A few weeks back I was watching Jane’s instastories and she shared how instead of making a to-do list she decided to write down all the tasks she did each day. I thought this was such an interesting approach because as a stay-at-home parent there are many days where I feel that I never cross anything off my to-do list and end my day feeling like a bit of a failure. So I took Jane’s lead and decided to write down everything I did in an entire day but I took it one step further to basically include almost everything. Since I am a mama of a new baby I included nursing sessions because while those are nice to do they can often feel like tasks and like my life revolves around nursing*.
Monday September 25, 2017- start time 6am
– nurse
– package up some mail to ship out
– make breakfast for myself
– nurse
– get my littles ready for the day
– coffee shop and consignment shop date with my littles
– emptied dishwasher
– hand washed a load of dishes
– removed everything from the fridge to clean, organize and declutter to take photos for this sneak peek into our fridge.
– nurse
– cook lunch
– read books with littles
– nurse
– attempt to do a barre3 workout…..but instead nurse some more
– quite time over/prepare snack for littles
– nurse
– check emails
– nurse
– put beans in instant pot for dinner
– nurse
– re-heat coffee for 5th time and play with littles
– nurse
– cook dinner
– nurse
– eat dinner
– nurse
– eat ice cream and watch gilmore girls
– nurse
– catch up on YouTube ….
– nurse
– take a shower
– nurse
11pm go to bed.
This whole process was pretty eye opening in that I honestly didn’t realize just how much I actually do in a day. While I don’t often get all my tasks done for the day I am almost constantly doing something with a few moments here in there to take a break to eat and/or relax. My days will continue to change as Ingrid gets bigger and I would say just shy of a month later our Monday’s are already a bit different.
The reality is being a SAHM/WAHM is not a walk in the park. We don’t just sit around and do nothing all day. Most days are spent cooking, cleaning, facilitating learning (led by our children), driving places, mediating and doing a whole lot of loving.
*This list was made right around Ingrid’s 3-month growth spurt which is why there is so much nursing.
I love this idea for anyone who is home be it everyday or one day to really see why time flies!! Thanks for your evidence that staying at home doesn’t mean doing nothing and relaxing
Oh mama, I feel you on all that nursing! I once calculated the % of every day I nursed Kiwi, and I nearly fell over because it was like a third of the entire day. You are doing SO MUCH!
YES! You are doing a ton. Look at that list. 🙂
Wow that is quite the list, my days feel/look a lot like yours with definitely as much nursing. I find I’m often doing 2 things at the same time Nursing with baby in the sling while cooking dinner etc. No wonder we are exhausted at bedtime, and then the work/nursing normally continues through the night. Your an amazing Wife and Mummy.
That is a lot of stuff!! I can’t imagine how it must be to be managing the house every day not just for you but for the kids who need your help, too. When I’ve done it for a day or two with friends or babysitting, it has been exhausting! Busy busy! You go, mama!
mamas definitely pack more into each day than I think we even realize, so I love the idea of writing it all down!
It’s a lot of work being a mom! Sounds like you’re managing it well though.