Category: Not So Busy

I’ve been wanting to guest post on other blogs and websites, and I am so excited that I have been able to do that today.

My article Why I Don’t Make Easter Baskets for My Children was published by Her View From Home!!

Although I do share the reasons why I don’t make these baskets, there is a much deeper message found in my article. The message is one I strongly believe in.

“Hop” on over to Her View From Home & check out my article.

I would love to have you read it and leave me a comment there!! If the article speaks to you, then please share with others.

Many thanks.

Until next time,
Charissa

Continue reading “Why I Don’t Make Easter Baskets for My Children”

I always love reading about other families’ morning routines. I find them interesting and inspiring. Today I want to give you a little glimpse into our simple morning routine.

 

Wake up
My 3 children (ages 10, 8 & 4) wake up anywhere between 5:30 and 7:00am. Sometimes one is up at 5:30, and the other 2 wake later. Sometimes they are all up early or all up late, if you want to call 7am “late”.

Cuddling on couch/reading/breakfast
The first few moments of the morning are usually a slow waking process. We might cuddle a bit on the couch. My oldest usually reads. I then begin making breakfast. All 3 don’t eat together, so 2 will eat while 1 rests on the couch; then the 3rd eats while the other 2 relax on the couch.

Get Dressed/Brush Teeth
Because we pick out clothes the night before, getting dressed doesn’t take very much time. The kids brush their teeth after getting dressed.

Chores
My oldest daughter and my son each have 3 chores they complete daily. 1 of their 3 is a morning chore, so they complete that chore before heading to school. My daughter empties the dishwasher, and my son takes out the recycling.

Playtime
If things have gone well and there is a little time left, they have some playtime together. My 4 year old is especially fond of this time since she is an only child during school hours.

Out the door
We grab their lunch boxes, add them to their book bags, and they head out the door to wait for the bus.

Now it’s just my 4 year old & me.

Book time
I like to start our time together with some reading. We snuggle on the couch, and read 3 or 4 books. (Most recently she is on a Cinderella kick.)

Work time/tablet time
I try to work on my blog and tasks related to that in the morning, so after I finish reading to my daughter, I make myself breakfast and do some work. She enjoys watching some of her PBS favorites on the tablet.

Out of the house/playtime at home
Some mornings we head out of the house, and sometimes we hang at home and play. By 11:30 she is eating lunch, and we start getting ready for afternoon preschool.

Some mornings are harder than others because (I know, hard to believe) we don’t always wake up in good moods. I do find, though, that this super simple routine helps us move beyond our grumpy moods and make our way through the morning with general ease. I also find that our evening routine positively affects our mornings. There are no perfect mornings, but I am thankful I get to start the day with my 3 children and our simple routine.

What about you? What does your morning look like? What time do your kids generally wake up? Leave your comments down below. I would love to hear from you!

Until next time,
Charissa

Continue reading “Our Simple Morning Routine”

This life we live involves a lot of doing. We do for ourselves. We do for others. We do big, and we do small. Maybe I should be a little more specific.

Life involves making choices, serving people, tending to our homes, taking care of our bodies, having a job, solving problems, and making friends. In any given week we may find ourselves making an appointment, reading a book, cleaning a floor, washing the dishes, visiting a friend, attending a meeting, making a meal, folding laundry, taking a walk, and shopping for groceries. Most on this list are things we have to do; some are things we want to do. Life involves a lot doing (as it should), but sometimes we do and do and do until we overdo.

Doing can quickly lead to overdoing. We want to be involved in our community but end up signing up for one too many committees. Being involved in our children’s school and it’s programs is important to us, but then we over-commit. We want our child to be well-rounded, but then we find that every evening and most Saturdays are filled with time in the car racing here and there.

Sometimes we overdo because it’s all we know. Sometimes we overdo because it’s what everyone around is doing. Sometimes we don’t even know we’re overdoing because we can become so easily accustomed to living this way.

