Too busy for inspiration…

My blog has seriously been on the back burner recently, especially since I went back to work.

And that’s not because there isn’t anything going on worth writing about, it’s because I’m simply not having the time to sit and think about it, or when the inspiration does come I don’t have anything to write it down with and then I get busy and forget again.

I recently had a conversation with my husband about what may help us to be more mentally healthy, we both listed off a dozen things that we would like to do… then there was just one issue, time.

Or lack of.

You see once we’re home from work and school, everyone’s had dinner, bathed, bedtime for child one, quality time with child 2, bedtime for child 2, up and down the stairs several times for child 1’s feeds & child 2’s “I’m not sleepy!” fights, that’s it I’m done… my bedtime. So when do we fit in our own stuff?

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to use my knowledge of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) to plan out our complete lives, and although it seems drastic I’m hoping it will lead to better mental health for the whole family.

The whole point in CBT is planning to achieve, and the idea is once you achieve your goals, starting small, you will start to feel better as you are accomplishing your goals. This has been something that worked for me in the past and helped me quickly move on from postnatal depression with my first child.

The first step to take is to make some lists;

• things you have to do (i.e. Washing up, laundry, hoovering)

• things you would like to do (i.e. Going to the gym, reading, knitting)

• necessary but difficult things (i.e. The monthly budget, making phone calls)

Next step is the sort these things into 3 catagories; easy to achieve, medium difficulty and hard to achieve.

Now comes the final (and tricky) part, planning your next week including these things. (Hint: if some of the tasks seem to huge, break them down into smaller tasks to do over a few weeks.)

I usually start by adding in the things you can’t change, for example work, school or any appointment you have scheduled. Then add in some of your easy tasks that you have to do like laundry, as they don’t take long they can easily be fitted around things. Then move onto some of your more difficult tasks. I make sure I get be myself timeslots for each thing and if after the time it’s not finished I can move on and finish it another time or finish it then if I don’t have anything more important to do. 

At the moment I have only ever done this for myself and not the entire family, (hence why I am procrastinating writing this blog instead of getting on with it!) I imagine this will be quite a lot harder but I’m up for the challenge. Here is a glimpse of one completed a few years ago that shows roughly how I fill it in. 

I may edit this post adding my complete family plan if I’m brave enough when it’s done, please comment if you’d be interested in seeing it.