Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDelete1. Work, church
2. Family time, Exercise, Self-care, Spanish input
3. No screen time in bed, set up a calling schedule, schedule exercise self-care before supper, and time for Spanish in evening. Read Scripture in Spanish.
4. Meal plan and prep on Saturdays. Exercise everyday.
5. Errands. Household chores.
**I thought it was eye-opening to see her perspective on minutiae. I hadn't admitted how draining those types of things are. She is right though, they end up chopping up time that could be a larger chunk to work on higher priorities. I will bundle these in the future.
Step One: Non Flexibles: work, work meetings, extra curricular Activities on Monday nights (Bowling & volleyball)
ReplyDeleteStep Two: Top Priorities: Family, Spouse, Wellness
Step Three: Sit down meal every night, date nights with spouse, church every Sunday, nightly ritual of reading to my child before bed
Step 4 Unallocated Priority Time: more self care activities for myself, less screen time, prepping for the week ahead
Step 5: In-betweens: house hold tasks, cleaning, organizing, grocery shopping/meal planning
Step 1: Drive to and from work, work, church
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Raising my kids, connecting with spouse, emotional, physical, spiritual wellness
Step 3: Put down the phone, don't over organize, learn to say NO to say YES more often
Step 4: Exercise routines, meal planning, date nights, keep work at work
Step 5: Cleaning, NOT snacking, reading
I love that there is a 'season' for everything-- while my kids are younger, they need me more; in a new school year, I need to learn about the student's needs and may be more focused there; there are times when my house is messier and times when it is cleaner-- that's OK, and grace/flexibility will help.
The five steps in my life are like this: I have always been told by my boss that family comes first.
ReplyDeletestep 1: family and Church--my faith is very important to me.
step 2: family time-spending time with my college age children and my parents. My Mom has been diagnosed with early stages of dementia.
step 3: work--preparing the classroom for the week-changing out toys to keep things exciting
step4: reading and taking care of myself,
step 5: friends
Step 1: Work from 6:45-6:00 and church
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Time with my children, spouses and my husband
Step 3: No school work at home - from lesson planning, emails, posting on Seesaw, looking for craft items, the list goes on...I'd feel less guilty about spending time with family if I did less schoolwork at home - it seems to always take the priority -why?
Step 4: Exercise and really reading and disecting my devotionals
Step 5: Laundry, cleaning, groceries, self-care, friends
Step 1: Work
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Time with my husband, 3 kids, our parents/siblings and families.
Step 3: Supper together as a family, game day Sundays, church on the weekends, daily walks.
Step 4: Reading, being present with my kids, monthly coffee date with my "Sister Squad".
Step 5: Laundry, cleaning, errands.
Step 1: Commute to school/work, Work, Small Groups, Church
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Marriage/Family/Friends/Health/Self care
Step 3: Leaving work at work and being present when home! Being intentional to have family game nights, going for walks, etc.
Step 4: Wake 30 minutes early to have a personal quiet time. Rearranging my schedule at work so I don't have as much interrupted time, scheduling days off for personal time (reminder, I'm not a teacher, but work in non profit, so my schedule allows for this!) Waiting to do the dishes until after the girls go to bed, Exercising 10-15 minutes after every meal, scheduling to meet a friend on the opposite week of my standard small group. Host my nieces for supper once a week.
Step 5: Meal prep, laundry, cleaning/organizing, grocery shopping, sleeping, etc.
First, I wish I would have had this book 8 years ago. I know I would have been a better teacher had I been able to implement some of these things. Partially that comes with knowledge and experience, and maybe I am just 8 years older now. But I know if I went back to the classroom now, I would be better equipped to handle all of the stress that comes with being a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI admittedly still struggle with prioritizing the tasks in my life.
Step 1: I have to write a sermon each week, plan music and worship, check the mail, and do the bank deposit. If pastoral emergencies come up, those also need to be handled promptly and cannot be skipped.
Step 2: Spending as much time with my family and reading each day are my priorities. I want to be home with my children as much as possible, and part of my necessary self-care is time spent reading for pleasure. I also require at least 7 hours of sleep every night.
Step 3: When I prioritize the things that are most important and necessary to me, I am able to do the other things in my life well.
Step 4: A friend of mine just suggested that I do block scheduling for my days. I am going to work on this and focus on prioritizing tasks. I think this would also allow me to be more organized in general.
Step 5: The extra pastoral visits and reading for work are extra things that I would like to do more of. They are not a priority to me, but I would definitely like to add those tasks in, and I think by using the system laid out in Chapter 7, this is quite doable.
How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7?
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Work hours Monday-Friday (8:00-4:30) and church on Sunday mornings until about noon
Step 2: Time with friends and time with family members
Step 3: At the beginning of the month, make a couple of plans with friends and family members and at the beginning of each week, see if there is time in the next week or two to make plans-using a list on my phone of people I want to see in the month.
Step 4: Monday and Tuesday evenings, Friday nights, and Saturday afternoons, and Sunday nights are usually times I could get together with friends and family.
Step 5: Cleaning is a good Saturday to-do for me. Meal prep works well on Sunday afternoons. Running errands can be on Wednesdays.
Using my Outlook Calendar is extremely helpful for my workday. My husband and I have added a kitchen calendar this year, and that has been helpful with planning events further in advance.
