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You know the drill...
You're woken up earlier than desired by your little army of energy balls... You change them, feed them, send them off to school, change them again, feed them again, pick them up from school, feed them again (change them again somewhere in there too), send them off to practice something, feed them again, bathe them, and put them to bed. Anyone else's day look like this? No? Just me? Well, I have 5 boys under 7...3 of them in diapers...I feel like I may be in the minority...but you get my point... And that's it...that was your day. Feeling super productive aren't you? Now, as much as I do believe the saying on the infamous coffee mug : "TODAY'S GOAL : KEEP THE TINY HUMANS ALIVE" I also believe that we can CHOOSE to feel productive at the end of each day, aside from just keeping our tiny tribes alive. HOWEVER...Before I go any further... If you are in a season of survival...don't read any further. You're going a GREAT job if all you accomplish are meeting the basic needs of you and your family. When you're feeling like your head is coming out of the fog...then, feel free to read on! If we are intentional, we CAN squeeze in just a couple extra things in our day to give us that feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment we mommies crave. Now, that DOESN'T mean we strive to DO IT ALL EVERYDAY... That DOESN'T mean we beat ourselves up if we fall short of our goals for the day... What it DOES mean is that if we STRIVE to address these 3 areas, each and every day, we will end our days with a feeling of accomplishment...with a feeling that we were productive! And most importantly...with a feeling that what we did today mattered. Do you have an extra 10 minutes?? Lets see what we can do with them... 
I have a saying that I've used ever since my husband and I got married...way before kids, way before chaos, way before I even knew the truth I was speaking into existence...
"I CAN'T DO IT ALL!" I know some of you Type A's are gasping right now...shaking your heads at me...trust me...i get it...i'm you! I love getting stuff done. I love checking off my list (hello...i make lists JUST so i can cross things off of them). I love sitting back and enjoying the fruits of my labor. But at the end of the day, when I wasn't accomplishing it all, I was beating myself up for it. I was griping about the mundane...I was bitter about ONLY meeting the needs of the day. Friend...can I help free you from that guilt? Just say those 5 magic words...I CAN'T DO IT ALL... Momma, give yourself some grace and KNOW that even if you are ONLY meeting the immediate needs of your family...YOU ARE AMAZING...and you're family thinks so too...even if they don't tell you. OKAY, that's better...now lets move on... When I look at my days, I like to assess what is truly important and where my efforts and time need to be spent. For me, it's my household (family), myself, & my relationships (you'll find my 4th "bonus area" below). Yours might be different. But choose just 3 things that you want to give your attention to on a daily basis. When we choose to address these 3 extra areas each day, separate from the necessities and immediate needs, we can feel accomplished knowing that we chose to meet our most important needs...even when we didn't meed ALL the needs.
1. 10 EXTRA MINUTES FOR YOUR HOUSEHOLD
When I look around my house, I see all the little people that need my attention, and all the piles of things that need organizing, cleaning, sorting...day after day...on repeat. I can feel defeated before my day even begins! Instead of seeing these things as ALL HAVING TO GET DONE TODAY...see them as little pieces of a puzzle that you can do one at a time...and at the end of the week, or month...the puzzle is the picture you're hoping for.
Pick ONE THING. It doesn't need to be grand...it doesn't need to take more than 10 minutes! And feel good that you did ONE EXTRA THING for your household today!
2. 10 EXTRA MINUTES FOR YOURSELF
I know you...you are the LAST thing on your mind (Hi..I take 2 minute showers and am lucky to even look in a mirror before noon!). Let's be honest real quick...when was the last time that you INTENTIONALLY did for yourself? Days, weeks, months ago?? I won't get into a big rant on self care here, but we can all agree that it's super important.
Just do ONE THING that fills you up...that you know you are doing JUST FOR YOU.
3. 10 EXTRA MINUTES FOR SOMEONE ELSE
One area that takes a backseat in my brain when I'm in survival mode is thinking about others. I get so stuck in my own circumstances, I forget that there are other people living their lives all around me. Others who crave community just as much as I do...but are just as swamped as I am. Sometimes...that's my own family...my husband, my kids, my parents, my extended family. And sometimes...that's my friends, my neighbors, my community that I so desperately desire to be connected to, but life likes to get in the way of building these relationships.
Being intentional in our relationships, even just 10 minutes at a time, will allow conversations to start, playdates to be scheduled, kind words to be said, and fellowship to be had, even when we don't have the time to get out and physically interact. Knowing that I invested in someone else today is something my heart can smile at!
***BONUS*** 10 MINUTES FOR YOUR SIDE HUSTLE
I hear it all the time... "HOW DO YOU HAVE TIME TO BLOG OR RUN A SMALL BUSINESS WITH 5 YOUNG KIDS?" Now, obviously, you will need more than 10 minutes to run a thriving business or blog, but if all you can muster is 10 minutes...make them count!
There are seasons for hustle and there are seasons for rest, and there are seasons of in between. IF THERE IS TIME LEFT IN MY DAY, after these other three areas in my life have been met, I DO CHOOSE to invest time into this blog, and into my business...because it really does fill me up! ***if you don't have a side hustle, but would love to bring in some extra $$ for your family, I'd love to share with you how I do that***
Mommas, you're all doing great! With or without our lists getting crossed off, our jobs are BIG...MONUMENTAL...we have the privilege of having a front row seat to the unfolding of our children's lives, and what a blessing it is to be a part of the molding and shaping of those lives.
If all we do is find the time to love on our kids...the rest is really can wait! But, if you have a few extra minutes...I challenge you to do just 3 extra things...and let that be enough!! 5/1/2019 08:30:14 pm
10 minutes seems doable for all the above. I think I will give it a try. Thanks for the tips.
Elizabeth Barry
9/24/2019 10:24:02 pm
I loved this blog, Christi. Thank you for sharing your heart and the three ten minute ideas. Love it! Comments are closed.
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Welcome to Dwelling Well Mom! I'm so glad you are here! I'm Christi, wife, mom of boys, Christ follower, picture taker, DIYer, chocolate eater, and coffee drinker. Born and raised a Florida girl, now braving the mountains of Boone, NC, I'm on a journey to find peace in the midst of my mundane. Join me!
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