Monday Mornings: Crazed and Chaotic or Sane and Simple?

It’s 8 a.m. on Monday morning: Do you know where your brain is?

Mine is off in a million directions, dealing with questions I honestly don’t know the answers to, and to be further honest, really am done caring to know. And, like every other day of the week, I am struggling, trying to remember when I’m supposed to be where, when and why?? ? (Sigh.)

Truth is, more and more, my existence has become a constant juggling act, and it’s harder than ever to keep all of the balls in the air.  Lian Dolan, co-host of the Satellite Sisters Radio Show and a mother of two, agrees, but promises assistance is on the way!

These are her three steps to managing the madness..one step at a time.

Step 1 - Tune into Technology

Face it, sticky notes and bulky day planners don’t cut it anymore. What’s needed is an online resource to help make sense of it all. For example, MakingLifeBetter.com is a new, free web site from Unilever that helps families better organize their lives. It’s packed with family-friendly recipes, beauty advice, and hundreds of life-organizing tips. Best of all, it features a free online organizer from Cozi that manages schedules and activities with a shared family calendar, tracks shopping and to-do lists, and helps families stay in communication, all in one place. According to Cozi Family Experience Manager Amy Schottenstein, sites like MakingLifeBetter.com and Cozi help busy women simplify their daily routines so they can enjoy spending more time with their families.

Time is at such a premium today, and online resources built for busy families are a helpful way to free people up to do the things they really want to do.

Step 2 - The Power of One

One dish dinners. One online shopping list. One area for bags, keys, books, equipment, phones. One basket for each member of the household’s stuff. Whole outfits in one place. Even a one-touch mail delivery system where you take the mail from the mailbox and put it either into the shredder or into the designated family member’s basket will save time, energy and decrease the frustration of losing things into the clutter black hole. If you find yourself adding another dish to the menu or putting things into new piles, STOP immediately and return to the number one.

Step 3 - Just Play

Start the week uncluttered by making sure to clean up on Sunday night (and enlist little hands if you have some of those around). You can even add this to your Cozi family calendar on MakingLifeBetter.com so everyone in the family can save the date. However, resist the urge to nag or nudge and shift the focus to fun.

These days, when every day of the week is a challenge, the key is to simplify your life with tools that are at your fingertips!