When motherhood happened for me, I quit my teaching job to be a SAHM. It was a hard decision, which was ultimately made for me due to medical situations. (That’s another story.) But, within that, I needed to carve some space for me and my new role. It wasn’t a decision born of selfishness, but I needed to start discovering who I was, how to stay on top of life, house, family, and all the other little things that had shifted during motherhood and a change in responsibilities.
I love planners. Paper ones specifically. When I taught, we were given planners, but I always loved the freedom to buy the pretty ones of my choosing for my home life. I’ve spent a little bit too much money finding the right planners, but I’ve found the one(s) that work for me. I finally found the perfect pocket-sized one for when I am out and about. I’ve got a massive, bound desk planner for home and to-do lists. If I’m diligent with filling it in, it keeps the household management organized.
That’s all well and good, but there’s still a missing piece. Where do I fit in with the world around me, my community, neighborhood social circles? What are my dreams for the future? How do I simplify to accomplish the things I want to do in life? How do I organize The Big Goals?
It’s still a massive work in progress, but I found a tool that I love. If you haven’t heard of Powersheets, a small Google search will bring up a ton of hits. The bare bones idea is that if you do some planning at the beginning of the year, you can list your overarching goals, and then systematically break them down into obtainable goals: monthly, weekly and daily.
An example would be if you wanted to write a book. There’s some grunt work in the beginning to shape your ideas and get started. With Powersheets, you would create small goals each month. Maybe it’s outlines and a specific word count written each day/week. You can use them for smaller, less lofty goals, too. Maybe, like me, you find housekeeping difficult and you aren’t good at it. You can fill in weekly basicis like mop, vacuum, dust, etc. It keeps you accountable and helps you maintain those basic habits.
Consider keeping a personal planner with you at all times, too. You can get one that fits into your lifestyle: guided, basic, aspirational, organized by calendar month, by day… the sky’s the limit. The concept of just dreaming, planning, and then doing is HUGE for mommas. We get so sucked into our kids’ lives, which is great, but the self-care of paying attention to who we are as individuals is also important. If you are looking, like me, to remember who you are and to take those scary steps into the unknown, go for it! Make a plan. It doesn’t mean it’ll happen in six weeks, or six months, but you’ll have done the hardest step: starting! Picture what a cool example you can be to your kids by showing them that dreams can happen when you plan hard, work hard, and put a brave foot forward!
Right now, I need to get going on making my goals happen for the new year. We are expecting a baby, so that will shape a TON of goals (or to slow them down for a while!). But I don’t just want my life to run on dry shampoo and diapers, so I want to at least shape some personal goals, and see what happens. Could I fail? Sort of. If I at least try, can’t that be a win? Absolutely. It’s better than sitting on the couch come next December wishing I had tried earlier and never did.