Step 1: non-flexibles: contractual work calendar; Sunday 9:00 mass;
ReplyDeleteStep 2: top priorities; Sunday family supper; garden; homestead; self care (exercise)
Step 3: Pre-arrange Sunday night meal; prioritize garden and homestead tasks; list what garden and homestead tasks are most fulfilling to me; feel in better heatlh
Step 4: top priorities for unallocated time: sewing hobby
Step 5: in-betweens; sleep; read a book; watch a movie; clean; run errands;
I am going to go back to using my sticky note process that I used when my children were younger. I was implementing many of these steps without even realizing it.
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDelete1. Non-flexible- work, commuting to work, meetings, dr. appointments
2. Top Priorities- spouse, baby, family
3. Self Care- Limit time spent working at home, other relaxing tasks
4. Top priorities for unallocated time- exercise, organize, reading
4. In between- sleep, eat, housework such as laundry or cleaning, errands
Step 1: Non flexibles: work, kids’ activities, church, clean home
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Top Priorities: family, family’s health/exercise, clean home
Step 3: Top Priorities Ordered: Making sure everyone is cared for and feels appreciated and loved. Making time for my health and my family’s- exercising, sleeping, eating balanced meals, seeing the dr. when needed. I included keeping a clean home as a priority because it helps me so much with my mental health.
Step 4: My unallocated times are the evenings after my kids go to bed or on the weekends when my husband and I can split duties and give each other time to ourselves. I really try to keep these times free to do the things that I enjoy or can help give me a reset.
Step 5: In betweens: grocery shopping, meal planning, self-care, extra planning for school.
Step 1 (non flexibles): Daycare dropoff and pickup, contract hours
ReplyDeleteStep 2 (top priorities): uninterrupted play time with kids, reading, time with husband
Step 3: I would use the time before starting to make dinner as uninterrupted time with my kids. I would not have my phone out, and I would not be engaged in household tasks. I would complete household tasks while my husband is prioritizing his kid time. I would be then free to read and spend time with husband after the kids go to bed.
Step 4: With my weekdays looking like step 3 - my weekends would have green space to pencil in self care (beauty appointments, fun errands, social outings).
Step 5: This is where I would place extra housework and extra teacher work - into my lunch. I often spend lunch mindlessly scrolling - while that might be necessary some days to reset/relax - most of the time I could benefit from doing small household or school tasks during lunch.
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Identify your non-flexibles
Contractual hours, Contractual school calendar, Contractual evenings
Step 2: List your top priorities that you want to uncover more time for
Exercising/taking care of my body, mind, spirit. Time with my dad. Time with my children. Time with friends.
Step 3: Specify what life would look like if you prioritized these things
Daily journal/meditation time, daily working out (outside when it's nice, inside when it's not), once a weekend go visit my dad. Bi-weekly getting together with my children, weekly talks on the phone, quick daily texts. Going out to dinner once a week with a friend-weekends.
Step 4: ADd top priorities to the unallocated time in your schedule:
Top priority-Self care
Step 5: Identify the in-betweens and add them to your schedule
Sleep, grocery shopping (Saturday), housework (nightly pick up, Friday), laundry (Saturday morning), errands (Saturday morning), meal prep for the week (Sunday)
Step 1: contracted work hours, kids' activities, appointments, church
ReplyDeleteStep 2: family, exercise, self-care
Step 3: less screen time, exercise in the mornings before work, extra self-care time on Wednesdays and Sundays, make sure I'm making time for those I love most
Step 4: I try to keep early mornings, after supper time, and weekends somewhat flexible for family and self-care
Step 5: sleep, housework (Fridays), schoolwork (Sunday afternoons)
This process didn't take much time and definitely helped me to clarify some priorities.
Step 1: Commuting to work, contracted work hours
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Exercise, self-care, spending time with friends and family
Step 3: Working out in the mornings, extra self-care time 2 times a week, spend time or call my friends and family once or twice a week.
Step 4: Reading, self-care
Step 5: Sleep, cleaning and organizing, Laundry, meal prep
Step 1: work, church, daycare drop off and pickup times
ReplyDeleteStep 2: family, church, exercise, reading, gardening
Step 3: family: spending time as a family without electronics 3-4 nights/week. church: volunteering with kids church or Wednesday night program. exercise: physical movements for 20-30 minutes 3-4 days/week. reading: dedicating 30-60 minutes per week for devotional reading, pleasure, or professional development reading. gardening: bringing the girls in the garden with me and teaching them out to garden. learning new ways to preserve/harvest things from my garden.
Step 4: Be more mindful of shutting of the TV and putting electronics away to play with my kids. I need to choose 2 days during the work week to exercise after school with getting the girls involved to help keep them occupied.
Step 5: cleaning, household choose, errands, shopping/meal planning
I really like how the author said there are different “seasons” in our lives. I was just explaining this to a coworker the other days. She is newly married and in her first year of teaching. So can spend more hours of work because she doesn’t have any of her own kids at home and her husband works until 5:00 p.m. She usually stays at school until 5:00 p.m., too, because her husband is still working. I remember I was just like that my first year teaching because I had more time to do that. However, the season I am in now is much different than the season I was in 3 years ago. Now, I have two kids and I leave work almost immediately when our contracts hours are done. My kids are young and I understand they need more of my time. I also understand my house isn’t always going to be perfectly clean and I’m okay with that because it’s the season that I’m in.
