An Accomplished Woman: Motivational Monday – Your “Want to do” list or short term goals

Last week, we talked about the chores that keep your home neat and orderly. Looking through some old papers I cam across this quote I had written down and of course I have no clue where it came from. “A clean home is a beautiful home.” I love that saying. Establishing habits to maintain your home will bring you both peace and joy.

Now we move onto the next step. Projects you know you want to do. Pinterest has created an explosion of things you want to do for you, your home, yard or children. Furniture to paint, roses to grow, cute costumes to whip up, not to mention cakes to bake, etc. It could go on forever. How do you find time for this fun stuff?

Well, let’s face the hard truth.

1. You cannot find time for fun projects if are always catching up on the “must do” chores.

2. You have to prioritize and plan. There is no way around this fact in our busy and hectic lives. What do you want to do first? What is the most important to you? These projects are the fun stuff… the things you thought you would be doing before you got married and had children and basically, a life.

3. Now make a list of the top 12 things you want to do. Give this a lot of thought. It will take you one year to complete these projects at one project a month. This list will do two things.

a. You have too many projects in your to do list and the result is that you put too much pressure on you.

b. The list causes you to focus on what is really pressing. What you need to get done.

4. Once you plan your projects… carve out time for yourself. DO not push it aside unless the children are ill, or a nuclear explosion has occurred. Something will always come up. Trust me. You have precious little time. Guard it carefully. I had to paint a fairly large project and the only time I could find was from 6 to 7 AM. It took nearly two months to finish. But I got it done and it was a huge accomplishment.

When I started this blog, I had a hundred ideas that I wanted to do. No way I could finish all those projects in a year or frankly for two years. Now I am very selective. What do I really want to accomplish? Where do I really want to spend my time?

So here is the list of my short term projects for the next six weeks.

1. Smock an outfit for my grandson to wear to this fall.

2. Organize the tablecloth closet and catalog all the tablecloths.

3. Sew a bench cushion for my new banquette.

4. Re-upholster a chair that I purchased recently at a tag sale. Possible fabric choices

Of course the biggest challenge is the chair. I have never upholstered a chair before. It may take longer than expected.

After four months of hubby being home, he is back at work. I have one week until school starts so this week’s menu has to be easy and healthy. My days will be filled and very long. I have school prepping to wrap up, extra weeding and lots of writing. I have also a few freezer meals planned for the fall and new parents.

Monday