It is the time of year where my daughter is in dance. One son is playing soccer, and the other is playing basketball. I am coaching track after school. My husband has football workouts after school. Evenings are filled with dinner, homework, practice and clean-up. Weekends are filled with games, track meets, birthday parties, and other events. Some seasons are just busy.
I cannot wish away busy. I cannot think away busy. I cannot ignore busy. I must acknowledge busy and manage the time accordingly. My kids are growing up before my eyes. My husband, my parents, my sister, my students and my friends are all growing up before my eyes. How do I make the most of my time when it seems like every moment is filled to the brim with something to do – somewhere to be?
How do you manage your time as a mom when you have no white space in your calendar?
1. Acknowledge that your life does not match the picture you had in mind.
You had an idea of what life should look like. You thought motherhood was family dinners, prayers, church, and bedtimes stories. You envisioned game nights and family cheering sections at sports tournaments. You hoped for romantic date nights and Pinterest projects gone right. You scrolled your social media and personally witnessed the mommy and me photo shoots, the Christmas pajamas, and the children playing together peacefully. You watched moms piece together perfect “go-to” looks from their minimalist wardrobes.
Part of your busy is a direct result of you working to make the picture a reality. But which parts of that picture are real? Which parts of that picture are important? Which parts are completely unrealistic?
Adjust your picture. Part of managing your time is eliminating the excess.
My house is clean enough to eat off the floors some days, and others just clean enough for my beautiful family to live.
Some days I create the time and energy for endless fun and creative projects. Other days I use that same time to rest. Balance is knowing that you cannot get it all done in one day. Balance, instead, is achieved over time.
Your picture will lie to you. Your picture will tell you that something is missing. It will tell you that you need all of it right now. Managing time consists of determining which parts of your picture require immediate attention, which parts can be saved for later, and which part need to be eliminated all together.
2. Pray over your to-do list.
This implies making a to-do list (which is a tough one for me). Write out every single item you would like to get done today, this week, this month, etc. Get it all out! Then pray over it.
Start your day in prayer. Pray throughout the day. Ask God to guide each and every decision along the way – from the baby decisions to the big boy decisions. Ask Him to guide you about what needs to be done right now, what can wait until tomorrow, and what does not need to get done EVER.
He cares about your to-do list. He cares about your day to day. He cares about how you manage your time. (Ruthie at ruthiegray.mom has so much insight on this topic if you would like to hop over and visit her.)
Busy is a real thing. Overwhelmed is a real thing. Exhaustion is real. Stress is real. Anxiety is real. Part of managing your time includes resting. Your body, mind, and spirit need rest.
Pushing through is necessary some days. Sometimes you have to just do it. You have to get the job done. Other days, you have to stop. Your body will shut down if you do not. Your mind and spirit will shut down if you do not. You begin to waste time if you do not.
In managing your time, know when to be super mom (as my friend Marva) calls it, but also know when mommy needs a moment for her own peace of mind and for the peace of mind of the rest of her household.
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How do you manage your time during the busy season?
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ordinarilyextraordinarymom 
So much wisdom here! I loved your insight in your first point. I definitely need to adjust the picture and be realistic about my expectations of motherhood!
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What a wonderful encouragement to everyone! Thank you. 🙂
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Thank you so much Mimi 💕
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Yes! It is definitely a lie that we “need all of it right now”!
And God really does care about every moment of the days He gives us, and He is perfectly willing and able to show us which things should be done when, and which things are excess and need to be eliminated!
Another great post published, girl! God bless you in this busy time with many happy moments with your sweet family and many good influence moments with your students! 🙂 ❤
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Thank you so much Ruth. Praying over that to- do list has done wonders for my priorities. You are always so sweet and supportive 💕
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You’re welcome, Brittany! Yes, I imagine so!
Aww, thanks! ☺
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. I always wonder how families do it all and I like learning from others on this. I like to take mental notes for when we have kids! You have such a beautiful family, God bless you guys!
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Thank you Lily. It’s definitely a process! We are all learning how to manage everything bit by bit ❤️
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Great encouragement. Knowing when rest, not only ourselves, but also as a family is very important. Is ok, to be busy as long as we don’t forsake what is most important which is our time with God and our time with our family. Balance is the key. Great post thanks for sharing!
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You bring up such important issues, Brittany. I really agree that a lot of the problem is how we view other people’s lives and parenting. Motherhood is somewhat glamorized on social media, since no one wants to post pictures of a fight you just had with your toddler or your teenager’s garbage-dump of a room! Lol! So it’s easy to forget that we are all struggling get through our to-do list. I love the idea of praying as we start and do that list! Such an important step to take before even getting to our list! Thanks for your vulnerability and wisdom, my friend! I’ll be sharing!
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This is an interesting post especially since because I feel that life is just passing by! To be honest, I don’t think my life is as busy as yours and that’s not to compare. It’s a statement of fact only because I have one child to juggle. But in the same token, we (myself, husband and son) all have different activities and also the same 24 hours. I know that years prior I have started to say no to things that did not benefit our family or time. It was hard at first because I feel like in this society if you aren’t busy, you aren’t productive but I learned slowly that it’s simply not true. So for us, I write a list and we prioritize which items are important to us. We give ourselves grace if there’s an item we don’t get to because hey, life happens.
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
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