As you know I opened an Etsy shop, it is going OK, a few orders a week, I am happy I have this workshop lined up too, which I am really excited about, but with that on top of well, life, I'm not sure how to fit it all in, to get that balance or work and play. Time to spend with Ebi-kun, do housey crap, every day chores and run a business, something has to give, doesn't it?
So, is there anyone out there, reading this that has got that balance right, how on earth do you do it?
I am not sure and cannot answer that question, I am still trying to figure it out and I don't have a shop. But I wanted to encourage you, I am constantly lurking on your site and love to read it and get ideas... I pray that you feel encouraged today by all those mom's out there that might have suggestions. You seem to be doing great to me! My house is full of dust right now and I am blogging... *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI don't have the answer either, but I agree with Julie ...your blog is fantastic and inspiring!!
ReplyDeleteI think that instead of finding a balance where all things get equal time ... you instead give everything it's "due time" ... EVERYTHING can't possibly be done/completed/attended to in a DAY's TIME .... let it flow into a week's time ...
I'm no expert :)
i have no balance :) i just do what i can and what i want. what is important to me ;) (though i dont have all the things going that you listed!!)
ReplyDeleteI didn't have balance when it was just my son and now that we have a newborn, we're upside-down. Sorry to say, that I don't have an answer for you. From reading your blog, it appears to me that you have things well in order (from your shop to homeschooling your son). I look to your blog for inspiration on activities I can do with my son. All the other women that posted have it right, though,...you have an excellent blog!
ReplyDeleteI keep a tight schedule. Planning a little is key for me. I have E who is 3 and two older sons who are 14 and 13 respectively. My 14yo is a special needs child with a very rare syndrome, non-verbal and needs almost 90% help in self-care. My 13 yo is a great student, wins awards and has just been nominated by his school officials to attend an academy for eminent young scholars here in the U.S. In addition to all these I do my daily needful house chores + 1 major house cleaning duty. Then homepreschool E and run my eBay + craiglist + half.com(part of eBay) businesses. To keep sane and balanced while accomplishing my daily needful chores, I keep a tab on my precious time and sometimes even start with a list and go down it until I am done. It does take a lot of time but having done this on a daily basis, I have become quite efficient with my time management and as such, can safely say that by the end of the day I am pretty much done with all that I need to do. Sometimes, I have the additional work of helping my hub. with his research study, etc. Must warn you, IT IS ALL VERY TIRING ON MY OLD BODY but I feel a sense of achievement and accomplishment at the end of my day which is priceless to me. Must add that there are some days when things don't quite go as planned but I accept it and move on. Next day comes and I start with where I left off and continue on....My friends are always amazed at how my house is so clean, etc. when I have 3 boys....They have been very cooperative in helping mom keep house clean and tidy and I am blessed. Time management is another key factor. Sorry for rambling..........
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling you ;)
ReplyDeleteMay I mention my little *secret* - Flylady.com - it's kinda naff but she changed everything for me!
I second the flylady reccommedation, and add to it GTD. That is "Getting Things Done", it's a methodology by this guy called David Allan. You can get a lot of resources for it on the internet. The book is good, but a bit dry and heavy. It is worth getting to skim read as you will have to adapt any system you adopt to fit you and your life. I have a diary that I designed the pages for and my better half "wrote them up" in Corel draw. I printed these out, and bound them with Rollabind. My day pages take up half a A4 page and they have slots for the working day (9-5) and then they have a "Today would be great if" part - 3 lines for me to fill in my one big (or small) goal for today. There is also space for 3 "to dos". Things that go in there are time sensitive and need to be done on that day alone. I've also got little apples and little bottles of water for me to shade in so I can keep track of my 5-a-day etc.
ReplyDeleteThe non-time sensitive things go on a page for that week. They are broken up into context (in the flat, at univerisity, in town, at the computer, at the phone) so I can at a glace see what I can do in my current situation. There is no point in me knowing that I need to email soandso when I'm in a bus queue, but I would be able to text a happy birthday message to a friend. That way, you don't waste much time waiting around as you can multitask a lot of things, 1 handed tidying whilst chatting to your mum on the phone etc.
Eeek, long comment! Hope it helps!
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ReplyDeleteWhen I just had two kids, I use to sell my goods online, but it was exhausting doing all the orders (I did paintings and such). I burned out really quick and, while I've done an order here and there, it might be a while before I put myself out there like that again. I don't want to get so caught up in my "hobbies" that my family (husband included) has to compete for attention. (Nor do I want to promise to do something and end up taking a LONG time to do it- which is what ended up happening with my paintings toward "the end".)
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