My Home Planner...

OK... It's time I came clean... I have hit the ultimate level of household organisational geekiness (may I point out this is completely different to the ultimate level of household organisation).

In true teacher turned homemaker style (OK... I just love to plan - to the minutest detail... just ask any of my colleagues!) I have put together a "Home Planner".

OK. I feel the need to justify before you judge me and think...
a) I've gone completely nuts
b) I am a total control freak
c) All of the above

I am NOT an organised person. I love the idea of being organised, and therefore I need serious structures in place to make that dream become a reality. I LOVE the feeling of being productive, of feeling I've actually achieved something, of not wasting time and of working to a schedule. I love ticklists. I am one of those people who will write half of my to-do list as things I've already done, just so I can tick them off (come on... admit it... some of you do that too, right?!) And let's be honest, lots of you do it for work, right? You schedule meetings, plan your day, work through your diary and write to-do lists.... so because I spend most of my week working from home, I'm entitled to do that too, right? (Serious self-convincing going on here...)

I am not saying this is a good way to be, but it is the way my mind functions, and so over the years, I have learned to put certain structures in place to keep me focussed. I am a natural time-waster, procrastinator and idealist... I have 101 ideas, and never get further than the vision in my head. That's why I have to organise my life, because its the only way those ideals become reality, and the only way I don't waste away hours, days, weeks checking Facebook, reading Blogs, scouring Pinterest and doing things that I want to do (rather than the things I need to do).

So next week, I'm going to show you the level of my geekiness and subject myself to a lot of possible scorn and mockery and open up my new, exciting folder for you all, in the hope that someone somewhere out there will find it helpful.

I printed this verse on the front of my folder, so its a reminder that I'm not doing all this organisation to be the perfect housewife (I am FAR, FAR, FAR from that!), or to feel really good about all that I've achieved, or even to present myself as some kind of organisational guru (which would be totally and utterly ironic!)

THIS is my motivation...

More geekiness revealed next week!

PS - For some great resources on time-management, and organisation for God's glory (not our own) check out these books/websites...

The Highly Effective Woman: The Girl Talk blog have produced some great resources on keeping our perspective right when trying to live intentionally.

The Busy Christian's Guide to Busyness: Tim Chester has written a fantastic and quick read on prioritising and organisation and why that will help our spiritual growth too.

Shopping for Time: A great book by the Mahaney girls which helps us to prioritise life appropriately, and gives some really helpful, practical tips on how that works out in the day to day.