6 Rules for Being a SAHM & Getting Sh*t Done

Penny Bull - 1 Jul 18

Today is day four of my seven day blogging challenge. Read about day three here.

Disclaimer: this post does not contain life-changing advice and should probably be ignored by anyone with even a shred of organisational capability. However, if you frequently get to the end of the day and realise your sole achievement was just keeping the kids alive, then read on my friends.

Six Rules for Being a Stay at Home Mum and Getting Shit Done

Endless housework. Clingy children. Social Media. Absence of any real deadlines. There are many reasons I could list to explain my inability to get stuff done. But at the end of the day, who cares what explanations I can supply if my to-do list remains a mile long and we’re having fish fingers for dinner again. Hence the need for some strict rules. The following are not fun rules, but to quote Mel Robbins in her hugely helpful TED talk ‘How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over’, sometimes it’s your job to “parent yourself and make yourself do the things that you don’t want to do”.

1. Get ready as if you’re going to work, even when you’re not. That will probably sound either silly or obvious depending on what kind of person you are. There was a time when I let my children be my alarm clock with chaotic results, but now I get up an hour before them to make sure I’m ready for the day. And by ‘ready’ I mean clean, dressed and properly fed. I don’t like to wear make-up everyday so I don’t stress if this is not done, but perhaps a future, more glamourous version of myself will ace at this.
2. Plan your day the night before. If I don’t have at least a vague plan of where my day is going, things can get…a bit procrastinate-y. I try to plan out my week on a Sunday, then spend 5 minutes each night (or whatever time of day works the best) to remind myself of what I need to do the following day. Obviously plans change; ‘things’ come up and you accommodate accordingly, but at least you have some idea where you are headed.
3. Ignore your phone for two hours after waking up. This may sound like a toughie, but it’s such a no-brainer I have to include it.  Schedule a 20 minute session twice daily to check social media, email, etc. You can always catch up on extra reading in the evening if you need to.
4. Think about food in advance. This rule is 50% for efficiency reasons and 50% to stop myself from getting malnutrition. Not long after the birth of my first son, I spent a two month period eating peanut butter on toast for breakfast and lunch EVERY DAY. I was the skinniest I had been for a long time, but I’m pretty sure that diet, if followed long term, would not have done me any favours. Also, running to the supermarket to buy last minute items is a massive time-sucker-upper of mine, so anything that can be done to avoid this is key. Plan breakfast the night before. Plan lunch and snacks in the morning. Do a weekly dinner plan before you do your food shop.
5. Keep a tidy kitchen. This one I really struggle with because once I’ve finally got the kids to bed I just can’t be arsed to go back into kitchen drudge mode. I also find it 100% easier to deal with kitchen mess in the morning – I’m just mentally more prepared for it for some reason. However, there’s no arguing the fact that it’s creating more work for myself during the day and I should just get off my slovenly ass and do it before bed.
6. Put clutter away everyday. Toys, paperwork, laundry and random objects…the clutter weed just keeps on growing and growing, and if left unchecked for a few days will take over a house, leaving it unrecognisable. But quite frankly, picking up after everyone all the time is a totally thankless task that breeds low-level resentment. Get everyone involved. Create a home for anything that doesn’t already have one and inform everyone of their duties. Pesky items that are repeat offenders can be confiscated until everyone learns to follow the rules! Keeping on top of clutter will help you to feel mentally uncluttered and save you masses of time when cleaning.I’m sure there’s a million other things I could be doing to buy myself some time here and there, but to be honest I struggle with the above six. I often have to make do with only hitting some of these things some of the time. Because I’m rubbish. But if you’re as rubbish as me, my advice is to concentrate on the things you have managed to achieve, rather than berate yourself for the things you haven’t. And the more we practise hitting these little daily goals, the better we’ll get at it all. In theory.Onwards and upwards..

Penny Bull

Mum to 2 boys and a husky. Spends days writing and worrying about health, the world in general and skills as a parent. Started blogging to regain sanity(hasn't happened yet).

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