I promised last year that I would write more about working while homeschooling. Ironically, my own crazy life, chock-full of work and homeschool, got in the way. True confession, things have been off-balance more than once and more than a little bit. I’m not an expert by any means. I may have more than a decade of experience in this delicate tightrope act of work/family/studies, but I’m still learning – and falling – right along side you.
We’ve already looked at the past and present of the work/homeschool issue for busy moms. And we discussed priorities and how to find them. Now it is time to live out what we want in our daily schedules.
Schedules: Can’t Live Without Them
Last things first. Busy homeschooling and working mothers know that there is no way on God’s Green Earth that even a quarter of the things that need to be done will even be attempted unless they are purposefully scheduled. Just like housekeeping (again, please don’t look at my closet)…
There must be a time for everything, and everything in its time.
My left-brained friends already have schedules to manage their schedules and simply need to skip to the second half of this discussion, which will be “Schedules: Can’t Live With Them.” But for my right-brained friends who think that we “list maker’s” are speaking a different language, let me over-state this even further. This really is a matter of life and death for every aspect of your existence.
If you don’t schedule, you will no longer truly live:
- spiritually
- emotionally
- physically
- at your place of employment [because you are fired]
- in your marriage [because you are disconnected or separated]
- in your homeschool [because your children never pass, graduate, or achieve]
- in your relationships [because you are friendless and lonely]
I could go on, but I’m starting to look heartless. I think you get the picture. Hey, we decided to take on this double burden of having our cake and baking it, too, so we’re going to have to do some extra work.
On the other hand, when we plan via careful scheduling, we truly live. Putting the plan down on paper (or digital scheduler) and then executing that plan intentionally frees up the mind, will, and emotions in an amazing way. Rather than wasting mental and emotional resources worrying and “hoping to remember” to do those important priorities, we can rest assured that we are truly living out our commitments to the best of our ability. That brings…
- spiritual peace, joy, and growth
- emotional stability and openness
- better physical health and rest and reduction of pain and illness
- improved effectiveness in the workplace
- unity, fulfillment, and intimacy in marriage
- focus, discipleship, and academic progress in home education
- strengthened relationships.
Later, I will discuss why we can’t live slavishly to our schedules. I also promise to somehow get into the crazy conundrum of how to make those schedules in the first place.
Do you have a love-hate relationship with schedules?
Excellent beginning to the whole family/work/school imbalance issue! I’m totally a left-brain person, but the schedule is one area where I struggle. Not in the making of it, but more in the implementation of it. Blessings in your quest for balance!
aye, there’s the rub! More on that struggle for implementation soon. Or sooner or later. : )