Summary
In this episode Sasha digs into your schedule and shares 3 tips that are sure to help you create a schedule that actually works for you and your family. Creating a schedule that fits your lifestyle and helps you pursue the things that are meant for you in the season you’re in and the unique gifts and strengths God has equipped you with is one of Sasha’s passions. It also happens to be one of the top things she helps her clients find breakthrough in. It’s so easy for us as busy moms to allow the needs and demands of others to make our days disappear faster than we realize. But Sasha knows it’s not complicated to do ALL THE THINGS that are meant for you when you’ve got the right planning method and systems in place to lead productively peaceful days. Sasha breaks it all down in this episode and leaves you walking away with freedom and grace as you explore how your days look now, and how you would like them to look. She gives you examples and shares about the importance of flexibility in our schedules as busy moms. Sasha walks you through a 3 step process to creating your own flexible schedule. She gives you permission to say no to things at certain times so that you can say to things at certain times.
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Would you benefit from having a coach helping you live Productively Peaceful days digging into Faithful Foundations, Purposeful Priorities, Mindset Mastery, & Simple Selfcare? This question is rhetorical, everyone would! Schedule a consult with Sasha to learn more about the IAM Coaching Program and to see if you’d be a good it. https://calendly.com/intentionalabundanceco/iamconsult
You’re invited to join us in the Productively Peaceful Moms Club over on facebook! It’s a safe space where we can show up vulnerably and encourage each other, where ere share the mission of being the best mommas we can be through the grace and strength of Jesus Christ, where we encourage consistency and are able to hold each other accountable. We share scripture and talk about podcast episodes and pray for each other and set goals and so much more! You’re more than welcome here, you’re wanted here! https://www.facebook.com/groups/IntentionalAbundance
Transcription
Sasha Star Robertson 0:41
Hello sisters and welcome back to another episode of the Intentional Abundant Life podcast. I’m your host Sasha Starr Robertson, and I am super excited to dig into this episode with you today. I am going to be talking about your schedule as a mom. Is freedom a thing for busy Christian moms? And what does it look like to have a schedule that allows you to be productive and get stuff done? But also allows you the flexibility? So let’s do this intro thing, and then we will dive right in.
Sasha Star Robertson 1:24
Intro
Sasha Star Robertson 1:24
Okay, so first, here’s the deal. I always have to get into some personal stuff or whatever, before I start these podcast episodes because I feel like this is a really personal space for me to show up, and share my heart with you guys. And I do indeed want to know more about you ladies as well. I want to know more about my listeners and the Intentional Abundance Community is a really great place for you to jump in and do that.
Sasha Star Robertson 2:49
However, I’m not on social media at this particular moment my team is showing up they’ll send me screenshots of things from time to time and I’ll send them information of different things to post. So right now a couple of ways that we can connect one-on-one for some FaceTime is you can join us in the Best Yes book study. The book The Best yes by Lisa TurKeurst is one that’s been on my bookshelf for years. And so myself and a client and anyone else who’s in the Intentional Abundance Community is welcome to join. We meet on zoom at 7 am Alaska time every Thursday morning. We’ll watch the video or talk about stuff that we read in the book. And it’s just a great time to connect with other ladies to know that you’re not alone. And to just really find those are relatable moments. So join the Intentional Minutes Community. The link is always in the show notes. And you will find the Zoom link posted there basically every Wednesday to remind you guys to jump on Thursday morning.
Sasha Star Robertson 3:50
Another way again, the link is always in the show notes is to jump on a one-on-one consult with me. So just a reminder, this is not a high-pressure sales pitch. I am completely unattached on whether you decide to move forward with coaching, whether that is coaching with me or not. But I’d love to jump on and just give you the space to hold the space for you to talk about what are your dreams? What are you working to pursue or shift or transition in your life and where might there be struggles? Maybe I’m able to pull out some or diagnose even, I have air quotes right now. Some of those struggles are standing in your way. Whether that’s a mindset, whether that’s time management, or whether it’s a specific area of mindset. Maybe we’re able to come up with a real quick GamePlan for you to move forward.
Sasha Star Robertson 4:45
Or maybe it is something that I am going to refer you to move forward into coaching because I mean, honestly, who doesn’t need a life coach? I do. I have multiple coaches at any given time. I have a business coach. I have a health coach. Like I have multiple goals that I’m trying to pursue, and I know the importance of coaching and having people come alongside you and help do those. I actually just recently finished with a parenting coach that has been on this podcast and looking forward to doing a marriage coach here pretty soon. Not that we have problems but you can always be better right? We can always improve on our communication we can always be better at like loving and lifting up each other strengths. Anyways, I digress. I would love to jump on a one-on-one consult with you to hear your heart and that’s the only way truly you’re gonna know if coaching is for you. If the I am coaching is for you. If I’m the coach for you, and what it might look like. So, the link is in the show notes. If you want more information, let me know.
Sasha Star Robertson 5:49
I wanted to share with you guys too, as I mentioned a little bit ago, and if you’re an avid listener or follower of mine on social media, you already know I am on this social media fast. A podcast episode a couple of weeks ago came out where I talked about this season of obedience that God has been calling me into.
