There are a million great ideas, projects, extras, little touches, chores, tasks, errands, lists… and there is just one me. In fact, this awesome list of amazing creative things that I want to accomplish can actually flip and be the source of so much guilt- I just can’t do it all…
Before I dive into the “help!” aspect of this, let me first say- we need to be more selective about what we tackle. We need to say no to things that don’t line up with our responsibilities, gifts and strengths. BUT what about when you don’t have a choice…
Child A has to go to choir performance, Child B has to go to dance and Child C is sick… what then? What about when you have a great idea for a teacher gift and just don’t have the time to pull it off? What about when you are out of town for work, but need to have errands run for your family back at home? Guess what… it’s OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP!
We have this crazy mental block as moms that if we ask for help we are weak or not doing it all, or failing somehow as a mom, wife or woman with a career. I challenge you to think differently- if you ask for help you are actually able to multiply your impact and focus your own time on things that are specifically “YOU”.
Free Help
Don’t get caught up thinking- I can’t afford help. There are several ways you can get help without spending a dime.
- Trade childcare hours with another mom. You get 3 hours on Tuesday…. She gets 3 on Friday. Create a little trading program with a small group of moms. This way you get the time to do your stuff AND you get some fun time with your kids and their friends!
- Trade tasks with someone- I’ll make you a meal once a week if you can drive my kids home from dance. I can help teach your daughter piano – can you organize my kids closets this summer? Find out what your friends are good at or what they love to do and trade!
- Your kids are capable of so much more than you think! Award privileges and screen time rewards to simple tasks that take things off your plate. (Sweep the porch, clean windows, sort socks, organize jewelry drawer, scan paperwork)
Apps and People that Help!
There are some amazing apps and people out there to help you outsource some of the things on your list each week and make the someday sooner for some of those things on your lists! I’ve used a lot of these apps so let me give you some feedback. You can have confidence as you tackle those projects!
- Driving Help- MomTaxi is a great service in our area– but they have a HUGE wait list. So now what… driving my kids around takes so much of my time! Free- trade with another mom! OR pay a little and find a super responsible Senior in High School or a College student that wants a little income and let them pick up, drop off and be the driver a couple days a week. I’ve had my dance students drive my kids for years. My girls have some amazing young adult mentors because of this exchange.
- Errands- I highly recommend using Favor, Takl or TaskRabbit to help execute your to-do lists faster! You can accomplish a full list of errands or home repairs WHILE YOU ARE AT WORK! Or if you’re a mom with little ones at home you get a morning full of errands done without loading and unloading them in the car all day!
- Mommy’s Helper: Hire a teen, young adult or other mom to come just play for a few hours with your kids. so you can organize a closet or maybe you just want to take a shower and watch a show! NO guilt… these are people that want to hang out with your kid because they love them! My daughter LOVES to do this for the little ones at her gym. She get’s 20.00 and a mom gets 3 hours of whatever she wants to do. She is home to supervise… or not- as you get comfortable you can leave for a bit and know these people are investing in your kids and it’s a good thing!
https://www.taskrabbit.com/s/5vbqp/try?utm_source=trycode
An Assistant
Ok- before you say I can’t afford that… There is a value to your time. Remember you have a limited amount of time. Sometimes buying an hour or two back to do something else is way more valuable than it actually costs.
I pay someone for about 5-10 hours a week of help. These are the kinds of things I have them do… run to cleaners, donate items, put together gifts, light office work, returns, gift pickup, oil changes, car wash, vet and groomer appointments for pets, make calls requesting bids or scheduling appointments, creating Pinterest boards for events or ideas that I want to tackle, and organizing. If you go into this with a bullet point list – and set a budget THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
Uniquely You
We have goals and dreams that are bigger than running to the cleaners and returning an Amazon purchase. Find a way to outsource some of these tasks. You can reclaim the time to chase the things you are uniquely designed to do! Get more involved in the things that specifically line up with your gifts and joys!
Think of all the time you reclaim!! Do the things you wish you could do more of (play with your kids, read, write, study, cook, work…).
Right now- look at your week- and ask 4 Questions
- What are 3 things that need done but don’t need ME to do them?
- What is something I could teach my kids to do over the next weeks? Eventually have them take these on as their own responsibility?
- Are there some things I am putting on my list that are only there because of external pressure?
- What is one project I’ve been putting off – that if I just ask for a little help can get started?
