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You know What Makes Me Productive?

No. Not REproductive. I mean, productive. Like having the ability to get things done during the day? So, wanna know what makes me be productive during the day?

PRODUCTIVITY.

That’s real helpful, isn’t it? Let’s rewind a little bit here…

Remember my New Year’s Resolutions thoughts? One of my big goals was to get up before the kids. It didn’t matter WHAT I got done, but just SOMETHING: a shower, reading my Bible, making breakfast, anything! I did it for one whole week. And then Blissdom happened. Then I was tired. Then I said, “I’ll start Monday…” And this morning? Lydia woke up at 5:30 because there was a thunderstorm. LOVELY.

So. I noticed last week that I was online a lot. I’d start off just checking my email during breakfast. Then I’d let the kids play a few minutes while I finished doing some earth-shattering thing online. Next thing I knew the only thing I could think about was this long bloggy-to-do-list! It was one of those crave-what-you-feed-on kinda things.

Anyway, I was comparing this to my one big on-purpose week before Blissdom. I was keeping the dishes done, making double portions of our food so I could freeze it, I swept the floors and even scrubbed the toilets. It’s what I WANTED to do!

When I have a productive day (or even an hour!) I want to be more productive. If I sit around and watch the dirty dishes grow, then I have ZERO desire to do anything about them. But when I get my fly-lady on and make sure that sink is shiny before I go to bed, I hop right on the dishwasher when I wake up!

Now in case you were wondering, even after our new bed-mate at 5:30 this morning, we have had a very productive day. Can I brag on myself a minute? I made blueberry pancakes (and extras to freeze) for breakfast. Lydia and I made 2 pounds of meatballs for dinner tonight (and to freeze for other meals) during Asa’s first nap (which was 2.5 hours, by the way!). I also set out black beans to soak last night and during lunch today I froze the equivalent of 8 cans of beans! I scrubbed the shower, washed the bathroom and even made my bed. Not to mention skyped with Jill during Lydia’s nap.

And guess what? I want to keep going. I want to get the stairs cleaned off, my clothes hung up and the hardwoods mopped vacuumed. Even a small step towards productivity motivates me to do more!

Now. For full bloggy disclosure. I did not come at this honestly. None of these ideas are original to me. I straight ripped them off of other people’s brilliant blogs. Here’s who’s teaching me to be productive…

  • Housekeeping Schedule. I adore this housekeeping schedule from Home Sanctuary. She’s got a sample one for stay-at-home-moms and work-out-of-the-home moms. And a blank one for YOU. It’s basically just a laundry day/major clean up day/errand day type list. But it has just really worked for us. Lydia says, “What’s today? Like is it laundry day?”  Rachel Anne also suggests doing 5 minuts per room minimum maintenance. THAT one tidbit has saved my life. I have 10 rooms in my house (counting some bathrooms and hallways). So, when I spend just 5 minutes that’s still an hour of cleaning. BUT it is suprirsing at how much you can get clean in 5 minutes.  Also, this post from Steady Mom (which she just happen to repost today) about a cleaning schedule is just perfect.
  • Batch Cooking (as seen at Amy’s Finer Things and Once a Month Mom). I know I have blogged about this several times but it has just revolutionized dinner time here. We have dinner about two hours before bedtime. This is also known as THE WITCHING HOUR. There is no way on God’s Green Earth that I can make a healthy meal with a whiny Lydia and a screaming Asa hanging on my  leg. Oh, I can make A meal. It will just be out of a box or cracked from an egg. But when I freeze a few meals ahead of time, or make most of dinner during lunch, it makes dinner time a breeze!
  • Whole Foods. There’s something about eating “real” food that makes me motivated. I want to do yoga, eat an apple and chuck my Girl Scout Cookies. I’m still in the middle of my twobooks (I told you I already believed them before I even read them, so I kinda stopped reading it). But I’ve added a bunch of new yummy whole-food type blogs to feed reader and I’m lovin’ them.

    • So. Was that a bunch of crazy? I know you’re probably thinking, “She’s been productive for one whole day and she’s excited?” For me, that’s all it takes. I need one baby step. That step makes me excited about doing more. So, if there’s something you’ve been wanting to do–take that first step right now!

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    Comments

    2. Hillary @ The Other Mama says

      So proud of you and WISH I could have just one day. Then a few strung in a row. ‘Cause I would be all kinds of jumping around.
      I did wash and dry about 7 loads of laundery today… that are waiting to be folded.
      And I did go to the grocery today (spent $80, saved $70) and used my COUPONS! I love it when I do that! Can that count as semi-productive?
      Things I haven’t done that I wanted to do: Update blog, work, dishes, etc. Where is my live-in maid like Alice when I need her?
      .-= Hillary @ The Other Mama´s last blog ..A Tale of a Turtle and a Hamburger* =-.

    4. Jodi says

      I hear you! I cleaned for five hours on Friday morning (did not even know that was possible) while my mom had the three big girls, and I was on top of the world. We had a birthday party on Saturday (you knew I wasn’t just cleaning for fun, right?), so now it’s just trying to maintain/keep making strides rather than slipping back into bad habits. I have a blog post brewing about all this… or should I just do it rather than blogging about it? Hmmm…

      Congrats on your newfound housekeeping mojo 🙂
      .-= Jodi´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: This Magic Moment =-.

    5. Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect says

      I am the same way! If I actually get off my backside and DO something, then I am 100 times more likely to KEEP doing things. Or, if I lounge for a little while, it almost ALWAYS turns into my ENTIRE day!

      And a big YES to batch cooking – I’m looking forward to doing a lot of this next weekend for the month of March!
      .-= Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect´s last blog ..Help Haiti LIVE =-.

    7. The Diaper Diaries says

      I am pretty confident what all the other commentors meant to say is that they are insanely jealous of our Skyping. And I have been making the switch to whole foods over here too. You should check out Simply in Season. It is a cookbook that has awesome recipes in which you eat what is in season. I am loving it. And making my own bread with Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes. Which is super easy despite the fact that “making your own bread” sounds hard.

      I had zero productivity today due to the minions that thwarted all my plans, but tomorrow I have TWO HOURS in which the kids will be in school and the baby will be sleeping so I have no excuses.

    9. Liz says

      Thanks for the link to the housekeeping site. I have been feeling discouraged lately about how I’m keeping up with household work. I’m going to subscribe to her blog to see if she can help me get myself together.
      .-= Liz´s last blog ..The Valley =-.

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