If there’s anything that will teach you flexibility, it’s a newborn.
In case you didn’t know, I’m a type – a planner and goal driven person.. so flexibility doesn’t exactly come naturally. However, it can be learned.
Over the past year I’ve gotten much better at being flexible since working on simplifying our life and focusing more on what really matters to me.
But this year it’s going a step further. Our son was born on new years day and in case you didn’t know, newborns don’t exactly stick to any sort of schedule you’ve laid out 🙂
But you can still get things done and be flexible at the same time. The key? A short to-do list, block times, and grace.
Block times
I’ve started using block times to add more flexibility with my schedule. They’re pretty broad right now, but I’ll adjust them as we eventually get on a routine. But for now, in the mornings I work on the blog and do a couple chores in between feedings since the morning is when I have the most energy. Then in the afternoon I like to keep things quieter and rest for a couple hours. In the evening we have some family time and I’m usually dozing off in the chair by 8pm.
That’s how I’ve split my day into “blocks” for the time being. I’ll get more specific as time goes on, but for now that’s working and most days I can get a good amount accomplished.
So how can you implement this as a busy mom?
Just start somewhere. And make your time blocks pretty flexible, at least until you get a good idea of what works for you.
Another thing to try alongside of this is to create mini routines.
For example, we have a basic morning routine to get everyone up, pottied/diaper changed, and ready for the day. Even the dog knows her part of it, lol!
This helps start the day on the right foot. If we don’t follow it, we tend to get off track.
I’m working on other routines too for other parts of our day!
Short to-do list
Next is to make sure your to-do list isn’t too long! This is where knowing your priorities and goals really comes into play – we have to be careful that our tasks are actually necessary to take care of our priorities and move closer to our goals.
I like that my planner has just 8 checkboxes for the daily to-do list. This has been super helpful in making sure I don’t try and cram too much into one day.
A great place to start is to write down the TOP 3 tasks for the day. These things getting accomplished would make the day a success, even if nothing else gets done.
Setting up the top 3 helps keep us focused on the important things and not get as sidetracked with distractions.
Grace
Finally, it’s so important to give yourself lots of grace. Things rarely go as planned. I know we’ll have fussy, off days where pretty much nothing gets done off my list because my little boy needs to be cuddled all day – and that’s totally ok. It lines up with my priorities in keeping family first – plus I know very well I won’t get those moments back!
So give yourself grace when the unexpected comes up and things don’t go as planned.
Tomorrow is a new day to get back on track.
Being flexible can add more joy to our lives. It allows us to live more in the moment and focus on what really matters.
By creating a simple schedule, keeping your to-do list short with the most important tasks, and giving yourself plenty of grace, you can create the flexibility to design a life you love. One that’s not overwhelming and leaves you free to live in the moment.
