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Maggie Whitley

joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith & simple living

You are here: Home / inspiration / A tip for achieving “the best”.

A tip for achieving “the best”.

March 24, 2015 · 8 Comments
Filed Under: inspiration, Los Angeles, our home

new LR maggie whitley

There’s no non-embarrassing way to share this, so I’ll just be brave and say it: sometimes I’m shocked over my ability to make a task overly difficult. Of course I have seasons where I don’t struggle with this, but take heart, I do struggle. It happens the most often when I consider the day at large and then decide something feels overwhelming (thus unachievable). Does this happen to you, too?

I once had a friend share she can get through anything if it’s written down on paper. So, I tried a new approach to being more productive…

…and I decided thinking about my to-do list takes way more time (and energy) than actually working through my list. Hmmm, the light bulb is on ;) Take getting through a to-do list, for example. It’s not rocket science (and I’ve been working off a list for decades), but they can easily feel overwhelming knowing my hands are already full. It is a real joy for me to be at home with our two babes, but there’s also truth in knowing it takes effort, patience and creativity to feel accomplished.

The other day I had a long list of quick things I wanted to finish. Sitting still though, I felt like it was a super huge project that would probably take me all day to finish. And the truth is it did take me all day to finish, but I actually enjoyed it because I took all day, and crossing things off made me feel happy. Success.

It felt great to realize I could take a list of things and work through them one by one, with music on and the reassurance of knowing there is no time limit to finish each item written down.

It’s one of my best tips for this season of life, and realizing this accelerated a day at home from great to simply the best.

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8 Comments
Filed Under: inspiration, Los Angeles, our home

« Birthdays, running, and other “catching up”-ness.
Because bulleted lists are my new best friend. »

Comments

  1. Jennifer says

    March 24, 2015 at 9:33 am

    I truly believe in lists. I use lists all the time to hold myself accountable. Doesn’t always work but it does help keep on task. Don’t forget that it is ok if you do not complete your list each day. Society has put this expectation on mother’s – working or not – that we are suppose to be super and these crazy over achievers every. single. day. But guess what – we do achieve every day and we work and raise our children and our families on every level. Don’t let the list wear you down – there will always be a list…always and it will always seem never ending. Enjoy this moment, this day as this day won’t happen again.

    Reply
    • Maggie Whitley says

      March 24, 2015 at 1:21 pm

      I couldn’t agree more!

      My expectation isn’t at all on how much I get done but rather not liking how often I was talking myself out of doing much at all — simply because it felt too overwhelming. But really, it was just that, a feeling.

      All good things to consider, of course :) I so appreciate your comment and all you shared.

      Reply
  2. christine says

    March 24, 2015 at 11:21 am

    I always go by lists. I also know that if I can not get it all done today there is always tomorrow. I always felt that if I had a chance to sleep in then my time would be wasted. Time is so precious. We only have so many hours in a day. We can not be hard on ourselves because we essentially need to put ourselves and our families first. Projects and cleaning house can always come later. Even though our lists make us feel accomplished, there is nothing better than keeping yourself as well as your family happy. Good Luck Maggie!

    Reply
  3. Melissa says

    March 24, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    Oh Maggie, I feel the same way. Its easy sometimes to make things “Over-difficult”, thank you so much for this post. Im working on my lists and it feels amazing crossing things off even if they take longer than anticipated. Your an amazing momma!

    xo

    Reply
    • Maggie Whitley says

      March 24, 2015 at 1:27 pm

      “even if they take longer than anticipated” — yes! ♥

      Reply
  4. cindy whitley says

    March 24, 2015 at 5:36 pm

    …….another up and coming strong, fearless, confident and “conquering” Whitley woman. So proud always, every day in every way………. Ya, we’ve got this.

    Reply
    • cindy whitley says

      March 24, 2015 at 5:38 pm

      continued…..thanks Grandma Robinson for teaching the “we can do anything” mentality!

      Reply
  5. Erin says

    April 1, 2015 at 10:44 am

    I’m a huge fan of lists, although my use of them has waxed and waned over the years (it depends on my energy and motivation for each day :) but today I wrote a list titled “Things That Have Been Bugging Me A Long Time”. It’s things like my son’s squeaky door that I only really notice in the middle of the night when I’m trying to be quiet in closing it after a midnight wake-up. I don’t know why I never bothered to fix it sooner – it took all of 10 seconds today to grease the hinges and solve the problem! That’s motivating me to finish the other things on the list quickly (they’re all small things that I’ve been putting off), but if I don’t finish it today that’s ok. It just feels good to not have those things bouncing around in my head all the time.

    Oh, and Kat at Inspired to Action (http://inspiredtoaction.com/) is developing a printable PDF planner resource – you choose what pages you want to use, what order you want to put them in your binder, etc, and they’re fun and colorful and the different daily overview pages are awesome – I think it’s still being finalized right now and not up for sale yet on her website, but I’m excited to see the final product!

    Reply

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ABOUT MAGGIE WHITLEY DESIGNS:
Maggie Whitley weaves her writings around joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith, and simple living. She homeschools her children, enjoys a quiet room while reading, and roars with laughter over the challenges & delights of motherhood. Maggie and her husband, along with their four young children, live in northern Michigan. She has been writing online since 2008.
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