Want to hear something crazy? I keep a detailed note guide for everything. Yes… like, everything. Every holiday, each party we host, seasons and so on. Think of it as a handbook. A life handbook! And it has truly changed my life. You may have heard me talk about this with my weeknight meal list. How it makes menu planning a breeze and it has become an easy habit. That list was born from this whole idea and there are many more ways to utilize this system. If you can relate to your mental load being over the top - but also still wanting to do and enjoy everything - I highly suggest trying this method. This is exactly how I reduce my mental load while creating experiences for my family that we all can enjoy. I love every single season of life right now and I can be very extra about it. I mentioned this when I talked about making holiday magic, but the important thing I’ve realized is that I’ve created a system with these note guides for all seasons of our life. Yes, this method started for me around the holiday season, but now I use it all the time and it saves me. Also, I must emphasize that these center on things I enjoy doing. I really love making magic in each season for my kids, but it can get overwhelming keeping all ideas and plans in my head. Some of the note guides that I keep on hand for myself are:
Obviously there is no right or wrong here. No one else is looking at your notes or if you’d see mine, you’d laugh. I keep these incredibly detailed… I mean, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s a mix of a brain dump and a journal, in a way. But a very helpful one. It includes what works and most importantly - what doesn’t work. I always make sure to include what doesn’t work so there is no time wasted. And after I get everything down on paper and into the notes - I am free! It can leave my brain and I have zero stress over it because I know it lives somewhere that I can reference later. No worries about trying to remember something for next time/year/event. This has been HUGE for me! It has made entertaining and hosting so much easier, yes. But it has also made daily life and our usual activities better too. I’ve mentioned before about how much I love celebrating micro holidays with my kids. I was never this way until I had kids - in fact, I probably thought anyone who did this stuff was crazy. Now, I’m the crazy one. And I’m not talking about buying gifts for small holidays, I’m talking about making magic in or out of the home that my family will always remember. Like cooking a special meal, making a special treat or dessert together, putting up a banner for said holiday, having a special movie night, a night-before-school-starts experience, filling their rooms with balloons the morning of their birthdays - basically little things that create family heritage and tradition. These are the things that my kids remember and ask about as certain times of year get closer, which is why I continue and love it so much. Below are a few examples of the kind of notes I put into the guides for myself. This may be off base for you, but I want to stress how detailed I get. I find it important to document whether something makes you feel relieved or stress-free (or stressed out!) so you know the importance of it... Continue reading this post for free in the Substack app
|
No comments:
Post a Comment