Signs You Might Be Overdoing

• You’re tired. Do you get to the end of the day completely exhausted?
• You’re cranky. Are you easily frustrated and quick to snap at those around you?
• You keep getting sick. Have you found that you are getting sick more frequently?
• You are easily bothered by requests from others. Does a simple request from a friend or acquaintance frustrate and annoy you?

You might be tired, cranky, sick, and bothered by requests for a number of different reasons, but if one or more of these things are happening (with frequency) there is a chance you are overdoing.

Doing But Not Overdoing

I will always encourage you to do. The not so busy life is not about being lazy or sitting back and watching life pass you by. It’s not about being self-centered, only caring about you and only you.

I will always encourage you to do, but I will not encourage you to overdo.  A life of overdoing gets messy and tiring. A life of overdoing is chaotic and crazy.

Let’s do this life…but let’s not overdo!

What about you? How have you kept your self from overdoing?

Until next time,

Charissa

Continue reading “Doing But Not Overdoing”

A few months ago I shared a post highlighting 4 traits of the not so busy mom. I knew that at some point I wanted to devote a single post to each trait, so I’ve been digging a little deeper into each trait as we look to live a full life without all the busy.

Just a reminder, the first 3 traits are:

Trait #1: The not so busy mom lets go of perfection.

Trait #2: The not so busy mom lets go of her need to impress others.

Trait #3: The not so busy mom considers her priorities.

Today we will be looking at trait #4.

Trait #4: The not so busy mom plans ahead.

So much busyness enters our lives when we don’t take the time to plan ahead. We don’t plan ahead, and we rush to the mall for a last minute gift. We don’t plan ahead, and we race to the grocery store a few times a week for ingredients for dinner. A weekend is filled with non-stop errands when we don’t plan ahead. Free moments in our calendar disappear. Every afternoon is a scramble, and downtime seems a thing of the past.

Planning ahead comes naturally to some, and perhaps as a struggle to others. There are many ways, though, to plan ahead, stay head of the game and be just a little less busy!

4 simple ways to plan ahead:

1. Flip your calendar before the month is up. A quick glance at the month ahead will remind you of the holidays, birthdays and other special events that await you. You can choose greeting cards, purchase presents and make sure you have all needed clothing items like tights for your girls for Easter, special shoes for a wedding, Halloween costumes, Christmas bow ties, etc.

**(I realize that if you are using an app you might not be “flipping” a calendar, but I think you remember good old-fashioned calendars that need to be flipped!)

2. Make meal planning your friend. I have written many posts on meal planning, so I will keep this short and sweet. When you plan your meals you will find that your afternoons and evenings are significantly less hectic. Don’t worry about creating elaborate meals; instead, just make a plan and enjoy the peace that follows.

For more about meal planning you can check out my posts found here, here and here.

3. Stick to your nighttime routine. Planning ahead can be as simple as planning for the next day. I wrote a post about 5 tasks to do before bedtime to prepare for the next day. Small tasks the night before lead to much slower, peaceful mornings. And who doesn’t want that??!!

4. Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today. These are some wise words from Benjamin Franklin. You might wonder what this has to do with planning ahead, but I guess simply stated, if you don’t procrastinate (and you get things done now) you don’t have to worry about planning ahead. When a nagging task come to mind, do it. When a phone call needs to be made, make it. Take care of the “to-do” today, and enjoy a little extra space in your tomorrow.

What about you? Are you good at planning ahead? Any advice or encouragement you can share with us? I’d love to hear from you, so leave your thoughts and ideas below!

Until next time,

Charissa

Continue reading “The Not So Busy Mom Plans Ahead”

Last week I shared the first 2 traits of the not so busy mom.

Trait #1: The not so busy mom lets go of perfection.

Trait #2: The not so busy mom lets go of the need to impress.

This week we continue digging deeper into the 4 traits of the not so busy mom by looking at traits 3 & 4. Today we will look at trait 3 a bit more closely.

Trait #3: The not so busy mom considers her priorities.

