We all have days when life just seems to be steamrollering along and we cannot keep up. These are the days when we blow a fuse or lose our cool with those closest to us.
It does not matter how Organised you are, it is important to remember that we are all human and it can get too hard when you feel like there is too much to do and you cannot do it all on your own.
So what are some coping strategies for times such as these in our lives.
* Walk away - sometimes you need to just drop everything and take yourself away from the situation that is about to push you over the edge. Try and walk away before you get pushed over the edge, not after. (or you may say or so something you regret)
* Do not expect perfection - It is important not to put your own expectations onto others. They will have different expectations to yours and they may not understand why you are losing your cool or getting frustrated.
* Lead by example - Walk the talk and be a leader by showing those around you what you would appreciate.
* Acknowledge & reward - When you see things getting done and people pitching in and sharing tasks etc take the time to acknowledge this and maybe introduce a reward system.
* Use a roster system to get chores done - Kids are old enough from about the age of 3 to be given set chores/tasks around the house. Start simply and remember acknowledge and reward.
* Consequences - Along with reward need to come consequences. If assigned chores/tasks are not done have a penalty system in place.
* Simple rules - Imagine if people put tings away when they had finished with them, shut things after opening and cleaned up messes they made without leaving it all laying around with the expectation someone else will do it. Make these the simple rules in your home - Put it away, shut it, clean it up if you own it, did it or made it it is your responsibility to attend to clearing it up.
* Never ever ask someone to do something you would not do yourself.
I hope these are helpful to anyone out there who has trouble trying to stay organised and simplified by feel like everyone around you is doing there best to make it impossible.
2 comments:
My three children have had jobs to do since they were about five.
Including making their beds!
The beds were badly made of course, but I closed my eyes to that little detail.
Now we have a roster of jobs that rotates each week. They know that they are responsible for their animal's well being for instance - that the dogs and chooks rely on them to survive.
They also have to unpack their back packs and put them away, rinse their plates and put them in the dishwasher, and put their own ironed clothes into their drawers.
We have a lot of after school activities to keep up with, and the 'all hands on deck' method of parenting is the one we use, to keep everything going.
Another thing we rely on heavily is the 'who does what when?' - my family organiser - to see just where we are supposed to be each day.
I think that it is a good thing to give responsibility to children.
By the way, I'm a also a Kiwi gal (a publisher) but am living in the Outback of NSW - nice to see your blog!
These are good tips for any situation where we are involved with others, whether it's family members, co-workers, or other members of a committee - especially the first three.
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