I think this book really helps you put your life and priorities into perspective. I think as humans, we sometimes get wrapped up into the "have to" obligations, and forget that just because everyone else makes something a priority, doesn't mean there's a place for it to be a priority in. our lives as well. I was very surprised reading these chapters at the things I really wanted to be a priority, and how I was putting some of them on the back burner because I "didn't have the time" when I clearly could put my phone down more often and then time would magically appear.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Some of the obligations that I cannot change include my work schedule (7:40-3:40 M-Fri.). Luckily, it only takes 5 minutes to get to and from work. The hours vary slightly depending on school meetings.
Step 2: Things I value most in life that need to be prioritized include church, time to focus on my faith, my family, exercising, and my significant other. I am also finding out that for the sake of my mental health, I need to prioritize quiet time.
Step 3: If I prioritized these things, I would spend much less time on my phone, especially before bed. I would have screen time shut off at 7:00 every night. I would get up immediately when my alarm goes off at 5:00 rather than lay in bed for extra time. I would make the trip home (4 hours) to see my family once a month, and have at least one night a week for watching our favorite show with my significant other.
Step 4: If I woke up when my alarm first went off, I would be able to go to the gym and get an hour long workout in, and still have time for either quiet time, or my faith before school. If I turned off my phone earlier, I would add time to be present with my significant other, and do self-care (quiet time or just relaxing). I could also use this time to read, which is something I love to do.
Step 5: Some things that would be the in-between time is cleaning (a couple hours Saturday mornings), and meal prep and grocery shopping (Sunday afternoon). I would also benefit from getting a minimum of 8 hours of sleep per night.
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDelete1-Non flexibles- work, family church, practices. These are my non negotiables. They happen at the same time every day, every week.
2-Top priorities that I want more time for- I want to carve out time for reading and maybe a hobby. I love to read but mainly listen to audiobooks...but nothing beats the feel and smell of a hardcover book. I'd love to find or restart a hobby that I can use to decompress, something besides Netflix.
3- Balancing a full-time job, a side hustle, being a wife and mom of 4 makes it hard to carve out time for me. I feel so overstimulated by my job the end of the workday that I feel I take it out on my family sometimes. I hope that slowing down, prioritizing and saying no to things will allow me the time that I need to decompress.
4- I think my family would really support 'priority time'. If I prioritized reading before getting ready for work, and reading while I wait in my car at practices I would succeed at getting more page-time in. This way I'm not trying to read at night when I should be focusing on my family.
5- My in-betweens would be cooking, dishes, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, yard work (all the fun stuff!). I need to make those the time fillers and strive to keep them to a schedule. Example- laundry on Monday, mopping on Tuesday, yard work on Wednesday, grocery shopping on Thursday- and stick to it.
1. work/church
ReplyDelete2. family, self-care
3. meal prep/cook as a family, exercise in the early morning
4. Flextime
5. sleep, housework, errands
1. Non-Flexibles: School contract hours; Cattle Farming/Chores
ReplyDelete2. Top Priorities: Family- focus on aging Mom; 2 meals together/week, visit/call daily; Grands- enjoy the moments, everything else can wait.
3. Self-Care: Be Still and Silence (No distractions), fishing, walking, enjoy simple beauty of outdoors
4. Unalloted Time: More self care, doing tasks to be better prepared for busier days so less stressed
5. In-Betweens: Run errands, shopping, laundry, house keeping
1 Non-Flexibles: School, 20 minute commute, daycare drop off
ReplyDelete2 Top Priorities: Children, Spouse, Parents
3 Supper together 6 out of the 7 nights/1 hour to play outside or inside before bed, monthly date night with husband, monthly visits to visit my parents, 2 visits a month to my mother-in-law
4 Flex time after kids are in bed to watch a movie, self-care, time with husband, etc.
5 Sleep by 9/10pm, grocery shop on the weekend (before daycare pick up during the week), wash bedding every 2-3 weeks, deep clean once a month, dishes daily, laundry 2x a week
1- Faith - attending mass, scripture, time in prayer.
ReplyDelete2 - Wife and kids
3- Extended family
4-Work
5- Movable things, tasks around the house, shopping
I have found over the years that when I don't keep my priorities straight everything else suffers. So if I don't keep my Faith and time with my family secure and first in my life my work also suffers because you have to take care of what is most important first. If you do not you end up becoming bitter about the work and are not productive and when you are an educator there is no place for a grumpy bitter person working with children.
1) Family and Faith- church, bible study, prayer time
ReplyDelete2) Time with my spouse or friends
3) Work- lesson planning or classroom time
4) Self Care
5) House work, movable things.. etc
These chapters really helped me to re examine my routines and priorities. I have always made sure my Faith stays at the top as that is important to me. However, I have let things like house work or school work come before other more important things. It really helped to create the list through these chapters.
Step One: Nonflexible: My nonflexible times are church Sunday mornings and work. Work does not just involve teaching my students Monday through Friday. I also have a part-time job with non-flexible obligations.
ReplyDeleteStep Two: Top Priorities: Family, Friends, Wellness
Step Three: Time for family and friends should be more than just when I have time; it should be meaningful time. It should be time for my physical and mental health, a time when I am not exhausted and can read more.
Step 4: Unallocated Priority Time: I will engage in more self-care activities, limit screen time, including TV, and spend more time doing something I want/need to do.
