Mom life in my world requires a lot of preparation. I organize what needs to be done with regular goal planning sessions. This ensures that nothing gets lost between my thoughts and putting it into action to get things done.
This process works for all aspects of your life but today we’re going to set goals for your household. This will give you a roadmap of how to proceed in managing your home.
My Personal Need For Goal Planning
In addition to being a wife and mother of two (born 2006 and 2008), I work from home. This leaves little mental and physical time and energy to remember what all needs to happen around the house.
Presently I have three passions that I work on. The first one is this mom lifestyle blog. Next is a handmade business where I design knit and crochet character hats. I also write children’s books to tell each character’s story. Finally, I run as a digital marketing business where I specialize in strategy and content writing.
Suffice it to say, the reason anything gets done around the house comes from good old fashion goal planning.
Consider The Big Picture
If you’re new to goal planning, let’s discuss how we can use this system to organize and maintain your home. I’m a big paper, pen, and highlighter user. If you prefer to do it online I’m sure you can adapt my system to that as well.
The first step I take is doing a big brain dump of all the things I need and want to get done. It could be anything from regular tasks all the way to renovations or redecorating projects. As I write, I envision each room of my home and what I’d ideally like to get done. It really helps.
Once I’m happy with having written everything down, I then sub-sort the “dump”. I create a list of categories that jump out at me and colour code the list with my highlighters. For example, I may see daily, monthly, weekly, and annual chores and maintenance. Or perhaps I see decorating and renovation projects that I want to tackle.
After my categories are all sorted, I come up with a priority order of when I want to do things. Maybe I need to declutter before I can do a big spring cleaning project. Or perhaps clear out the garage so I can get my car back in there.
Break Your List Into Manageable Chunks
It’s really easy to want to tackle all of your list right away, only to become overwhelmed again. I can totally relate! So here’s what we’re going to do to start implementing your goal planning.
Looking at your categories, number them in order of when you need or want to have it completed. If tasks are ongoing, that category will be first and then you move down the numerical list.
Let’s assume that your top 3 list goes something like this:
- daily upkeep chores (dishwasher, laundry, meals)
- weekly home blessings (bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting)
- declutter main floor
In this example, I would take my planner or calendar and mark off what I need to do each day to make the daily chores happen (each morning for one hour). I would then block off time to complete my weekly home blessing (Monday morning after my daily chores and a short break). Finally, I would look at my declutter goals.
My main floor has a laundry room, front hall closet and entryway, bathroom, family room, dining room, and kitchen. To be realistic about getting this done in addition to the other tasks I’ve already set, I’m going to block out Sunday afternoons to work on a room a week. Some rooms may need four sessions if they are in really rough shape.
Conclusion
Try to be realistic with your goal planning and tasks so you aren’t disheartened if you don’t get it all done in the time you’ve allotted.
If you’re really overwhelmed, aim for 15 minutes a day and tackle one drawer or surface. When your timer goes off or you finish, you are done for the day.
By breaking your goals into manageable chunks and taking small steps forward, you will stay motivated and make progress.
Now that you have your list, I wrote some general decluttering tips that may help you get started.
Let’s Hear From You
Please leave me a comment about your goal planning and how you organize yourself to accomplish your household management targets.
This post was updated on September 11, 2020, from the originally published January 19, 2016 article.
