Me and My Munchkin: It's All About the Balance

I mentioned in one of my recent posts that I was struggling with balance in my day to day life. Spending time with Master A, studying, housework, blogging, seeing friends, and doing everything else that needs to be done, or I want to do.

So I have spend the last couple of weeks coming up with a bit more of a schedule for our days. It is very flexible, because as we all know, things don't always go to plan when there are kids involved.

I started by making a list of all the things that I want to do in my day to day life.

Playing with my Munchkin
Scrapbooking
Blogging
Cooking
Exercising
Cuddling with my Munchkin
Reading
Seeing friends

And then a list of the things that need to be done such as:

Housework
Nap time
Meals
Studying

I then put them into a morning and afternoon category. It's really pretty simple. In the mornings Master A is happier left to his own devices to play. I am able to get some blogging done, a bit of housework, a load of washing goes on first thing in the morning so this is the time to get things done that need to be, or a little bit of my time.

Master A goes down for a nap straight after lunch, which is at about 12-12.30. He will sleep anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. This is time for me to get things done that I can't do while he's around. Sometimes I will take a short walk, if my dad is home to watch Master A, or I will catch up on a bit of rest or blog reading.

In the afternoon Master A can be a lot grumpier, and more demanding on my time. So this is Mummy-Munchkin time. We will do things such as playing at home together, going out to the park, or even watch a movie together. The point is, the computer is switched off, my phone is not in my hand and I am focused on my boy, should he want to play.

Once the Munchkin is in bed (you can read about our night time routine in my next post), that is completely me-time. I finish up any cleaning or tidying that needs to be done, have a hot shower and then either do some more blogging, scrapbooking, a bit of studying or hop into bed with the electric blanket on and a good movie. Once I finish my online courses and start Tafe, study will need to be much more of a priority in my life, and I will look at fitting that into my routine once I know the level of commitment it will require of me.

So this is something that I am trialing, and I will certainly update you on my progress over the next couple of weeks. I have a feeling that things may need tweaking, and I may need to give up some of my morning time. But, like I said this is flexible to allow for those things.

We like to spend time with friends, catching up for play dates. These will slot into our days quite nicely, and it means that some things will just not get done on certain days, and that's OK too.