Step 5: In-betweens: household tasks, cleaning, organizing, grocery shopping/meal planning, taking care of my yards
I want to be more intentional about how I plan my weeks. I want to carve out time on the weekends—specifically Saturday mornings—for thoughtful planning and grounding. My vision is to make Saturday morning a personal reset point.
I'll head to a coffee shop, enjoy a slow morning with a good drink, and spend a few hours reflecting and preparing. That time will include:
• Planning out the upcoming week
• Reading a book (something inspiring or just for fun)
• Having some devotional or spiritual reflection—ideally with a friend when it lines up
• Simply decompressing and catching my breath after the week
I want this to become a habit—a rhythm that helps me stay centered and aligned. It’s not about being rigid, but about creating space to live more intentionally.
1. Nonflexible---Church and School
ReplyDelete2. Top priorities---Family
3. Self care- reading, going for a walk, going shopping
4. unallocated priority time- limit screen time, TV and spend more time reading the Bible.
5. In- betweens-clean, laundry, groceries, bills, cooking and baking.
I just would like to go get groceries and not have to fly through the store because there is no time. I'd love to wake up on Saturday morning and quietly enjoy my coffee. I need to make this happen and not only enjoy these things during the summer months. It is hard when you are needed in several places after the school day ends. There is always so much that needs to be done, that is why I really like to go to school early in the morning. That helps my week go great!!
1. Non Flexible Acitivities would be church activities and School. Monday -Friday would be working at school, and Sundays is church attendance.
ReplyDelete2. Top Priorities - Devotions, Care of home and family time. Spending time with my husband.
3. Some of my other priorities would be exercise, such as bike riding and walking the dog. I'd like more time for baking for my family and for others. In doing these things, I would be spending time with my husband and family which definately falls into the top priority category.
4. Reading a book, or talking on the phone to my loved ones. Just sitting down in the morning and drinking my coffee.
5. In between things would be meal prep, or housework. Running errands is also a time consuming activity that needs planning.
When looking at a detailed schedule, it is hard to write down some of the things that I would put into it, since I do not have a minute by minute schedule, but earlier in the book it mentioned having about 60 hours of unscheduled time in a week. That is almost 5 hours in a day. I definately wouldn't want to to spend that time doing housework, but I if would write down the time that I should spend doing that, I wouldn't be making myself busy doing it all the time. To be more intentional about those necessary but busy chores would free up time to do the priority things that would enrich my life. I especially like this idea for my summer months when my schedule is so much more open. I feel that if I could schedule my summer more efficiently, it would make my school year more profitable.
Step 1: First would be work
ReplyDeleteStep 2: My top priorities would be time with my wife and three kids, parents and other family members plus our three dogs .
Step 3: Having meals together, camping or game time together, walking our dogs and repeat.
Step 4: Visiting my parents and upkeeping my house and vehicles.
Step 5: Lesson planning, napping, feeding my dogs, watching some tv.
ReplyDelete1. Non flexible- contract hours at school
2. Top priorities- Spouse, self care, CrossFit, bible study
3. Walking the dog together and going to the gym after school. doing my bible study in the morning before school, reading for enjoyment and having the energy for self care, going to the gym afterschool
4. doing my bible study in the morning before school, reading for enjoyment, having the energy for self care
5. Watching tv, shopping, cleaning the house
I loved this activity, it was so good to see everything written out and get to think about how I want my day to go and to remeber that I am in control of it after my non flexible time of the day.
1. School & Coaching
ReplyDelete2. My Faith, Reading, Working Out, Family/Friends
3. When I stick to a daily routine and am able to prioritize each of these things and complete them in a day I am able to rest so much better at night knowing that my cup is full and I don't have to sit and feel guilty or regretful about not getting to a certain task or priority.
4. The morning is the best time for me to accomplish reading, working out, and completing a devotional to check off 3/4. This leaves the evening for family/friends and relaxing.
5. TV Shows, Golf, Non-regular house chores
Step 1: School, Working out, Kids practices, Dinner
ReplyDeleteStep 3: Husband, family, Church, Reading
Step 3: Taking a short daily walk with one child a day to connect, Trying to plan more time with my husband, monthly date nights. Read during lunch breaks instead of working.
Step 4: I always workout in the mornings, to get it in before the busy happens, Daily walk, right when I get hom from school. Weekend meal planning to make sure when we can all eat together for dinner.
Step 5: Putting in a load of laundry in daily in the morning before leaving to work out and switching it when I get home so it doesn't pile up for the weekend. Saturday meal prep, then husband can do grocery shopping. Errands on weekends after church, with the family.
1. Work, and kid's activities
ReplyDelete2. Family, exercising, and reading
3. Spending more time together hiking, swimming, playing games, and camping. I love to be outside so exercising more outside during the summer months. I also love to read, so making time each day to read something I want to read.