Sasha Star Robertson 6:08
And sorry if you hear some little noises in the background. That’s our puppy. She’s having little puppy dreams right next to me and it’s the cutest thing ever. Like how can you disturb that?
Sasha Star Robertson 6:21
Anyways, when I finished the triathlon back in mid- I don’t know what month was it? May I like jumped in the car as soon as I was done with straight to the adoption clinic because we had our eyes set on this sweet little puppy and she is just so great. Oh my goodness. She must have had a good day having all these puppy dreams.
Sasha Star Robertson 6:48
Okay, so I’ve been on this social media fast and I have to tell you it has been so amazing. For one I’ve been getting so much stuff done. I’ve still been crazy busy. I’m always crazy busy. I’m just a high-performance person. Right? But doing it from a space of peace and just not having that distraction. I can’t tell you how many dozens of times I’m like, oh, I should post this question on Facebook. Oh, I should post this picture on Instagram. Oh, I should take a picture of this moment. Whatever else, but I’m so not used to not sharing my life all the time. So you guys get to hear it here.
Sasha Star Robertson 7:27
I have been doing so many things. I planted my garden officially; so, I’ve got tons of squash. I think right now four kinds five kinds of squash in the ground got another one that’s like they’re the seeds are starting to pop. I gotta plant those here in a couple of days. I’ve started a new hobby of making my own cold brew, which is fantastic. Like, if you’re a busy mom and you are tired of drinking cold, regular coffee, Cold Brew is the way to go. It’s already ready for you in the morning. So you don’t even have to make it it’s delicious. You don’t need any fru fru add-ins or creamer or whatever else.
Sasha Star Robertson 8:08
I’m not sure if any of you have heard of George Bryant but he also has a podcast the Mind of George. He’s a business coach. He used to be this paleo blogger, I think he used to own I don’t know he’s owned lots of businesses. Anyways, he wrote this cold brew recipe book, and it was his like best seller ebook or whatever. Anyways, I scored it for free and it was life-changing. So surprisingly it’s after midnight right now that I’m recording this. I have had the craziest busy day but I am just so fired up to come and share this message with you guys because it’s something that I help so many of my clients do.
Sasha Star Robertson 8:53
If you guys are like me and some of my clients, you might have this ADHD or Freebird. Freebird is the word that comes up or the phrase that comes up a lot in relation to this, right? I don’t want to be tied down. I don’t want to like have a schedule that dictates every minute of every hour of my day. I want to have flexibility. I really enjoy the flexibility. Or maybe you’re like I have a toddler and a little baby. And so time blocking and scheduling out my entire day is not going to work for me. So, that is why I encourage and sit with a lot of my clients and help them create a Freebird schedule. So what does that look like? You’re actually going to sit down and you’re going to create a schedule of what are you already doing? First and foremost blackout, the hours of the day that you’re sleeping, obviously, you’re not doing much in those hours, besides rest and recovery and all the important things that come along with sleep.
Sasha Star Robertson 10:04
Block off the time in the morning that you have your quiet time with God. Block off the time in the morning that your kids are getting up and you’re feeding them breakfast or maybe you’re getting them out the door to school, or whatever else. Maybe every Thursday like me, you schedule yourself to go swimming. And maybe you know there’s a certain thing a Zoom call that you jump on every Monday at 10 am mark those things down that are already like calendar events, scheduled items that are repeating on your calendar, and then go and look at the time that you have open on your calendar. Is that first thing in the morning you know after you have breakfast, whatever else is there space on your calendar between there and the typical like lunchtime?
Sasha Star Robertson 10:55
What things do you normally find yourself doing in that time? One of the first things I have all of my clients start out with is a time tracker because just like starting a budget or buying clothes, you’re not just gonna grab a rack and go put it on. It’s a store you’ve never been in you don’t even know what size you are. You don’t even know what styles fit. You’re going to do a little bit of research before you just grab something off the shelf and go try it on and then leave defeated and disappointed because nothing fits and looks great. Right?
Sasha Star Robertson 11:28
You’re not going to just say when you’re making a financial budget for your family, Oh, we’re gonna spend $200 on food this month and $200 on gas this month and $1,500 on our mortgage, and then you realize oh actually, our mortgage payment is $2,300. And actually, we spend $1,000 on food, and gas prices have gone up and now we’re spending $500 a month on gas. Like you’re gonna look at what are you already spending before you try and allocate what you want to spend or try and budget it. So the same concept applies to creating your schedule.
Sasha Star Robertson 12:06
Look at what you’re already doing. Take a week. Sometimes it takes two to three weeks to get into the habit, or maybe your life changes so much on a weekly basis to get into the routine of tracking your time so that you know how to schedule your time. One of the number one things that I see people do wrong is they’re like, I want to make a schedule for my family and myself to stick to. And they’re just like, here’s my ideal schedule in a dream world. Like if I lived at Walgreens, right, the corner of happy and healthy. This is what I would do. And then you’re like, Oh yeah, my mom tells her it’s gonna interrupt me for snacks like every two seconds, or, Oh yeah, I’m a wife and I have a husband with needs, and Oh yeah, I forgot I said I would do that thing for this friend or for the church or whatever else. Look at what you’re already doing before you sit down to make a schedule, please. Number one tip.
