Honoring Mom

Every year my family asks me what I want for Mother’s Day and the answer is always the same: “I want a day to relax and just be.”

Make no mistake, I love my life. I am surrounded by a supportive husband, great kids, wonderful friends, including a team of co-workers who make it possible for sBo to grow so I can follow my passion each and every day. Even with all of that, I still get tired.

I realize that not all women are as fortunate as I am.  Many of my friends feel under appreciated, overwhelmed, and stressed-out.  Some gave up their careers to become stay-at-home moms, others who work outside the home are riddled with guilt.  All mom’s juggle too much; constantly trying to keep everyone happy, often at the expense of their own sanity.

We worry about our kids; Am I making the right choices? Am I setting a good example? Am I doing too much?  Or not enough?  I’ve never met a mom who isn’t tired.

This past week I had the pleasure of speaking to a room filled with amazing women about being organized. Each person had her own challenges, but they all had one thing in common…they wished they had more time.

Although I can’t add more hours to the day (how great would that be?!), below are 3 strategies to help you maximize your time, making it possible to check things off your “to-do list”.

1. Focus on no more than 3 things you need to accomplish in a day and do them. Trying to do too many tasks is the easiest way to burn out and get frustrated. Pick important actionable items and complete them first before moving to something else.
2. Work in small increments of time.  You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in 5 or 10 minutes. Unload a dishwasher, sort the mail, throw in a load of laundry, or answer some emails are just a few examples.
3. Plan “me” time.  Ever since my kids were small I made it a point to wake up 15-30 minutes before they did so I could drink my coffee in peace while collecting my thoughts for the day. Whether you take your “me” time in the morning, middle of the day or evening doesn’t matter, as long as you do it. We all need peace and quiet to gather our thoughts and regroup.

Having a sense of accomplishment is often the motivation we need to wake up and do it all over again tomorrow.   

If there is any day of the year to release yourself from guilt, Mother’s Day is it!  So this Sunday, I encourage you to take time for yourself. Do something that brings you joy.  Sleep in, read a book, go shopping, exercise.

Feed your soul, because too often mom’s neglect the one person who makes everything else possible…ourselves.

Here are 2 very important reasons why I get up every morning….

Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Organizing!