I’ve written before about how motherhood has changed me. But there’s one change I didn’t mention that I’ve been thinking about recently. And I’m not too happy about it.
I first started to think about it several months ago during a phone conversation with my older brother. He asked if I had any advice about living a disciplined life because he remembered how disciplined I was back when I was in school.
His question really made me pause – and I realized how much of that discipline I’ve allowed to fly out the window since having kids.
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Back in college, I loved my schedule. I kept a detailed planner, down to scheduling out who I was planning to meet up with for meals, etc. I rose early, made myself look presentable, and kept a 4.0 GPA for all four years.
After college my schedule wasn’t as demanding, at least not in the same way, but I had my work to keep me busy, making money and leading a relatively disciplined life.
Enter motherhood.
Now days I may slightly panic if someone stops by unannounced because many mornings they would find me in sweatpants or pjs.
Makeup? If I’m not going out why bother?
Hair? Usually thrown up in a bun on the top of my head.
I realized how little I dress nicely at home when I put on a nice sweater the other day and Caleb asked if I was going somewhere!
My schedule is often not much better. Granted, flexibility is pretty important when you’re parenting a three year old and a toddler (and pregnant to boot!) but I know I can do better.
Getting up early (read: before my kids) is my nemesis. WHY is it so hard?
I’ve had some pretty legitimate excuses over the past few years for staying in bed as long as possible in the morning: usually a variation of I was up three times in the night with the baby and/or toddler, or I was up twice to use the restroom because pregnancy.
But let’s fact it – I’m a mom in the littles stage, and this stage isn’t going away tomorrow (nor would I want it to!) I need to figure out a way to add a little more discipline to my life even in this stage where I can think of a bunch of reasons not to. Because I’m not going to magically become disciplined once my kids are older. (I wish!)
There’s grace for this stage.
I can’t forget about grace. God “gently leads those who are with young.” He understands my struggles and “His mercies are new every morning.” I’m very thankful for that!
It is OK if some days all I can do is hunker down and keep my kids fed and happy. When I was in my first trimester of this pregnancy that was definitely all that happened some days and that was totally fine.
But now that I’ve gotten through that period it’s time for me to buckle down and rediscover a little of that discipline from a few years ago.
The plan
So – a broad goal needs to be broken down into manageable steps, right? Here are my baby steps for this week (and yes, they are definitely baby steps):
- Get up at 6:30 am
- Get dressed right away – doesn’t have to be fancy, just has to involve clothes that I did not sleep in, ha!
- Make a to-do list for the day
- Read at least a little from my Bible before I start my day
I’m also excited to start working through a course by Crystal Paine, one of my very favorite bloggers! It’s called 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life. My sister and I both purchased the course and are going to keep each other accountable as we work through it. I’ll be sure to let you know my thoughts once I’ve finished it!
Another helpful course by Crystal is her 14 day Make Over Your Mornings course. I’ve also purchased this one (told you I love her stuff!) and I’d encourage you to check it out. It’s definitely worth the small investment!
So, what about you? If you are a parent, would you say you have a disciplined life? Or are you struggling like me? What steps are you going to take to get to where you want to be?
I’d love to hear your advice (or your commiseration!) 😉 Let’s chat in the comments!
