There is no question that the day-to-day existence of a homemaker (or housewife as they used to be called) is hectic and extremely important. Anyone cannot necessarily handle their work, which is why we must recognize that a homemaker’s daily routine is sacred and should be protected.
Time Management Importance for Housewives
The number of responsibilities a housewife may have on her plate on a given day is enormous. They are expected to carry so much of the load, and it is brutal that they have to put up with all of this. Thus, they must have a plan of attack for how they will work through everything on their list.
Time can quickly slip away when one is pulled in multiple directions all at the same time. This kind of thing can happen when there is not a great structure to one’s day. Sadly, this either means that the entire day is spent just trying to get caught up, or the housewife will fall behind on some of the things she wants to do. Either scenario is not ideal, and this is precisely why it is so important that all housewives receive the support that they need to get their schedules under control.
Previous Daily Housewife Schedule
Karen knew that she needed a new schedule that could work for her. The schedule that she used to work as a housewife is something that she literally cannot imagine trying to do anymore. She was running herself way too thin and getting behind on the things that mattered to her. It was a devastating place to be, and she felt like she could never bring herself to catch up. You wouldn’t believe it, but she was running chores from when she woke up until at least 8 PM every night. She felt like she had no time to herself.
Her day consisted of getting up and getting her children to school. Of course, before sending them out the door, she would insist that they eat something. Thus, it was either making them breakfast herself or pouring a bowl of cereal. They needed to be at school by 8 AM, so she always tried to rush them along in the morning to get to where they needed to be.
Once she finally got them to school and battled the traffic necessary to get back home, she was met with a mounting list of chores she needed to do there. It wasn’t that anyone was specifically ordering her to do these chores, but she knew in her heart of hearts that it was necessary to take care of them herself. She feared that they wouldn’t get done if she didn’t get to them.
She would work on laundry, dishes, trash, and more. It was nice that she could turn on some music or the television while working, but she always felt that these things were background noise. She wasn’t truly paying attention to them because she was so busy and caught up in whatever she was doing.
During the middle of the day, she would have to stop and figure out something to eat for herself. This meant stopping to prepare a meal or feeling guilty about buying something from a restaurant. It was never a great situation, but she had to power through it because she needed to take care of it.
After this, the rest of the afternoon would quickly slip away from her as she tried to bounce from a chore to a chore. Then the kids would need to be picked up from school, so she had to stop to do that as well. She would take them home and start thinking about what she would make them for dinner, worry about how she would help them with their homework if they needed assistance, and then stress about the bills she had to pay. A constant cycle like this left her feeling extremely drained all the time.
She could not get caught up on much of anything for herself ever, and she always felt like she was right on the edge of being able to handle whatever it was that she needed to get to that day. Her day didn’t end until 8 PM, and she was completely wiped out by that time. It was a difficult existence.
Time Management Tips for Daily Housewives Schedules
1. Create a Morning Routine
There is nothing that I can recommend more for time management for housewives than having a morning routine. Your day should always start the same way because you can always know what you are doing with your time. You don’t want to put yourself in a spot where there is too much variability because that will ultimately kill your motivation and make it extremely challenging to get back on track with your actions. Stick to a schedule, and your body will learn to adjust to your new routine.
Karen benefited enormously by starting each day knowing exactly what she was going to do with that day.
2. To-Do Lists are Great
The to-do list is the friend of a stay-at-home mom. Some people shun to-do lists and say that they are too old-fashioned or don’t produce results, but that isn’t exactly true either. Plenty of people have made a great pivot in their lives by looking at their to-do lists and sticking to them religiously. I strongly encourage people to use to-do lists simply because I know how well they have worked for me.
The sensation of accomplishment that comes over me when I check something else off my list is something I wouldn’t give up for the world.
