How to plan your week to reduce stress and anxiety
How many of you get that feeling of constantly running against time, no matter how many things you juggle, you always seem to be 3 steps behind. Well don't beat yourself too much because what we go through as women who have a lot on their plate is pretty normal and our moods, let downs and emotional breakdowns are normal too. I get so many bad days. The feeling of struggling to cope since my separation was always very strong. The minute I open my eyes I am already thinking of a million things to do. Women who unfortunately have to do it all by themselves need to plan ahead and be less hard on themselves. It is enough that we have to handle a full time job, cook, clean, take care of our children and at the same time take care of ourselves if we do not learn how to control anxiety and limit stress, the chances are that we will get sucked deeper and deeper. From experience, I feel the need to share some of my thoughts with you. I really hope that this article leaves a positive impact.
- To do list
This should not take up a lot of time but dedicate 20 minutes to make a proper list with all the things that need to be done, be it work, things around the house, cooking, taking kids to extra curricular activities etc..
- Prepare a monthly menu
This might sound a little bit odd but planning ahead of what you will be eating for the whole month will help reduce stress and save time, wrecking your mind. When I had done this for this first time I had roped in my children and asked for their opinion and we built a meal schedule in no time. The beauty of it because I managed to save a lot of money on impulse buying. Buying food and detergents for a whole month will eliminate the last minute shopping from the closest convenience, which we all know are not discount shops at all. By the way, just cooked these yummy artichokes yesterday.
- Plan a 'Chores List' for your children
So this might be a sensitive subject, because I read a lot of articles and had also attended to parental classes out of which I think most of them are a load of crap. When I was a full time stay home mum, to be honest I used to take pride in cleaning and having everywhere organised. But that reality did not exist anymore when I separated and even forced to work full time to pay rent and bills. So I ended up burning myself out, waking up early to take kids to school, do my 8 hour job, go home, cook, clear all the clutter of 3 young boys and go through their homeworks etc. On a day were they had no training I would still be in my work clothes and if I am lucky I get to shower at 10.30pm This was horrible and depressing me so much. I knew that something needed to be done. So here is what I did. Each child has a few chores on a daily basis and other chores on the weekends. I don't need to get into the tiny details but their chores are from doing their beds and clear the rooms, to put their clothes in the washing machine and hang them when ready, folding of clothes, clean the dishes and dry them and clean the bathrooms. At the end of the week I give them some pocket money as reward. However, when there are days that they feel like challenging or not behaving I simply tell them that they have a choice, they either do their chores and get rewarded or still do their chores and not get rewarded. As harsh as it may sound, I want to raise 3 independent men and who know what respect is. They understand that I am the person breaking my back to give them a normal life, they cannot expect me to act like Cinderella whilst they relax on the sofa playing or watching tv...Today I can have some more quality time with them and enjoy a few games of Uno after dinner because I am not on the go all the time.
- Preparation on the weekend
I dedicate 3 hours on Saturday to prepare food for the during the week. I cook and freeze and I am doing the same with the lunches. The thing is that I involve my children most of the time, they enjoy helping mummy and it is also fun for them. It helps them learn too. My worst nightmare is doing lunches during the week, preparing school lunch for three kids is never ending. So I buy enough bread on the weekend to have for a whole week and freeze them. I just take them out the night before and in the morning all they do is put them in their bags.
I am sure if you start working on my points above, you will start feeling better and in control. It definitely helped me reduce a lot of stress and anxiety.
Take care and feel free to comment and share your ideas.