4. I try and work out in the mornings before the day gets busy and I put myself on the back burner.
5. Cleaning the house, grocery shopping, meal prepping, paying bills, scheduling appointments.
1. Non-flexibles: Work
ReplyDelete2. Priorities: Family, Friends, Faith, Self-care (including exercise & hobbies)
3. Creating dedicated time for family & friends to do the things we love, being outside more walking or exercising, centering myself (walking, devotional, podcast, etc.), taking time before sleeping to wind down so sleep comes easier
4. I am planning to utilize my lunch break instead of working through it, dedicating my time after I get home to exercising, and also taking the hour before bed where I get lost in my phone to work on my devotionals
5. Cleaning, errands, meal prep, bills
Step 1: Identify your non-flexibles
ReplyDeleteWork hours
Step 2: List your top priorities that you want to uncover more time for
Exercising, time with my children and husband, religion, me time
Step 3: Specify what life would look like if you prioritized these things
Daily walks after work with the family. Sometimes go to a park or just be outside to catch up with them, family dinners nightly with one day on the weekend going out to eat. Kids going to bed on their own for husband and I to have some alone time and for me to be able to listen to my audiobooks 😊
Step 4: top priorities to the unallocated time in your schedule:
self-care and more time with husband
Step 5: Identify the in-betweens and add them to your schedule
I love to sleep so compromising when I go to bed early, do online grocery shopping so just have to pick up from store, laundry Monday, Wednesday, Friday, have kids help clean up every night before bed. Study for my work exam every night for an hour to have test taken by end of June.
step one: non-flexibles: church
ReplyDeleteStep two: top priorities: family
step three: life look like if prioritized:
start walks after a meal with family, husband and I have some time to ourselves
step four: add top priorities, reading my bible , self-care
step five: in-betweens added to schedule: meal prep, houseworking
Step one: School day
ReplyDeleteStep two: Working out- prayer- reading for enjoyment
Step three: Get up a half hour earlier in morning, get workout clothes on, have coffee, then do 30-40 min workout, then spend 5-10 min on prayer.
Step Four: Schedule monthly massage, and schedule "me time" each evening (at least 30 min)
Step Five: The in-betweens for me are definitely meal prep, house work, keeping up with mail and correspondence
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: School, dinner for my kids, bedtime
Step 2: Leave work on time, commit to family time at dinner, and one-on-one time with each kid at bedtime
Step 3: I'd leave at 4pm instead of 4:30pm and have more evening time with my kids.
Step 4: Start my planning right at 3:30pm and work hard until 4pm
Step 5: Plan to leave at 4pm, do any extra work after my kids are in bed that would have been done from 4-4:30pm.
Step 1: non-flexibles - work(farm/cattle/MBT business), church/organist
ReplyDeleteStep 2: top priorities - family, friends, self-care, farm upkeep(mowing, gardening, etc.)
Step 3: top priorities in order - Family time, self-care(daily devotions, biking/walking), maintaining yard/garden on the farm
Step 4: top priorities for unallocated time - Flex time for baking, organizing, and house cleaning
Step 5: in-betweens - shopping, watching a movie or favorite TV show, bookwork. Now that I have entered a new chapter/season of my life, I have a little more flex time than I did when I was in the heart of teaching; however I do realize that when I was teaching full time, the application of the 5 steps would certainly have been beneficial. I have always been a sticky note person for my list of things to do, and that has been a great reminder to continue. 🙂
Step 1: non-flexibles: work, church
ReplyDeleteStep 2: top priorities: husband, children, grandparents, prayer, exercise
Step 3: other priorities: date nights with my husband, walking the dogs with my family, going camping/fishing with family
Step 4: no work after 9:00pm so I have time for self care and prayer, be to sleep by 10:30 so I can wake up earlier to begin the day so I am not rushing around, exercise before the day begins
Step 5: in-betweens: laundry/housecleaning, grocery shopping/errands (Saturday) meal prep and rest (Sunday)
My priorities will look slightly different since I am not currently teaching, but I have found this book is helpful even as a stay-at-home mom! And I will certainly use these steps to align daily life with priorities if I return to teaching in the future.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Non-flexibles
*Mon - Fri, 7:15-4:00 - Work day (husband teaching during these times, so I'm with the kids)
*Sun, 10:00-12:00 - Church
Step 2: Top Priorities
*God time
*Exercise
*Self-care
*Husband
(kids not included because I am blessed to have a ton of quality time with them every day!)
Step 3: Specify
*Prioritizing God time - use a physical Bible and devotional for reading (no screens), sit down and commit to time with God BEFORE housework
*Prioritizing exercise - choose 2 days a week to do exercise during my sons' afternoon nap/rest times
*Prioritizing self-care - Saturday mornings my husband usually takes the boys for a few hours so I can do something I enjoy. This often turns into me doing work, even if it's for good or necessary things (like this book study or meal planning/prep). If I already have specific times set aside for those tasks, I can truly use Sat mornings for things I enjoy (yoga, reading, time at a coffee shop)
*Prioritizing husband - date night every other week, no phones at the table, have a dedicated spot for phones when we're home (kitchen counter) and they have to stay there
Step 4: Add to schedule
*God time - Have a quiet time/prayer/Bible reading time at the beginning of my sons' afternoon nap/rest time, BEFORE doing other work (even if it's just 10-15 mins)
*Exercise - choose 2 days a week and commit to exercise during afternoon nap/rest time
*Self care - As mentioned earlier, if I create specific times in my schedule for other tasks, I can actually use my Sat morning alone time to do something I enjoy that energizes me for the week
*Husband - At the beginning of the month, look at the calendar & pick two nights for date nights. Text babysitters to schedule.
