ANTI-Balance …A Joint Effort {guest post}

If you were to look up “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” in the dictionary, you would see my picture right next to the definition. I live it, I breathe it, I am the poster child for it. Organization and planning are my two best friends (other than my husband and my Lord, of course). Somehow, though, recently I found myself in a very un-organized and un-planned state, in which utter chaos had crept into my life and home. I am wife, mommy, Christian, and writer, and all of the responsibilities that come with all of the above were consuming me. I was doing nothing well, and everyone (including me) was suffering.

Realizing that I was on a sinking ship, I decided to take a day or two “off” from writing, the internet, and anything else that could wait. It was time to regroup a bit emotionally and mentally, as well as rethink some of the priorities in our lives. You see, my chaos was not only affecting me – but it was affecting my family as well. Clearly I could not formulate a solution without involving my partner in the home and in life. So my husband and I sat down for a couple of serious discussions – the first one to list out the time consumers in our life, things that could be weeded out and things that had to stay; the second one to form a plan of attack.

Because I function much better on a schedule or set routine (and Hubby tends to just roll with it), we decided together on a daily/weekly routine that would work well for all of us – chores for the kids, tasks for hubby and me, and play days as well.  Not every week will look exactly the same and there will be weeks that our routine will not necessarily work.  But for now, we have a general game plan, and I have a schedule that will keep me on task.  We have designated a certain day of the week for me to run errands, at which time Hubby Dearest is responsible for the kiddos. We have also assigned days of the week for us to do the bulk of the cleaning, laundry, and other household chores.  We worked together to create a chore list for each of our three children as well – giving them each one to two daily chores to help maintain the home.

Lastly, we discussed and planned out which days would work best for me to spend a couple hours a day writing for my blogs, in order for me to have posts scheduled at least a week in advance. Neither my husband, nor my children, or I have been happy with the amount of time I am on the computer each day. We have tried to create this schedule in a way that would allow me two to three hours a day on the computer, while still meeting all of my online responsibilities and being able to enjoy my Savior, my family, and my home again.

If you will notice, I have mentioned repeatedly the word “we” in my discussion of the new routine. I am the keeper of the home, and he is the provider, but we both agree that working together as a team is the only way to be successful in our crazy, busy life. I do not budget my time without his input or vice versa, just as we do not budget our finances independently. Joint effort will lead to joint success. We are only a week into the new routine, and all parties are much happier and more content, not to mention much more productive!