Getting your House Organized: Daily Schedule

by Cynthia Hatcher
(Genesee, Michigan, United States)

The washing, the cooking, the cleaning, being a wonderful wife and a great mother is just a few areas we handle daily as women.

What about our lives as women of God, the gifts we are encouraged to use and the service we are to render? When do we have time to fit that into our daily lives and yet not leave anything undone?

I found out after trying so hard to get everything done, pouring myself into bed at night because of exhaustion, I could not do it all in a day. Following a simple daily schedule will help to smooth out the rough edges of our day.

At night, before I go to bed, I make a list of all the things which need to be done on the following day. I keep a "running" list of "things to do".

From this list, I choose what needs to be done and/or what can be accomplished the next day. If I need to make personal or business phone calls, I list them all together so my time on the telephone will all be done in one sitting. If there is any cleaning which needs to be done that day, I list what I need to do around the house. I make a list of all of my errands and put them in order so I won't find myself running back and forth all over town.

God has entrusted to me a speaking and writing ministry. It is imperative that time for those things are always on the list, time to study and time to write. Always at the beginning of the list is time for prayer and Bible reading.

I make sure I pay attention to my energy level, which is important. It helps me to assess what I can handle in a day and it keeps me from making my list so full that I am exhausted by the time it is complete.

I set myself a time to get everything done and by a certain time in the evening, my day is done. Gone are the days of a woman's work is never done. When I have completed my tasks for the day, I am finished. This allows me time with my family and time for myself.

Keeping a schedule also simplifies my decision making. There are opportunities that may arise; maybe it's going out to dinner with some friends, maybe it's a speaking engagement. Keeping a schedule helps me to not overbook myself or have too many "things to do" in a day, week or month.

Do I fulfill it all perfectly? Of course not, but keeping a daily schedule helps me to have peace of mind. Now, that alone makes it worth it!