Step 5: In-betweens
*Sleep (9:00/10:00-6:00/7:00 (we sleep a lot but I am a MUCH better mother and human being when I get 8-9 hours of sleep))
*Meal prep/planning/grocery order - possibly Wed nights after husband is home (I love the idea of chunking these things together...right now they often get done slowly throughout the week, whenever I feel like I have a little time to work on them...by chunking them and setting a specific time to do them, these tasks will hopefully not drag on forever)
*Housework - light cleaning every day (dishwasher, tidy toys, wipe counters, etc.). At the beginning of each week, choose 1 day that doesn't have much planned and commit to tackling one bigger house project during the day while I'm home with the boys (mopping the floors, dusting, cleaning the bathroom, etc.).
*Laundry - Wed & Sun afternoons
1. Time for God. School days, including the drive.
ReplyDelete2. Time with my wife and children. Sleep
3. I would spend less time when I am at home doing school work and ignoring my family. I would have a restful night's sleep and wake refreshed and not be dead tired all day.
4. Help my son with his homework after supper. Convince my wife to call it a night sooner and spend that time with me by making myself more available to her sooner.
5. Correcting and planning could be done at other times during the day.
Step 1: Contract hours, kids' activities, powerlifting training, and church choir.
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Time with kids and husband, date nights, eventually community theatre.
Step 3: 5am powerlifting training, school day, evenings would be a mix of kids' activities, church choir (wednesdays), and spending time with my kids and husband. Eventually as the kids get older and they don't need me to take them everywhere I could periodically do a community theater musical or join a community choir.
Step 4: weekends or breaks--Practice sports/music with my kids, self care (spending time with friends or self care appts), date nights.
Step 5: laundry, housework, errands, meal prep/planning. Most of this I get done on the weekends in between fun things that our family is doing.
1. Non-Flexible- work and church volunteer
ReplyDelete2. Top Priorities- kids, husband, parents, exercise, meal prep/planning
3. If I truly prioritized these things, which I am usually pretty good at putting my kids ahead of everything else, but not always myself and my husband. I tend to catch a lot of attitude from my oldest daughter when I plan to do stuff without her! haha
4. I honestly do not know if I know how to do this sometimes. I would love to schedule "me time" but I just do not always know where to take this time from. My kids are independent, but still very needy. This will be something I need to work towards.
5. House work, errands, meal planning, organizing, calendar comparing... all of these things also take time and I also struggle with focus so these things tend to take more time than necessary.
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your life.
ReplyDelete1. Non-flexible - Work, church ministries, and caring for my MIL
2. Top priorities - husband, puppies, self-care
3. If I prioritized these things more, my home will be more harmonious and I will feel better about myself.
4. I am able to schedule some self-care when I take my MIL for nails. I want to schedule time to talk to my husband about retirement. We are only a few years out from that and planning together should just bring us closer. We also need to see beyond caring for his mom.
5. In-betweens - housework, meal prep, errands, lesson planning, correcting assignments. I am hoping to have more time for these now that I am shortening my commute time.
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDelete1. Work & Kids Extracurricular Activities
2. Husband, my three boys, my dog, Marley, and family.
3. Nightly reading with my boys, prioritizing quality time with my husband, weekly activies/routines for my boys with our summer schedule.
4. Slow mornings to drink my coffee and relax, reading on my back deck, and watching my favorite shows.
5. Grocery shopping, meal prep, house chores, etc.
Especially during this time of the year, I spend my summer prioritizing my family and making memories with my boys. Being able to have the summer off with them allows me to make memories that I will always cherrish. However, when the school year starts back up my priorities shift slightly and we are more driven towards having a good routine to be prepared for the week.
As a high school science teacher, football coach, and dad to a one-year-old daughter, I feel like my time and energy are constantly being pulled in different directions. These steps gave me a clearer way to take back some control and be more intentional with how I spend my days.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Family and Church
Step 2: Family time-spending time with my child and my parents.
Step 3 : No screen time in bed, schedule exercise self-care
Step 4: Reading, taking care of myself, house cleaning
Step 5: Friends and events with them
Step 1 - Family, Church, Work
ReplyDeleteStep 2 - Family - especially my daughter, I am so lucky to have the summer with her. Exercising. Friend time - this can be hard to come by with how busy everyone is these days.
Step 3 - Not being on my phone/social media as much. Scheduling excersise times. Setting specific times aside to me up with friends at least once a month.
Step 4 - Scheduling "me time" would be nice. Also, scheduling date nights with my husband. These can be hard to come by with a toddler.
Step 5 - Housework, Grocery Shopping, Cooking, Sleeping - All of these things take time, it just looks different every week.
My 7 Step Plan
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Non-flexibles: Family (Spouse and teenage son still at home), church, contract hours/calendar hours
Step 2: Spouse, Kids, Family Time, Friends, Aging Mom, Church, Self-Care and Upkeep, Exercise and Walking
Step 3: I envision feeling more joy because I have included in my life all the things that make me truly happy. It's also a little overwhelming because I don't want to feel stressed because I'm feel I won't be organized at work or prepared for my job.
Sorry, I wasn't finished and hit the publish button. I also feel this could be hard my spouse because he likes to watch TV at night and how do I "quit" that time to do different things? Plus, my kids aren't too excited about having an abundance of "family time." lol
DeleteStep 4: I'm thinking of making a "Family Dinner Night" once a week where I can bring my kids (college kids too, both are close) and fill that need in my life. My kids love to eat and they are most talkative and social around supper time. My self-care I would do on Saturdays because that's "me" time, most of the time. And if I could shorten my work time at school, get home at decents times, walk my dog and exercise before I get too tired. I'm already feeling my goals and priorities are aligning.
