WAIT! DON'T GO ANYWHERE!
I am starting my review out by saying this because I am afraid you will see the title and think this isn't for you. While this online course is geared towards moms with at home businesses, it is DEFINITELY NOT for mompreneurs only.
Balancing Diapers and Deadlines by Lisa Tanner Writing is for EVERY mom out there!
I wanted to be a part of this review because I work at several things at home. I, obviously, work for the Review Crew, I also have a job as an Internet Analyst and I am an Usborne Books and More consultant. So I thought this course would be great for me.
Don't get me wrong, it was, but I got so much more out of this course that had nothing to do with my businesses.
This is the best, most practical, for real life as a stay at home mom, plan for running your household.
Honestly, I have read so many books to help me in this area, and they are all unattainable. This course incorporates many things that I already do, (well, sometimes at least).
Here is a general overview of the courses, but there is so much more inside each lesson than you can see from the outline.
The first thing really talked about is including your kids in everything, whether that means the business part, or even things like making the schedule, meal planning, etc...
If everyone feels involved, and is aware of what is going on, the children are more prone to follow along with a good attitude, instead of just feeling like they are being told what to do.
When I started reading about scheduling, I will admit that I wasn't that thrilled to be reading another book about scheduling until I realized, "Hey, this is different". "This sounds like me, and these things sound like they could actually be done!"
Instead of the normal scheduling advice of making a steady schedule and having everyone get used to the schedule and how important it is to stick to a schedule, Lisa basically said, you will never be able to stick to a schedule all of the time. That isn't practical or real life. Things come up every day and you will just be so frustrated all of the time because your not getting everything done on your schedule.
I completely agree with this. I have tried so many schedules, and I have NEVER been able to stick to one.
What she suggests is making a list of the "Must Do's". These are the things that must get done.
You want a schedule, but you want to be able to be flexible in your schedule.
Have your must do's ready and instead of making a schedule for the week or month, you will make a plan of the day! Each day of your life is different. Some days you have appointments, some days the kids are sick, and on and on...That is why you make a plan of the day each morning. List what must get done that day, and list your top 3 to 5 priorities for the day.
Depending on what all you have planned for that particular day, you may be able to get more or less done. But by making that plan each morning you can work around your appointments, and decide how many "priorities" you can get done in that day.
Along with the plan of the day you will have a general schedule as well. For example, you will have a schedule that revolves around one room or task per day. So Monday can be living room day, where you just worry about cleaning the living room. Tuesday can be the day you do the extra laundry like blankets, sheets, etc...
So in your day you can have morning chores, afternoon chores, etc. these are things that are fairly consistent. Morning chores, everyone gets ready for the day, gets dressed, makes their bed (or not), loads the dishwasher after breakfast, etc... Just the basics of what must get done.
In the afternoon you can fold your one or two loads of laundry that you will schedule each day. By doing only one or two (depending on the size of your family) you won't get overwhelmed.
One of my favorite things that I read in this book was the 15 minute cleanup. We already do this at my house, but not consistently. Sometimes it's less time. Sometimes I break it up into 5 minutes per room in the house. However you choose to do small cleanups, they can be the most powerful tool in keeping your house clean. You would be amazed at what you can do in a short time, especially if you have several people helping!
Another thing, that I actually learned from my husband, and have never seen or heard of anyone else doing, was taking a broom and sweeping everything on the floor into a pile and then going through it from one pile, instead of all over the floor. This makes it so much easier, and takes much less time to clean. I was surprised that Lisa does this as well. ( We are not weird). lol
You can use this in your 15 minute cleanup, and your kids will pick up all of their stuff real fast so that it won't go into the garbage!!
She also suggested listening to music as you clean. We do this too!!! I really felt connected to Lisa when I was reading this because her advice is so practical to real life and can actually be done!
She has more great advice about morning chores, afternoon chores, table chores. I don't want to tell you everything in the book! lol
She also talks about a marble jar system for the chores that keep your kids motivated. (Great Idea!)
Did you see that??? ANNUAL Meal Planning??? What the heck!
I do use meal planning. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to stick to my budget. I do it by the week though. I want to implement the longer meal planning though because it would ease a lot of the stress of meal planning!
One idea about meal planning she had was "themed dinners". I love this idea!
This way you can still make a plan ahead of time but don't necessarily have to cook the same meal every week, or decide right then what meal you will be making 9 months form now.
By having themed dinners you have a scheduled rotation, but with flexibility.
For example you can set your meal plan up with Mondays being seafood night, Tuesdays Mexican, Wednesdays, Italian, etc...
So one week I can have tacos on Tuesdays but the next I can have enchiladas....I can have my overall meal plan already planned out for the year, but then can make more individualized choices monthly, or even weekly, depending on what's best for you.
There is so much to this course. She talks about how important sleep is, and how to focus on what your doing and not get distracted by other things, like social media or emails, when your supposed to be doing something else, like working on your business, but instead you wasted 2 hours on Facebook! lol (This is totally me almost everyday). I will be implementing some of her ideas in this area as well.
Now, all of what I have talked about so far is for EVERY MOM. But there is more to this course that is tailored to the work at home/stay at home mom.
She gives you practical tips on running your business with any age group of children, with great ideas on how to involve them as well, and how to get through some of the harder parts of running a business at home with children.
She has great ideas on how to boost your productivity as well. This whole course is great!
For me, I am going to be using this a little differently than most. I got into a pretty bad car accident a couple of months ago. Everything is hard for me to do. I have some substantial back injuries that make even the every day chores of life very difficult. for me. One tip Lisa gave was that sometimes it is worth paying for outside services. I have incorporated her idea for online grocery shopping and pick up! I did this for the first time today! What a blessing. Grocery shopping is something I cannot do right now if I need more than a few things. I agree that it is worth it. (Pick up is free, but the delivery fee would be worth paying for).
I have been quite overwhelmed with the house and everything I have to do. Since everything is so hard, it is all just falling apart. When I read through this book, it actually gave me inspiration that I can get more done, and it doesn't have to be all or nothing.
So, while I will eventually incorporate all of the ideas into my life, I need to start with what I can do.
My plan will look something like this. ( My children may still have to help me with most things for now, but we can get a plan in place that should help us keep up with things better than they are now).
Monday - Extra laundry day and Kitchen
Tuesday - Dining Room
Wednesday - Living Room
Thursday - Bathrooms
Friday - My Room
Saturday - Kids Rooms
(We will just do a little at a time on the room for the day. When my older son is home we will do a 15 minute cleanup of that room as well. Otherwise we will break it into 5 minute cleanups here and there throughout the day, depending on what else is going on.)
Daily we will wash and fold one load of laundry.
At this point in my life, this is about all I can focus on. I think it will really help us though to keep things up better than we are now. As time goes on I will be able to implement more of the business aspects into our schedule as well. But, honestly, you won't have time to work on your business if everything else is falling apart, so all of this really does help your business too.
I think every mom needs to read this course whether or not they have a business. It is so practical and helpful and makes you feel like you can actually accomplish what you want to.
I am so thankful to have been able to read through this course, and will continue to use and implement more of her ideas.
Now, other members of the Crew also reviewed this course and they all have different lives, different amounts of children, different businesses, so I encourage you to read more reviews, as you will get different points of view from them than you did from me!
Be sure to check out Lisa Tanner Writing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.
