The Clutered Mind

I know I am not alone in my dilemma; the no time, too much to do, over scheduled, multi-tasking dilemma.

I know others are hanging on for dear life to the life boat.  Some have a nice firm grip and have actually hauled their rears over the side and are sitting in a relatively safe space.  Others are poised to heave their bottoms in, some are securely in and taking up the oars, and yet some are griping the sides with dear life trying to muster the strength to raise their head and seek help.  Some might be reaching for the boat and I know there are still others raising a weary voice asking where we are.....  I hear the shouts...  Some days my grip is so tentative I feel the waves pulling at me and trying to drag me under.  Do you ever feel this way?

I have written in the past about simplifying and how 2012 (and 2013) will be a time of developing simpler life styles and making simpler choices in our lives. 

Ways to Simplify:

Sit down and make a list of what you MUST do in your week (or day--do what you can easily focus on).  Now look at your list and see what is done because you MUST do it and what is done because you think you have to.  What can be eliminated from the list?  Try to get it down to just a handful of things.....

For example here is my list:
Daily MUST do:

Prayer time/quiet time
School
Homeschool 1-2 hrs daily
Clean    
     Kitchen
     Livingroom
     Bathroom
Laundry
Meals
YMCA Classes and Exercise
(if time... Blog)

Weekly MUST do:

Iron
Crafts
Homeschool extra (outside activity)
Deep Clean living areas

These are the things I have decide to MAKE time and effort for.  I will blog daily if I can, but I will not stress myself or my family.  We are not doing as many classes at the Y for December and January.  But I also need that time to work off some nervous energy as well, so it is on my list of daily must do.

If we can daily keep the house picked up, then we have more time to do family time.  That is where we seem to cut out from in our home.  We cut God and family short because we get so caught up in needing to do stuff that isn't making our walk better or our family a whole passel happier.   I broke my cleaning into the major areas that I want us to focus on keeping tidy.  I am not saying spic and span clean like when I was a kid, but when someone calls to say they are stopping by, I don't want to pretend I'm not home.  *smile*

When I am feeling really overwhelmed I have to remind everyone I can only do and focus on one thing at a time. I have had to impose limits on the actives that I am willing to drive and be involved in.  Hence the limit of one homeschool activity outside of the house each week.  Some weeks we might have nothing extra going on, like this week, which is fine.  We can live with that and be happy.  Having a plan ishelping my mind to be less clutterfull.  This is a good thing!

So this is my plan for trying to live a simpler life.  A life which is hopefully happier, more calm, more in tune to God, and keeping harmony in the family.  I am trying to keep a hold of the life raft.  I don't want to lose my focus and become adrift in the sea of uncertainty and anguish.  When my focus is on all the "stuff" it isn't where it's suppose to be, on God.