Step 5: Inbetweens--Sleep, I love to sleep, probably too much. Housework I usually do on Mondays and Saturdays, so I kind of already have that in place. School work, I try to get done at school and not bring it home, except for a little on weekends. I think I'm at that stage in life where I don't have a lot of committments so I can be even more flexible than younger teachers.
In my teaching days I believe I was very organized so everything that had to be done each day was finished as much as possible. It had to be organized because there were always interruptions happening at school or home. I always had to have a plan B, C etc. Always a list.
ReplyDelete1. church, AWANA club, work, lessons,
2. programs, appointments
3. whatever, keeping 3 main rooms cleaned of clutter for guests, etc.
4. whatever
5. always planning home and husband's work
I still have lists. Long term items, short daily needs. Now I have a schedule that is very flexible as I manage many things. Our home in NE is used as a b&b and airbnb so I remotely answer calls for that end. We live there in the summer. I again have many lists.
My husband's health is priority, so everything revolves around that. During the school year, If I sub, I use that schedule. Filling in extras as the days allow. If I am home all day, I do household chores, read, help make and/or label jam and pickle jars and package them up, work on t-shirt quilts, practice piano for recitals or concerts, laundry, (appointments hopefully Tuesday pm), whatever else that needs doing. (Not everything every day). If I don't get everything done there is always tomorrow. My new motto.
Right now, I am enjoying doing these book studies and resting before starting my house repairs, painting project and refinishing furniture piece. All hopefully finished before we leave for school this fall. But I have to be flexible at all times. So very different for me at this season of life. Faith, trust and Jesus are still my guides.
Step One: Work, church, kids' scheduled activities
ReplyDeleteStep Two: Quality time with family, friends, exercise
Step Three: Less wasted time, less screen time, time for more meaningful activities
Step Four: Time with extended family, reading, Bible/prayer time
Step Five: Grocery and meal prep, housework, work on school tasks
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Time for faith /prayer
Step 2: Family/spouse time/ self care, me time, extended family,
friends
Step 3: Work ; utilize time so school work at home is minimal.
Step 4: Household chores, yard work, meal planning , laundry etc.
Step 5: Needed rest, school schedules/planning
Looking at these steps it is important to prioritize and take care of yourself.
Step 1: Work and family time
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Self-care and faith
Step 3: Spending weekends work-free
Step 4: Household chores
Step 5: Rest/health concerns
I think family matters should come before work, but there needs to be a balance with those two things.
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: Work and family
Step 2: Spouse and self
Step 3: Time and exercise
Step 4: Self Care
Step 5: Meal prep and housework
1. My non-flexibles are my contracted work hours.
ReplyDelete2. My top priorities that I want to uncover more time for are: spending time with my husband and son, having time to exercise, and having time for a hobby.
3. What life would look like for me if I prioritized these things: not working on schoolwork after 4:00 on weekdays, not working on school work on weekends, spending time with my son playing in the evenings, and going on a date with my husband at least once a month.
4. The top priorities to the unallocated time in my schedule would include: having time to myself every evening for 30 minutes to exercise or do a hobby.
5. The in-betweens that I will need to add to my schedule include: running errands, household chores including cleaning, laundry, and organizing.
1) Non flexibles
ReplyDelete-Work 7:30-3:30 (contracted times - 8 hours/day)
-Time commuting to work (10 minutes to school and 10 minutes home - 20 minutes/day)
-3 kids extra curricular activities (about 2 hours/week for each kid so 6 hours per week) We only let each kid do one activity at a time and my husband also helps with these so that is flexible.
-Time spent commuting to activities (probably 3 hours/week),
-Daily homework M-F with all 3 kids (15-20 minutes each/kid) so probably 180 hours/week. Some is independent and part is reading with them/math facts/spelling words
-Church once a week (1 hour/week)
2) Top priorities
-Time with spouse
-Time with kids
-Exercise
-Self Care
-Talk Therapy
-Meal Planning/eating together as a family at home
3) Prioritize these things
- Time spent with husband after 9:00 pm. Catch up on the day. Talk about our week. No household chores after this time. Sit in bed together and watch a show before bedtime. Have a date night once a month. Schedule a sitter ahead and plan it and let nothing come between it.
-No work or household chores after 8:30 pm so I can do nightly routine with the kids. Read to them in bed. Do most school work during kids rest time/recess time so I dont bring anything home and can focus on them after school and their homework. Dont save it for the time at the end of the day. Give them even a few 10 minutes of of their own time each day asking about how their day was and give my full attention focusing in on them not being distracted. Put the phone away.
-Get up at 5:30 instead of 6:00. Take the time to walk for 15 minutes and lift weights for 15 minutes. Listening to a podcast or music to start the day with energy.
-Light a candle and read for 10-15 minutes a day, do daily routine of washing face day/night while listening to calm music, practice 5 minutes of mindfulness, take a walk with the family after supper
-Make and scheudule a talk therapy session once a month. Commit and stick to it.
