The other day I found myself clicking on an article entitled “10 ways to make your morning more productive”. It included things such as lay the kids’ clothes out the night before, get up half an hour earlier to do some batch cooking, do a load of washing before anything else. It made me feel exhausted just reading it and would have been better entitled “10 ways to go quietly nuts.” Readers of this blog will know that I’m a fan of taking things slow and I’m pretty sure that if I adopted all the tips in the article I’d be knackered and all joy would be sapped out of my albeit yoghurt stained yoga pants.
Its easy to think that the more we organise our time, the more productive we’d be and the better our lives would become. Indeed, I often get asked for tips on how I structure our days or balance motherhood and work and the reason I never know what quite to say, or haven’t ever written on this topic, is because I have no answers. I have no plan or structure (the same applies with the kids). I have no fancy bullet journal or pretty notebook. And yet I do think I am productive.
And recently I’ve noticed something: it’s when I’m being least ‘productive’, that I actually end up being most productive. It’s when I purposely set aside a morning and am anticipating it for a week to get everything done that I find myself aimlessly scrolling through Instagram and writing a few lines of a blog post only to be deleted later; and conversely it’s when I’m having an aimless morning with the kids at home with no hopes to work, that I end up meal planning for the week, putting on three loads of washing, having a call with a brand, writing a blog post and editing a video.
So next time you’re considering buying that new notebook or blocking out a day to be ‘productive’, try just switching your phone off, doing a load of laundry, not thinking about what you’re supposed to be doing, and just seeing what comes up. You might just surprise yourself ?
Do you prefer to plan your days or are you a go with the flow type of person?
Emma xxx
P.S Spend More Time Doing Less and Let Your Kids Be Bored
Definitely needed to rest this today. Thank you.
<3 so welcome lucie xxx
I needed this, this week. THANK YOU! I’m a list maker more than a planner but the list got so long in recent weeks that I’m SOOO overwhelmed! This is a nice reminder of how things can flow and reset.
On the subject of the usual articles on being productive, I’m sure they’re designed to make us feel dreadful! My toddler is waking up at 5:30 these days! How am I meant to wake earlier, so laundry, batch cook and go for a run ALL BEFORE THAT? Please!
Finally I have come across someone like myself! My husband doesn’t understand how I am not a planner, but somehow this is how I’m wired. It’s so freeing to me to not be constrained to a list but to feel the flow of my day and move accordingly. I gage what needs to be done and will this fit in our day…not Tuesday we must go to the library or else or it’s taco Tuesday again. No! I like surprises and I’m spontaneous so I suppose it’s a personality thing. I do think my husband balances me out though, ha. So lovely to come across your neck of the woods. Plus every time we’ve tried to get in a schedule it somehow changes. I do like order but in a flowy way. My kids like to know is this happening tomorrow? So in some ways it helps to be organized and makes life smoother. If I lay out their clothes the night before inevitably they get changed to something else. Balance, eh? Xx
ah love this , and love the concept of order but in a flowy way! i’m all about the spontaneity too but yes, as you say, having a goal for the day even if that’s just “i need to buy bananas” ! thanks for reading and for being here <3 x
LOVE THIS!
thanks!