A lot of our busyness can come from over-stuffed calendars and overloaded schedules. We take on commitments and lead events. We sign up for activities and participate in groups. Our children have something to do every afternoon, and we play chauffeur. Our weekends are filled with more sports, classmate birthday parties and whatever else we might find to keep the kids occupied. We get to Monday morning, and we can’t believe we have to do it all over again.

Another Way

When we consider our priorities we can better fill our days, weeks and months. When we consider our priorities our calendar is filled with the things that matter.

Let me share some of my priorities, so that you can see just what I mean.

My top priorities include:

• my relationship with God
• loving other people (family, friends, neighbors, people I meet, etc.) by reaching out, serving, encouraging, etc.

These priorities shape how I choose to spend my time and even more importantly, how I choose to spend my life.

With these priorities in mind, the following are the types of things you will see on my calendar:

• lunches with friends
• at home “dates” with my husband
• Bible studies
• trips to the playground with my children
• church activities & meetings
• walks with my mom
• dinners with extended family
• outreach activities in the community

I know my priorities and these priorities shape the choices I make, the way my calendar is filled and the things that fill my days.

As you explore this idea of living a full life without the busy take time to consider your priorities. Do the things you fill your time with, the things you fill your day with reflect those priorities?

When you fill your calendar, your day, your weeks, your months…your life with your priorities in mind, you’ll find your life isn’t a busy life but a full one.

What about you? Do your calendar & the activities you pursue reflect your priorities? Share your thoughts below; I would love to hear from you!

Until next time,
Charissa


Continue reading “The Not So Busy Mom Considers Her Priorities”

Those who constantly try to impress others will quickly depress themselves. ~Lysa Terkeurst

In Tuesday’s post I shared about letting go of perfection, the first trait of the Not So Busy Mom. Today I am sharing trait number 2 which is closely connected to the first trait.

Trait #2: The not so busy mom lets go of the need to impress others.

I care very deeply about how others see me or think about me. That desire is not all bad. I love God and I love people, and I want that to be evident in the life I live. At the same time, if I am constantly putting pressure on myself to impress others then I can quickly add extra busyness and craziness to my life.

As the opening quote from Lysa Terkeurst implies, you can only sustain impressing others for so long because eventually this trend will negatively affect you.

We can’t please everyone all the time, and we shouldn’t try.

Eventually we will disappoint someone.

If you feel the tendency to try to impress others to the point of way too much extra stress and busyness in your life, consider the following:

1. We all have different gifts. Your best friend may be a fantastic cake baker, and your neighbor might be a design pro. You might have a friend who has an eye for style and a sister with super organizational skills. You are not them, and they are not you. Appreciate the gifts of others and be thankful for your unique gifts.
2. True friends know you and love you no matter what. Your true friends won’t care if the meal isn’t perfect or your house isn’t tidy. True friends won’t be concerned about the party decorations or the appetizer table. Know that your friends love you, and they don’t need you to impress them.
3. You don’t have to be like everyone else. We see another mom throwing an extraordinary birthday party, and we think we need to do the same. Our neighbor signs their children up for every activity imaginable, and we believe we have to do that, too. The moms at the bus stop talk about their crazy schedules, and we wonder if our simple life is boring. We are all different. You don’t have to be like everyone else. Be you. I’m guessing a lot of people will find your life refreshing and inspiring.

We spend a lot of time looking at other people’s lives. It’s the reality of a social media-crazed culture. Please remember (as many people have mentioned before), we usually share (on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) the “highlights”. We share the clean kitchens, the smiling children, the fancy date nights, the elaborate dinners and the festive birthday parties. Deep down we know these “perfect” moments aren’t really perfect and cannot be sustained, but we see the highlights, the photo-worthy moments and we try to keep up. It’s what we do.

Instead…

Let’s live authentically. Live intentionally. Don’t worry about trying to impress others. Share your life (the highs and the lows) with others. Encourage your friends and acquaintances to do the same.

Let go of the need to impress and live a life that’s just a little less busy.

What about you? Do you struggle with the need to impress others? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comments. I would love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Charissa

Continue reading “Let Go of the Need to Impress Others”