3. Connect with Other Stay-at-Home Moms
A big complaint that I hear from some stay-at-home moms is that they feel isolated. This can be particularly true if they are at home with a newborn that needs constant care. My recommendation to them is to try to find others in the same situation. It can help build a sense of community and not let yourself fall into despair. Karen felt it was useful to get in touch with other moms who understood what she was going through. She felt it was one of the only things that kept her grounded when she needed it the most.
4. Limit Social Media Usage
Social media is one of the biggest temptations that some people have to get distracted by. It is very alluring for many of us and can take us away from the other things we know we need to do. Try your best to limit your time on these networks.
5. Prioritize Your Tasks
I always say you should have a priority list of tasks that need to be done for the day. Keep working on a specific task until it is done, and then focus on the next one. Do not jump around back and forth, or you will wear yourself out. Instead, try to get your most important tasks done right from the start.
6. Don’t Forget to Give Yourself Grace
You are a hard-working person, and you deserve to give yourself some grace when things perhaps don’t go as perfectly as you expected or hoped. We all have issues sometimes, and there is nothing wrong with admitting that you are still a work in progress. Give yourself some grace when you make mistakes. Karen knew that she needed to get easier on herself. She worked hard to get everything done, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if she allowed herself a little grace now and then.
7. Incorporate Your Kids into the Chores
Your children can work on chores too. Even if they are young, they can learn some of the basics. Don’t be afraid to get them started. They live in the house as well, and they can contribute to its success. Consider making them a daily to-do list of things that they can help you out with as well.
8. Get Rid of Unnecessary Things
When you have a spare moment, declutter your house. You might be surprised by how much extra work you put into yourself when you have excessive amounts of possessions in your home.
9. Challenge Yourself Each Day
Suppose you didn’t hit every objective you put up for yourself today. No problem. Perhaps you can give it a try again tomorrow. When you focus on slow and steady improvement, you can start making major strides toward solving the problems you are facing.
10. Look For Ways to Make Chores Fun
There may be ways that you can make your chores fun again. Just try to find the simple joys in how you do the things that you do, and you will suddenly not feel so burdened and overwhelmed by all that you have to do.
New Current Daily Housewife Schedule
I have used the tips above to make my schedule much more usable for myself. For example, I got rid of a lot of clutter in my house, so I wasn’t always taking care of chores that could have been avoided. I didn’t need to keep washing the same pieces of laundry over and over again because I got rid of many of the clothes my family did not need anymore. That alone was a big step in the right direction.
I still have to get up early each day and take my kids to school, but then I have a list of things that need to get done in my day, ensuring they are all taken care of immediately. Just plowing through the list alone is something that brings me great joy. It is not always easy, but I find a way to get it done.
My kids are now part of the solution as well. I have set up daily to-do lists so they can help with chores around the house. I manage my time by getting my kids to pitch in a bit. They also learn the value of the work they put into the house. Win-win.
3 Main Points Every Housewife Should Take From This
Practice Time Management or Fall Behind
It would help if you had a schedule or would fall behind. There are far too many demands on your time in the day to ignore the fact that you need a schedule. If you know this to be true, you need to work on developing that schedule immediately. Anything short of that could leave you in a challenging position.
You Can Use Your Kids to Help
It isn’t the end of the world if your children have to pitch in to help around the house. They may put up some resistance, but you are ultimately the one who makes the rules. It is good to add structure to your children’s life by adding them to the list of responsibilities in the house. It teaches them more about self-discipline, a lesson that everyone should try to zero in on as often as possible.
Give Yourself Some Grace
You are called upon to do a tremendous amount in your day. It would be best if you tried to recognize all the efforts you have to put in to make things work the way they are supposed to. Not everyone can do what housewives do to keep the ship afloat. We are all extremely grateful that they are there to assist when things get dicey. Please remember to give yourself the grace that you deserve when it comes to taking care of the chores that you have to do.
Conclusion
There are only so many hours in the day, and housewives are constantly called upon to do more and more with their limited time. If you have felt this pressure, please understand that you are not alone. Many others just like you are also trying to figure out how to move forward with their day. If you can, try to learn from their experiences and see where you can go from there.
