More Recreation Time Boosts Your Creativity and Effectiveness

Great problem-solving moments and aha moments don’t typically come when you're sitting in front of your computer or after several hours of mentally draining work. Inspiration strikes when you're in the woods hiking, with the sun shimmering through leaves, when you're running down a scenic path, or when you're painting a picture.

The Holy Spirit’s artistic flair flourishes most when you are childlike. When you are “being” rather than “doing”, God’s plan registers best.

You might be suspicious how these Kumbaya moments make you more effective as a mom with piles of laundry and dirty dishes, let alone how to find time experience them.

Having more recreation alone doesn’t give you the creativity to transcend your challenges. The magical smart work and high quality play does.

Your family harmony, personal health, and positive bank account balance, combined with your overall life satisfaction signals if you’ve found the right mix. The buck stops with you as a mom and heart of your household.

But effective moms make their time count in shaping the souls God entrusts in them, not just by showing up and crossing things off checklists.

To make good lifelong decisions you can’t show up brain dead and expect to make the right decisions for your family.

Smart moms work and play with the right blueprint.  Here are tips to smart work and experience regular HQ (high quality) play:

1. Determine a Set Routine (that you adjust weekly to accommodate family and personal commitments)

Do work during work time and do personal activities during personal time.

2. Define Planned Tasks

List your key personal and family responsibilities and identify which time blocks you will complete them. This provides accountability so that all critical personal tasks get done, not just the ones you are comfortable with or like doing.

3. Follow Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual Planning Processes

Know where you are going and where you want you and your family to end up in the short, intermediate, and long-term.

4. Schedule “Fun” and “Together” Time With Your Family and Friends

The busier you get, the more likely you won’t make this time if it is not on your calendar.  Knowing when you want to connect with your family prevents you from doing so to avoid unpleasant tasks.

5. Schedule 3-4 Hour Weekly Personal Personal Peak Date

Selfish time for solo fun sounds unreal for busy moms, but skipping “me time” makes you dull, grouchy, and fatigued instead of a positive creative force in your family.

6. Read 20 Minutes a Day

You expand your mind, which will spark new ideas and give you energy.

7. Design Your Personal Routine with Breathing Room

Too tight schedules constrict the body and mind. Create a family calendar that gives everyone downtime.

8. Master the Media You Consume

Devote effort to find quality reading, audio, or multimedia material for you and your family to consume. The right stuff revitalizes.

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While these steps sound simple, mastering them gives you the creative, emotional, physical, sustainable energy that gives you the life you love.

How do you find the time? Use your calendar to budget your time. What you put in your calendar you value and what you omit, you don’t. Prioritize each week when you schedule.

Catholic Mompreneur Biz and Life Tip: Successful mom business owners know that balance lets you soar. Pick one of the tips to work smart to incorporate this week.

Copyright 2014 Christina M. Weber