I was talking to my husband about the running of my company,
Motherhood Incorporated, and how I was feeling run down, overworked and getting really stressed out as my company continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Some days it feels like I am wrangling six horses that want to charge out of control while I hold on to the reigns for dear life. In the beginning, I fretted about too little work -- now I fret about too much. My son, who is 4, looked up at me and said, “Mommy, you just need to be Wonder Woman.”
He was right.
But I am no Wonder Woman. No snazzy cuffs. No invisible jet. No magic lasso.
I went online to find some tips on time management. I often complain about not having the time to get things done and boy was I surprised to find so much of the online advice blaming me for wasting time! What I found was that many experts said, on average, that interruptions happen approximately eight times a day and add up to two to three hours of wasted time. I was also instructed that I can control these interruptions with just a little persistence and planning.
My first thought was, “You are out of your cotton-picking mind!”
My second thought was, “You are not a working mother!”
In my effort to “plan, plan, plan” and “if you fail to plan, then plan to fail,” I realized a few things as I plan for Motherhood Incorporated’s day.
1.) No matter how much you plan or organize, a bloody nose, a dirty diaper or a high fever throws you off your plan.
2.) You are only as good as your support systems allow you to be. Babysitters flaking, kids home sick from daycare, or husbands out of town throw you off your plan.
3.) Planning gets the dinner done faster, but won’t do the grocery shopping, the cooking, or the cleanup while battling with your children over the “Yuck!” dinner you prepared.
4.) Established working hours only work if your kids, dogs, husbands, and the planet Mercury are in alignment. Check your astronomy guide for that part of your “plan.”
5.) Planning to get everything done on your to-do list is like planning to lose all the baby weight you gained in your third pregnancy, plus the first and second, by this weekend.
