Every-thing fills my mind.
And, my to-do list. The mental one (on repeat) and the one that actually makes it pen to paper. Clean out kid’s closets. Pay bills. Write a blog post. Respond to e-mail. Exercise (because, if I don’t list it, I might not live it). Make doctors appointments. Make Bed. Make lunch. Make a grocery list. Making lists makes my lists.
Do you know this every-thing?
The funny thing is . . .
As much as every-thing swirls and I try to secure the suckers swarming my brain, straining to squeeze them from a “to” to a “do”, I must admit . . .
I am a one thing.
Every-thing fills my mind.
And, my to-do list. The mental one (on repeat) and the one that actually makes it pen to paper. Clean out kid’s closets. Pay bills. Write a blog post. Respond to e-mail. Exercise (because, if I don’t list it, I might not live it). Make doctors appointments. Make Bed. Make lunch. Make a grocery list. Making lists makes my lists.
Do you know this every-thing?
The funny thing is . . .
As much as every-thing swirls and I try to secure the suckers swarming my brain, straining to squeeze them from a “to” to a “do”, I must admit . . .
I am a one thing.
I get things done when I focus on one thing.
I like to think I’m not so singular when it comes to striking a line through every-thing. Every-thing I “have” to get done, want to get done or others expect me to complete. I cook and call at the same time. I tackle ten tabs at a time. I console and correct two, sometimes four, at a time. Yet, I’m still not getting every-thing done. The only thing I seem to get is – frustrated.
Yesterday, I walked by the desk in our kitchen, which is always a mess. And by always, I mean ALWAYS. It’s the first thing you see as you walk in. Ughh. I fantasize about nothing being on it, but the computer (every-thing else in drawers, folders, bins or binders). But, instead it just piles up. I pile to put away. My kids pile on my piles and then run away. (Hi my name is Trina and I’m a compulsive piler).
Anyways, as I glared at the mess and the mess mocked me. I started thinking about the closets that have to be cleaned out (like at least 6), the floor that needed to be mopped, the chore charts neededing to be hung up and implemented (again). I tried to quiet the critical chatter and in that space I had a thought… I thought what if today, I just did one thing. One swarming sucker to strike out of my brain.
And, so I decided to be a one-thing mom.
It’s usually the mom “tos” and “dos” that really weigh me down. Guilting me sometimes all the way to gutted.
So yesterday, I looked at this doomed desk and said, “not today.” And, maybe not even tomorrow. We will have to push the pop phone over if we want to use the computer and dig through the piles of papers to find the permission slip, and I’ll promise myself that, probably, tomorrow this desk will be my one-thing.
And, when that desk is done, then I’ll come to terms with what closet to clean out. Not all of them at once, unless at once I find a big block of time and enough energy to empty them all out. Otherwise, I’ll be wise in which one I choose to tackle first and not linger over which will be last.
I’ve always liked getting every-thing done all at once. One day. One weekend. One block of time. Because, when the whole house is cleaned you can sit and enjoy it. When the closets are cleaned out, everyone will be (and stay) organized. When the groceries are bought, the fridge will be full.
But, here is the truth I’ve been trading for a lie, “Every-thing” will never be done, because there will always be one more thing.” And, the things that just got done, will get un-done twice as fast.
The clean floors will get walked on within minutes. The food will be devoured before the week is up. The closets will end up with smelly clothes hidden behind the hamper, instead of in it.
Yesterday, I chose chore charts. It seems easy enough, but I had been avoiding it. Avoiding it, because it takes more then gold washi tape. It takes encouragement and enforcement. I stuck up the paper and we all stuck to it.
Today, let me encourage you to not worry about the every-thing, but to just find and focus on the one thing.
Moms and everyones.
A one time wonder every day.
PS : If you liked my mess desk, you may like a series I used to do called Monday Mess.
jen s
Commented on May 14th, 2015 at 5:50am
you seem overwhelmed to say the least. i think routines for sure help. i also started doing do, read, learn, be. its a to do list of sorts from biblicalhomemaking. i add the gym and laundry and cleaning to the stuff to do list and then put little tally marks when i do it, its very satisfying. it also makes sense when we run out of clean clothes and i can see i didnt do enough. and i love the other sections, read, learn and be. it focuses me more on what im putting into my brain, what im filling my heart with, what ill be purposefully asking God to work on in me that week. i find it much more satisfying than a normal to do list. whatever doesnt get checked off for the week, i circle and add to the next week. what ive found though is i add a lot less now to my do part of the list because i am more realistic with time, and there are things that need to be done, and others that would just be a nice to do.
Trina
Commented on May 15th, 2015 at 12:40pm
i am overwhelmed a lot of days, but at a place where i’m learning to let go some. to get done the major things that need getting done (one day at a time) and not worrying about the rest. thank you for sharing your method. i always love hearing what works for others! for me, things like read, learn, and be are so important. somedays i’ve traded time to do that vs. cleaning or some presing thing in my mind and have found the strength then to complete that task too…. xo . t
amy
Commented on May 14th, 2015 at 9:13am
Real and encouraging. Thanks. On a less serious note, did you create those chore charts, or did you find them somewhere? I like the aesthetic.
Trina
Commented on May 15th, 2015 at 12:44pm
thank you….i didn’t create the charts….found them on pinterest. here is the link.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/216524694562299470/
i like them because they are simple and i can use them for my younger and older ones.
dawn
Commented on May 14th, 2015 at 2:55pm
hi, my name is dawn and i am a compulsive piler too … maybe we should start a club :)
i tell myself many times that it takes patience to not get to everything all at the same time …. but i often seem to have too much i want to accomplish in this short life …
Trina
Commented on May 15th, 2015 at 12:42pm
hello fellow piler. i know…exactly how you feel. it does take patience to not check everything off a to list (whether on paper or a mental one). prioritizing is huge. i think i’m getting a little better with that, but it still requires patience to not put more focus on what still needs to be done vs. what i have accomplished. xo . t
Brittany
Commented on May 14th, 2015 at 3:29pm
I LOVE making lists. Lists for lists about lists piled on top of lists. I started using Trello to organize them, and I divided my lists into time frames. So I’ve got my today list, my this week list, this month list, this year, 3 years… etc.
And then I just move things from one list to the other until they eventually make it onto my “today” list and get done! It really helps me prioritize and focus on the small handful of things that are really important and NEED to get done TODAY. It’s made a huge difference.
Trina
Commented on May 15th, 2015 at 12:45pm
LOVE! thanks for sharing about Trello… I’ll have to check it out. I’ve been using ToDoist and I really like it, but I like the idea of having seperate lists …so i can just see what is immediate. And, yes …. you are so right — prioritization is KEY! xo . t
Megan
Commented on May 14th, 2015 at 5:28pm
So curious about your job lists… Perhaps a post about that soon? I really want to make sure summer does not end up a big mush of piles around and hold my littles responsible for a handful of things despite ‘summer mode.’ And I need something that my 3 yr old can understand (visual) in addition to the 5 and 8 yr old!
Trina
Commented on May 15th, 2015 at 12:47pm
Maybe i will do a post…..
these are the charts i found (i didn’t create them)
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/216524694562299470/
i like that i can put in whatever i like. for my older ones i wrote out the task and for the younger ones i kind of drew pictures (which are hilarious becuase i cannot draw) of the chores. i’ll try to do a post soon! xo . t
Tara
Commented on May 21st, 2015 at 10:57am
Thanks for reminding me to make summer chore lists. I got them started last week so not to ruin the last day of school.
Enjoy the Summer!
Trina
Commented on May 21st, 2015 at 4:15pm
smart smart momma! xo and happy summer!