Small goals

Starting to slow down and re prioritize is a lot harder and more tiring than I expected! It consists of reorganizing my schedule and just making myself stick to one. I am a very organized person and don’t function well when things are not orderly so you think that it might be easy for me to stick to a schedule but on the contrary it can be rather tricky. If my daily schedule doesn’t go as planned I find myself frustrated and stressing more about how to make it all pan out, quickly feeling like I failed. Consistency has always been my biggest weakness and sticking to a schedule falls right in that category. I would work so hard to make myself a schedule to make all of my responsibilities have its place in a day/week/month and it would just take 1 bad day (usually by day 2) to make me “give up”.

Between the animals, planning and cooking meals, kids, homeschooling, planning classes, the house, finances, paying bills, kids activities, garden, etc I needed a game plan for each day to make sure I was able to get everything done. Plus keeping my kids on a schedule really helps them too. Gets them to the point they know what to expect each day and how and when to do their part around the house (chores). I spent almost a full day trying to map out my game plan for what I wanted to do to try and save money, budget, keep things tidy, the kids school year and their extra activities we could afford to put them in this year and stay on top of all the animal needs. I was so excited when I got it done and told myself I wouldn’t give up this time! So many things I needed to change it seemed overwhelming but I was filled with determination!

The next day I was up and at it and by the end of the day it had all gone really well! Day 2 came around and I was so pumped because the day before had gone so well. Did day 2 go anything like day 1? Nope! Kids decided to have attitude problems which caused major delays in the days events, I had so many things come up I had to take care of that took the place of other things I had planned to get done that day and by the end of the day I felt unaccomplished. I found myself in the same pit I had always wound up in. I was determined this time not to give up although I was wondering how in the world I was ever going to be good at rolling with the unexpected while also trying to stay consistent. It was then I remembered reading something about small goals a long time ago. Something I had tried before but never stayed consistent enough to continue to add goals as I had accomplished others.

With all the responsibilities I have on my plate I wasn’t sure if small goals would work. I started looking at all the goals I had and had no idea which ones I should start with and if I could even just start with a couple. Most (if not all) were very important including my health, the animals care and my kids desperate need for a more consistent schedule, education and discipline. While I continued to contemplate it all I continued to strive to accomplish each days goals with some high and some low days. It then occurred to me that maybe what I need to change is not what my goals are but how I view them. Small goals could also mean not getting disappointed or stressed when all of the to dos don’t happen everyday but rather focusing on what I accomplished that day. I took it to heart the next day and it just so happened to be one of the “low” days. At the end of the day I looked back and tried to focus on what I had accomplished. It was a life changer. Even though it felt like a low day I was able to realize that even what felt like failures were actually helping me to adjust my made schedule to better fit our life, and constant unexpected events. It also helped me realize all the blessings my days had. Maybe I didn’t finish the laundry and it’s still laying on the floor in the laundry room or the dogs ran through the house with muddy feet right after I mopped all the floors or I had to spend an hour on the phone with insurance instead of getting dinner ready when I needed to or one of the animals kept getting out and we weren’t able to start school on time but what did I accomplish? Maybe it was just watching my daughter do school while cuddled up with one of our goats on the couch (picture above), or i was able to bond with my daughter by letting her brush my hair while I worked on some paperwork, or hearing my boys play together nicely without arguing (a most beautifully rare thing to witness for an extended period of time 😂) or just being able to sit here and watch my husband work on fixing our truck with all our boys while writing this blog. I realized all the little blessings I missed when my sole focus was on what I didn’t get to.

Let me tell you, it has made each day so much better. Also constantly repeating to myself to take one thing at a time and focusing on finishing the task at hand instead of stressing about what is next. I am constantly in prayer asking God for help, strength and grace. Letting go of things that don’t really matter and enjoying this chapter in my life amidst the craziness it brings.

I hope this brings encouragement to any of you who might need it and know you aren’t alone! Never too late to make a change or changes! Never too late to set goals, bring priorities back down to what really matters and make sure you live one thing at a time making sure not to miss all the little blessings each day brings!