A Balancing Act

One of the questions I’m frequently asked is how I find the time to do so many things. Well, I have found that being strategic with my time and writing everything down in a planner has helped me to effectively juggle all of my roles and keep me sane.

Growing up, I considered myself to be an organized child. I would literally write everything down and plan it out, regardless if it was homework or what I wanted to get done after school. Come to think about it, if you ask my sister, she will tell you that I would even plan out our summer vacations. I would plan out everything we wanted to do and what time we would do it, to make sure we had enough time for it. I guess that’s my instinct.

Writing everything down and planning my day has always been a part of my life. But for some reason, ever since I became a mom, I seem to need additional ways to help manage my time, especially as the responsibilities have piled on. I am now a mom of three girls, a wife, a leader of a church, I have my own blog, I run my own YouTube channel, and I work full-time; so staying organized is the method to my madness.

This year I vowed to maintain my sense of organization despite life’s obstacles and I challenge you to do the same. So let’s go back to the basics. We need two things to accomplish this:

1. PURCHASE AN APPOINTMENT BOOK

You can use your phone if you like, but there is something about physically writing things down that helps me remember them. When I write things down, I am able to see my entire week and see where I can squeeze in a blog post or a video. It puts everything into perspective. I have tried having regular monthly planners, however this year I am trying to be a little more intentional as I plan for the long term.

2. USE COLORFUL PENS

You can use regular black or blue pens, however this works better for me because I am a visual person. Colorful pens make me want to write in my planner, and color coordinating allows me to catch things at a glance. Plus they’re fun.

I’m sure you could find these items at your local dollar store or Five Below. I purchased both of mine from amazon and paid about $24 with next day shipping because I seem to have no self-control on when it comes to Amazon!

So now, I challenge you. Go get an appointment book and let’s stay organized! Write down the days you will cook dinner and the days you will do laundry. Alternate them so you don’t overwhelm yourself! Take it one day at a time. If it doesn’t work today, there is always tomorrow. The goal here is to be able to balance all of our hats without overwhelming ourselves. Let’s do this for two weeks and see how it goes!

This is going to be so much fun. Once you get your planner, post it on Instagram and tag #lifeplanning! Let’s help each other!