Being More Productive

As a homeschool mom of four children, productivity is important for me. I wish I could say I do all of this at the same time and always accomplish everything.

I feel slightly hypocritical for posting these ideas, but I have found them helpful, if I do them!

I am working on it, but have not consistently done it all, but when I do get at least some of these done, I know that I am a lot more productive. I am really trying to implement them all slowly into a routine.

Start the Night Before

A productive day truly starts the night before!

• Have a plan. Write down 5-10 things you want to accomplish. Write down daily chores. You may not get to all of these things, but having a plan and goals is what we are going for. Tackle the most important ones first, then work down the list.
• Prepare what you can. Can you make lunches for work/school ahead of time? Can you lay out clothes? Pack backpacks or the diaper bag?
• Do the dishes. Coming down to a clean sink is so much better than coming down to a dirty one! When I come down to one filled with dirty dishes I feel as if I am already behind.
• Throw a load of laundry in the wash. I am on team laundry everyday (vs once a week laundry day). If I can throw a load in before bed, I can hang them out or start them in the dryer in the morning.
• Tidy up what you can. Picking up a even a few things can totally change a space.
• Plan to get 8 hours of sleep.

Hydrate

Hydration is key to focus and energy and a good night’s sleep, which leads to better days! For some tips on keeping hydrated, you can check out this post.

Shower and Dress

When I get dressed (besides sweat pants and a stained tshirt-something that I need to wear an apron over), and put on an apron, it changes my mind set. I wrote a post on this called Dressing for the Day.

Spend Time With The Lord

Spending time in the Word, prayer and worship helps to refocus and remember why you are doing what you are doing.

Taking off the old self, renewing our minds and committing our plans and work to the Lord is so important. (Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 12:2, Proverbs 16:3, Colossians 3:23-24)

It is important to spend time with the Lord so that He can fill us. We cannot pour from an empty pitcher.

Let the Sunshine In

This isn’t possible all over the world, and it is kind of a downer on cloudy days, but if they house is filled with natural light, I feel much more motivated.

Diffuse Some Uplifting Oil

You can check out my post with Mood and Energy Boosting Essential Oil Diffuser Blends here. (Please read the Essential Oil Safety Page if you have not done it already!)

Music & Podcasts

Put on some upbeat praise and worship music to help get you going and keep you focused.
I have only consistently listened to a few podcasts, but they are usually pretty good stuff.

• A Slob Comes Clean
• The Fly Lady
• The Homemaking Foundation by Young Wife’s Guide

As for music, I find that songs that pour into my spirit as I am pouring myself out are the best. I am trying to figure out how to share my worship music playlist, but for now, if you search Modern Worship on Google Play Music, you’ll get similar sounds.

Timers

I must admit, this is the last one I am implementing, I plan on working on it this week. I do not know why exactly I am so hesitant/resistant to the idea. Too many games of Perfection growing up? Maybe it seems silly? I do not know, but I am giving it a shot this week.

The plan is to set timers, for 10-15 minutes and work on one task/area for that time, taking a 15 minute break every hour to spend with the kids and rehydrating. I want to do this for a few hour each day until I get through everything.

Do you have any tips for more productive days? Is this something that you have struggled with? Which one of these will you incorporate into your routine to make your day more productive?