage…etc.)
- Seasonal planning and decorating – Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Low Energy
This looks like ending my day, ready for short tasks, able to work on small things, slightly multi-tasking, kids running around, about an hour of time, and between other scheduled events. Getting things done in the cracks of time amidst a busy day. This is what most of my days as a homemaker look like. This is where most of my time in the afternoons can be wasted. I do not have the mental space to do major planning or organizing. But, I do have a decent amount of energy and I can get things done.
– How can you make the most of Low Energy times?
– What time of the day do you feel low on energy? Sometimes I call it “low-power mode”.
– When in your day do you have time for Low Energy Household tasks?
(I usually start getting worn out in the late afternoons and evenings.)
My typical Low Energy Household Tasks: (I focus on the most important to that day.)
- Dishes & cleaning the kitchen (along with a podcast)
- Food prep, meals, lunches packed
- Shopping to get done / errands to run
- Expenses tracking & budget updates
- Checking email, paying bills, paperwork stuff
- Laundry – sorting, washing, switching, folding (along with a YouTube video)
- Research – looking up info for kids camps, RV trips, appliances to purchase.. etc.
- Relationships – people to call/text/write
- Cleaning – basic tasks that need done once a week (bathrooms, floors, sheets)
- Taking care of farm animals and basic yard work
- Healthy habits – exercise, chopping veggies, long walk
- My reading stack and writing in my commonplace notebook.
Feeling Drained & Grumpy
This is the end of the day, the end of the week, not having much to say, feeling scattered, worn out, lots of relational strain or conflict. Not quite ready to sit and relax, but not able to think clearly or do hard things.
– How can you make the most of Feeling Drained & Grumpy?
– What progress can you make when you are annoyed or feeling frustrated?
– I have a mode where I need to keep moving and getting things done and I am not ready to rest yet. Maybe this is not you. I hope you are able to go from Low Energy mode to resting and relaxing. I cannot. If I use this time to get something done then I can work out my frustrations in a practical way.
– Also, sometimes what I need most is to drink some water, eat a healthy snack, and have 5 minutes of quiet alone.
My typical Feeling Drained Tasks: (I do what makes sense to me right then – not much thinking.)
Some of these are the same as Low Energy Mode – I just do them with a cranky attitude.
- Taking care of farm animals – feed them treats and brush the goats
- Pulling weeds for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Deep breathing and stretching exercises. (I find that I take shallow breathes when I am upset.)
- Mindless cleaning – scrubbing baseboards, wiping down walls in bathrooms, dusting, sweeping
- Repetitive tasks – vacuuming the living room rugs, washing plates, folding towels
- Dishes & cleaning the kitchen (along with a podcast)
- Food prep, meals, lunches packed
- Laundry – folding piles of it along with a YouTube video or music
- Cleaning – basic tasks that need done once a week (bathrooms, floors, sheets)
- Healthy habits – long walks by myself or a bike ride with my teens.
- Write in my commonplace notebook from the underlines in my reading.
- I do NOT – respond to group texts, have difficult conversations, or do any planning. All of that can wait for tomorrow or for another time when I have the capacity to think clearly and be kind.
Rest / Sabbath
Rest has become something that we all need desperately. In the midst of Sabbath, we all allow ourselves (and each other) some space. We allow time to do what delights and replenishes each of us. To relinquish the need to keep going every single day without stopping. We all need time for reflection. Downtime to process the events of the week. (see these articles for more on Sabbath)
– How can you make the most of your time when Rest / Sabbath is the goal?
– What does downtime look like for you?
– What do you enjoy doing when you have an afternoon with no agenda?
– Where can you make space for Rest / Sabbath in your weekly schedule?
– What is delightful to you? What makes you smile and feel joy?
My typical Rest / Sabbath Tasks: (I ask myself: What would be the most restorative today?)
- Read great books on the couch with chocolate. Alone or with my kids.
- Listening to piano hymns or having my kids play piano.
- Slowly enjoying a freshly made latte on the couch watching the birds outside.
- Talking with my kids, playing silly video games on the Wii or Xbox.
- Watching any of the videos on Lisa’s YouTube channel.
- Having relaxed conversations with friends and family who love to talk about ideas.
- Playing board games as a family (Carcassonne and Sleeping Queens are the favorites!)
- Being observant of my surroundings – Doing some Nature Journaling and taking pictures of nature.
- Sitting on the porch during a thunderstorm.
- Playing with my dog or taking him on a long walk with the kids.
- Going kayaking on a peaceful river or calm lake.
- Looking at the stars and finding names of constellations. (we use this app)
- Making a slow cooked meal or a fancy dinner in the kitchen by myself with my favorite music.
- What does NOT feel restful to me: (this is my list, yours will be different)
- All of these things I will faithfully do but I do not feel rested afterward, so they are not part of my Sabbath list. They are part of life that I do on other days.
- pulling weeds in my yard
- going shopping of any kind
- large groups of people and big gatherings
- working out at the gym
- going swimming with my kids
- deep cleaning the house
- All of these things I will faithfully do but I do not feel rested afterward, so they are not part of my Sabbath list. They are part of life that I do on other days.
Sick day
This kind of day is the stuck-on-the-couch feeling terrible kind. The “I cannot get up unless the house is burning down or someone is seriously bleeding” kind of day. Fortunately for me these days to not come around often anymore. For most of 2018 I felt terrible (and you can read about that experience here).
So what is the goal of a Sick Day?
What can we do to make the most of our time? We rest.
- Watch movies that you loved in your childhood.
- Snuggle with the kids and read books.
- Play a very calm board game while resting on the couch.
- Let yourself recover.
- Eat as healthy as you can and drink lots of water.
- If you can read, do that too. But use reading to escape and not to keep learning moving forward. Read fiction and enjoy the story.
Some days we just have to take time off and that is okay. Yes, fellow overachievers, I see you! Rest.
Side note:
This article is written on the premise that I have met all the needs of my kids, they are happily busy doing something else, and I have a block of time to do what needs to be done. Or that they are willing to work alongside me and be helpful with the task.
This happens more now that they are older and more independent. When my kids were little it was much harder to get anything done. The only way I had “task mode” time was when my husband took over duties, took them out of the house, or they were napping.
My kids are usually the only ones who can get my attention while I am in the midst of “task mode”, I try to ignore all other distractions.
I also followed the rule: When I am alone without kids, do only what I cannot do when my kids are around. Example: I can load the dishwasher with kids running amuck but I cannot do my weekly planning with interruptions and distractions.
Final Thoughts
When something new comes up I put it on a list. (see: My Life in Lists) Then I know that I will see it eventually and I will have space for it when I am ready to do that task.
When I have a kid-free moment of time; I assess my current emotions, my energy level, and my time. I choose what’s most important for that block of time and then I focus on that task.
So, I do not waste my most productive energy on tasks that I can do when I am in “low-power mode”. I will get to the dishes and laundry later this afternoon. When I have energy and time I get hard things done. I am more productive, more efficient, and I can enjoy my accomplishment. I also apply this concept to my writing and my homeschool planning.
- Do you decide what to work on based on your energy levels?
- What is your most difficult task to do this week that requires thought and planning?
- How will you try one of these ideas in your life?
- What is your most repetitive household task that you can do the next time you are feeling drained?
- Which Lego character do you feel like today?🙂
No matter what your energy level is, or how much time you have, I believe that you can be productive with your time.
Wishing you the best! – April
