Dance With A Broom -- Time Management

   An effective administrator recognizes the importance of accomplishing a given task in the shortest space of time and doing it properly. A homemaker's prime responsibility is to the people in her home, not the chores to maintain a clean house. By effectively managing our time, we can finish with the maintenance and concentrate on child improvement and self-improvement.

   Until I discovered how to properly organize my day, I felt like the proverbial "frazzled housewife," taken for granted by all those around me. At that time in my life I only had 2 children to care for and no committees to serve on. I only had a very small house to maintain besides but my household chores never seemed to end.

   My conversations consisted of words adequate for a two-year-old because I was always housebound with no time or inclination to visit anyone. I expected my husband to fulfill my need for social companionship while he built a lifetime career that would support us. I accused him of taking me for granted, when in reality, I was taking him for granted.

   Organizing your day doesn't need to be a big chore. In fact, it becomes fun to see just how much you can get accomplished with time left over for a bubble bath, to do your nails, or read a favorite book. Rather than beginning ten different tasks in one day and not completing any, you learn to get one, two, or three completely and properly done. The time left allows you to spend valuable time with the children, neighbors, or preparing yourself to welcome your husband home at the end of his day.

   After a day at the office, surrounded by "unfrazzled" beauties, he needs to know you thought enough of him to look pretty and enthusiastic upon his arrival home. You can't do that, if you've been running around like a whirlwind all day.

   The first time you sit down to organize the piles of your life, these are the steps you need to take. Purchase a good planner or day-timer that has room for menu planning, and then:

ENTER ALL DATES OF IMPORTANCE TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
i.e. Birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, children's lessons and games, special days at school, and any commitments that involve you or other family members.

   Most women have an appointment calendar of sorts, a place where they record these important dates, but you need to obtain one that you can carry with you wherever you go. When visiting with someone, very often as part of the conversation, you'll be asked to do something or you might offer to do something. You need to have your calendar available to see if you are already committed for that day.

   Each appointment, for anything that concerns you, needs to be recorded. You never need to worry over these dates again. As long as you record what you've committed to do, you'll never forget it because it's in your planner. Since your planner has so much important information, you'll also not forget to look at it.

PLAN SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR EACH OF YOUR FIRST THREE PRIORITIES.

   Next to God, your husband should be your #1 priority. In order to keep your marriage growing and flourishing, you need to plan some special time to be alone with your husband, especially when you have children. The husband-wife relationship, the one most important to your children's welfare, gets lost in the shuffle of little feet sometimes. Pick a night when nothing else is going on during the next two weeks or a month and plan in your calendar a special time for just the two of you.

   You may want to put your children to bed early one night, if they are young enough, and have a candlelight dinner for two in your own kitchen. You may decide to dress up in a weird costume to surprise him at the end of his day. One wife dressed up in a sheet toga style and performed a belly dance for her husband while he ate a spaghetti dinner in his favorite chair. He had just ended a horrible day at work and this stress reliever was just what he needed.

   Instead of eating on top of the table why not try eating under it. It's fun to look for ways you can surprise and excite the man you committed the rest of your life to. It won't be long before your husband will also be looking for ways to surprise you.

   One of our goals for our marriage was to still be friends when our children had all left home. This could only be accomplished if we spent time together while they were at home. It took us about one week after our daughter left for college to discover that we still enjoyed being together and we are still a couple.

   Your next most important priority are your children. Although it seems that you are spending the whole day with them, each of them, individually, needs to have some special one-on-one time with each of their parents. For now we will just concentrate on your relationship with your children but some of these suggestions could be passed on to your husband as well.

   Plan a special one-on-one time for each of your children in a two-week period or a one-month period of time and mark it on your calendar. Some weeks will be easier than others but even if you can only visit in his or her room for fifteen minutes, your child will feel that you thought enough of him or her to spend that time and feel special.

   Fathers and daughters can have a once a month date and sons and mothers can do the same thing. The other children in the family will soon respect this time since they know their time is coming. This can be a time to teach etiquette, or teach them a Biblical principle about relationships. Their special interests can be explored by a visit to a place that allows them to pursue that interest with you or see a special movie.

   When my oldest son was about nine years of age, I planned to visit in his room after the evening meal. He quickly ate his supper, and then ran to his room to tidy it for my visit. This time I did not have to nag him to make his bed. I put on my coat and knocked on his door. He seated me on his bed and we ate pretend donuts while we visited like grown-ups. He's thirty three and he still remembers these special times.