Uh, what’s that I see on the calendar? Zoom in.
Yikes, end of summer. Hubby is a high school teacher and it’s back to school time. Wait, what? That can’t be–I’ve hardly crossed anything off my ever-growing DIY to do list. I was supposed to have whipped our house into shape by now. (Btw, no bedroom progress.) I haven’t read any of the books I intended to. I was going to start running again, and I meant to stock the freezer full of homemade meals. The list goes on.
It finally hit me about a week ago that many most of my plans wouldn’t be coming to fruition this summer. Just not happening. In a former life I would have carried on this last week under the delusion that I could still knock out some of the big things. (Can’t we install a new bathroom in a week if we really focus?) I’d have run around like crazy starting projects. I’m a great project starter; it’s the last 10% that kills me. Chronic 90 Percenter here. (Hubby is a focused closer, which means I drive him a little nuts sometimes.) So I’d have run around and may have actually gotten something done, certainly leaving a wake of chaos and mess to be dealt with “later.” Either way, I would have been riddled with guilt for not being more “productive” with the summer. But not this year. Nope. I’m practicing one of my most important strategies for navigating parenthood: downshifting expectations.
That former life in which I may or may not have managed to cross anything off my list was pre-baby. Now we have two, which makes finding time to work on house projects nearly impossible (even with Hubby home for the summer). Accepting that and keeping it in mind when dreaming up projects is key to minimizing my DIY frustration, and that is key to keeping this homemaker happy. I knew this in theory even before the girls were born, but true acceptance has come to me in waves. Just part of the enormity of parenting I guess.
So this summer taught me once again to keep my expectations from swelling beyond a realistic scope and that dialing it down a little further from there wouldn’t hurt (you know, to accommodate the unexpected). Of course I don’t want to dial it all the way down. I know I still need some way to scratch the DIY itch even with Hubby back to work full time. Enter the 15 Minute List.
It’s pretty simple, just a list of little things around the house I’ve been meaning to do (e.g., replace the felt pads under the dining chairs) and micro-mini projects (e.g., frame a piece of grandma’s wallpaper) that I’m pretty sure could be accomplished with just 15 minutes. And I’ve listed some minor parts of bigger projects (e.g., research new hardware for the to-be-madeover buffet) so I can squeeze in some forward motion when a brief opportunity presents itself. That’s the beauty of this list– helps me capitalize on the little chunks of free time that I actually do get but usually don’t know what to do with so I just read another blog or something. (Blogs, sheesh.)
I’ve crossed a few things off the list since creating it. Those little bits of accomplishment are surprisingly good motivators, and now I have a realistic place to channel that motivation. Time will tell if this 15 Minute List turns out to be the revolution I’ve convinced myself it could be. For now I can report that just having it makes me feel hopeful and even a little energized. Not bad for fifteen minutes work.