-Meal plan every Sunday and order the groceries to be delivered every Sunday evening. This prevents us from going out to eat so much. I would also let the kids choose in the meal planning as it would be a fun way to spend time together and save time of questioning what we will be eating each evening.
4)Top priorities
-Meal Plan
-Exercise early am/self care
-Leave most at school to have time for spouse/family
5) In-betweens
-Organizing
-Cleaning
-Folding laundry
-Errands
season of life will change these and also only allow one extracurricular activity per kid during a season)
Step 1: work hours, church and church activities-- Crazy as these have become less as my kids have grown and graduated from high school, but there still seems to be plenty of things that keep me constantly busy.
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Spend time with my spouse, spend time with my kids when they are available, exercise, and hobbies.
Step 3: Weekly dates and daily time with my spouse. Daily time conversing with my one kiddo still at home. Weekly or bi-weekly special time with my kiddos that are out in the world and in homes of their own.
Step 4: Exercise time daily, daily walks with the dogs.
Step 5: Sleep, making meals, house cleaning, laundry, organizing closets and lost space.
1. Church, work and commuting time
ReplyDelete2. Family, self care
3. More time to exercise, more complete family time
4. Me time, walking the dog, down/unconnected time
5. Sleep and meal prep
ReplyDeleteIdentify the non-flexibles
List your top priorities that you want to uncover more time for
Specify what your life would look like if I prioritized those things
Add top priorities to the unallocated time in my schedule
Identify the in-betweens in my schedule.
These are good steps for anyone to follow. The ‘heavy lifting’ of these activities are very cerebral, and that makes them some of the most difficult tasks for me to do. The helpful part of these is that Watson breaks the process into small steps. By putting non-flexibles into my daily routine first (I picture this like a spreadsheet or graph paper) I can more easily identify my open hours for Number 2 tasks,, as few as they may be on any given day.
Number Three’s tasks may need some dreaming before identifying and specifying my vision. I suspect that I would also have to break few bad habits (spent with timewaters on cold, dark winter days). Number four’s specific items are a bit in flux right now as my children grow and leave the nest. They will include my husband, some creativity, some paring down of our home, some exploring the world and preparing for the next step, I suspect.
Number Five's tasks should be easier to fit in… my life DOES have must-dos adn this gives me permission to fit them in as-able… perhaps in the morning, or while I am baking something, etc. it will also serve as a reminder to me when I find myself engaged in the time-wasters. :-)
Step 1 - Work, church, and child's scheduled activities.
ReplyDeleteStep 2 - Faith, family, and self-care
Step 3 - Setting aside at least 10 minutes a day for faith/prayer, setting aside at least 20 minutes a day for exercise, not taking work home so my time after school is saved for my husband and children.
Step 4 - In the morning before kids are awake, I would schedule my time for faith/prayer. After school, before kids need to be picked up, I would schedule time for exercise.
Step 5 - Sleep, meal prep, daily chores, and errands
Chapters 6-8 How can you align daily life with your priorities using the steps listed in Chapter 7? Although this exercise can be extremely personal, please share what you are comfortable doing so about your application of these 5 steps in your own life.
ReplyDeleteStep 1: contracted work times
Step 2: family and self care
Step 3: only work contracted hours, reduce screen time and develop a healthy night routine
Step 4: exercise/selfcare
Step 5: organizing areas of house, meal planning, sleep, errands
Step 1 . Non-flexible- Work, Feeding Family
ReplyDeleteStep 2. Top Priorities- Family time,
Step 3. Self Care- Relaxing, Skincare
Step 4. Top priorities for unallocated time- Reading, TV
Step 5. In between- Sleep, Laundry, cleaning.
Step 1: Commute to work, work, commute from work
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Faith, family, self care
Step 3: Read daily devotions before work
Exercise right when I get home from work
Family fun
Daily devotions right before bed
Step 4: Me Time- Enjoyment reading, scrapbooking
Step 5: Meal prep on Sunday's
Laundry days
Clean house
Pay bills
Step 1 - Work and appointments
ReplyDeleteStep 2 - Husband, families, and church
Step 3 - Exercise 3-4 times a week, no work after 7:30 P.M., date night on the weekend
Step 4 - Me Time - Leisure reading and watching an episode of a show I enjoy
Step 5 - In-Betweens - Sleep, laundry, errands, school work and prep, and housework
The reason I chose this book study is because I typically have 3-4 “to do” post it’s on my desk ever single day and not much get accomplished. I get mentally exhausted by the end of the week. This book has helped me in thinking differently so in turn will help me be more effective in my teaching.
ReplyDelete#1 God- faith is my top priority. Bible reading/studying
# 2 Family- spouse- grown children and grandchildren
#3 mental and physical health. I have chronic pain and depression so have been working on my overall health
#4 Professional growth - learning more
#5 friends
Step 1: School, meetings, and athletic practices
ReplyDeleteStep 2: Faith, family/friends, exercise, hobbies
Step 3: Schedule time in the day for things like devotional time and working out - things that might get skipped otherwise; leave schoolwork at school, unless absolutely necessary
Step 4: Unallocated time - catch up with a friend, catch up on a show I like to watch, go for a walk, make a nice dinner, etc.
Step 5: In-betweens - laundry, cleaning the house, getting groceries
I like this approach - it does make the endless to-do list seem much more attainable. It puts things into perspective about what I actually need to accomplish and what can be put aside for another time.