How many questions do you think you answer each day? I’m not talking “What would you like to drink today?” from the chipper barista at Starbucks- I’m talking “Do you know where my favorite dinosaur shirt is?” “Why is the dog doing that thing that she’s doing with her bum on the carpet?” “What am I supposed to give the kids for a snack?”
It’s not that the questions are exceptionally hard, it’s just that they demand knowledge of every working piece of our little family. I know that you fellow moms know the mental load I’m talking about.
I’m the boss of the house, the CINC house, the “Momager” if you will, and I take my job seriously. But despite being the keeper of schedules, the knower of the fridge/pantry contents, and the all-powerful laundress – I didn’t have a space to keep my planner where I could easily access it, or quickly find important paperwork. A few months ago, I was scheduled to do the Takeover Tuesday on our Dayton Mom Blog Instagram. It was written in my planner, and I was excited to share my day with our wonderful community! The only problem was, I put my planner in a drawer one night so that I wouldn’t take up countertop space while my kids were doing a painting project and forgot to take it out. So when that text came that Tuesday, asking if I was still planning on logging into Instagram… I was embarrassed. Truly, absolutely mortified, and in disbelief that something I had been looking forward to could completely slip my mind. I felt so unorganized, but upon reflection, how could I expect myself to stay organized without a system of some sort?
So I decided to do something drastic. Something absolutely unheard of in my house so far. I claimed a space as mine, and mine alone. It’s a small desk in a small corner of the playroom that nobody touches under penalty of no bedtime stories. Being a stay at home mom is my J-O-B and I need to respect that, and myself, a bit more. At first, it felt selfish in some way to say, “This is mine, and I’m not sharing any part of it.” It’s hard to say that, especially as a mom. But when I reflect more about it, can you imagine being the manager of a company and not having an office? Of course not. It would be insane trying to keep track of the things that keep that company moving without a space to do that in. Now, my current job doesn’t exactly have paid time off and a 401K to contribute to, but my employees-or children and spouse, as you might call them – would still get pretty irritated if I were to fail to pay the bills, provide food, and forget to keep basic appointments. Life is only getting busier as kids start school, and as my husband loves to say (and I love to roll my eyes at) “The 7 Ps- Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.”
As much as I may hate it, it’s true. And since creating a workspace for myself, things have gone much more smoothly. I still forget things occasionally of course, and the nicest office space in the world couldn’t get me to meal plan effectively. However, I always know where my daughter’s school forms are, and I can easily check and record things in my planner without wondering what hidden nook I packed it away into.
So if you’re having a hard time keeping your family organized – first of all, give yourself some grace. It’s a demanding job, and it’s a job with needs that change all the time. But then, look and see if an office of your own might help keep things a bit more in line. It doesn’t need to be fancy or take a whole room. It just needs to be a space where you can work, and manage that company of yours.
Do you have your own office space in your home? What’s it like? Post a picture in the comments for inspiration to those who would like to make this idea a reality!