Sasha Star Robertson 13:07
And then when you go through and calendar your items, you’re marking down the things that are kind of like those non-negotiables are saying quiet time and feeding your kids breakfast and lunch and dinner. Maybe you have quiet time with your family every evening. Maybe your bedtime routine takes like an hour. I know mine does which is weird. Because we’ve been doing the same thing for almost three years. But put down those things that you know you’re going to do and most of us will find time on our calendar almost daily that isn’t blocked out with a specific time-bound task.
Sasha Star Robertson 13:49
And maybe that’s between you know, 9 am and noon. Maybe it’s between one and 3 pm Whatever that time is for you. Look at it, look at your time tracker, and what kind of things do you typically find yourself doing in that window? Maybe it’s playing Mario Kart for an hour a day? Maybe it’s reading books, maybe it’s serving the needs of others. Maybe it’s scrolling social media. The gist is, are there things that you find yourself typically in that somewhat open space on your calendar, things that are actually in the pursuit of your purposeful priorities? Are they actually helping you achieve your goals and get to where you’re trying to go?
Sasha Star Robertson 14:40
Are they actually things that are benefiting you in the big picture? Are they serving your top priorities for the year and what you’re trying to focus on this season and your main values in life because if not, you are wasting precious, precious hours of your day.
Sasha Star Robertson 15:00
But I’m also not saying that every moment of every day you have to be doing something extremely purposeful right? When I say Mario Kart, that’s purposeful time for me because one, it’s a quality time thing that my husband and I do. But my son loves it when we play Mario Kart, he will actually bring me the controller. And he has this little old steering wheel from our Nintendo Wii that he says is his controller and he just loves sitting there and watching us race. And so it is a quality time thing that is purposeful. Maybe I don’t need to spend an hour doing it. Maybe I can do like 15 minutes or less and do one round of races versus allowing it to consume too much of my time. But without doing my time tracker and knowing where my time is going. I’m not realizing how much of it might be getting away from me.
Sasha Star Robertson 15:53
So when you sit down and look at that window of time that you have available, and you look at your time tracker and you look at your goals and you’re comparing, what I strongly encourage is not to say oh well from 9 am to 9:30 I’m gonna do this, and then 9:30 to 10 I’m gonna do that, and then 10 to 11 I’m going to do this. Don’t be so specific; incorporate flexibility into your life. Especially as a busy mom, it is so really important for us to do this.
Sasha Star Robertson 16:25
So in this time block that I have between 9 am and noon every morning on my calendar, or every Monday and Tuesday, and Thursday, these are the list of appropriate items that I am able to pursue in that time. And then you’re going to write out a list. So you know your morning time block. If you want that to be focusing on your kids and homeschooling them, it doesn’t have to be sitting at a table and doing a curriculum. It can be going outside and exploring something. It can be taking them to the museum. It can be you know, something different, but make a list of what is approved during that time. If it’s, I’m gonna pursue this God-given dream that he’s given to me, maybe it’s writing you maybe you’re trying to be a writer, but you can’t just say oh, this is my scheduled time of when I’m going to write: nine to noon every day. Right?
Sasha Star Robertson 17:26
You have to incorporate a list of allowable items in that time. What are some of the things that you typically do before that creativity kicks in? Maybe your list is going to look like: I’m going to go outside and get some fresh air, I’m going to read Scripture and pray for 20 minutes, or I don’t know, whatever brings up the creativity for you to help unlock that. Allow those other things to be in that space too.
Sasha Star Robertson 17:52
Or maybe you’re trying to pursue a business, maybe it’s coaching people through a specific thing that God has walked you through and given you this vision and given you this heart to be able to do. Okay, what kinds of things are allowed in that time window to help you pursue that goal or that dream?
Sasha Star Robertson 17:55
For me, I have a certain time on my calendar that works specifically for podcasting. That doesn’t mean I’m sitting down recording a podcast every time that that is on my calendar. I might be interviewing somebody else. I might be creating more podcast ideas from the market research I’ve done with you guys. I may be writing up show notes or catchy taglines. I might be editing a podcast that I recorded previously with a guest and scheduling it. I might be creating other podcast content to send off to my team you know through a different app. I have a time block that says podcasts. But there’s a whole list of activities that I’m allowed to do in that time.
Sasha Star Robertson 19:03
And I have other blocks on my calendar that is for work, but I try to be more specific. What kind of work? Okay, so this time block is specifically for serving clients. And so when I have clients, they go into that bucket, and it’s not space where I’m going to be like scrolling social media for work. How is that work? I’m asking myself, too. This is probably why I’m not on social media.
Sasha Star Robertson 19:31
But I’m also not doing podcasting at that time because that is a different time block on my calendar? I have time blocked on my calendar Tuesdays, that’s family time. I’m not going to allow work or volunteer roles or cleaning my home, stuff like that, to come into that space because that time is blocked out and protected for my family. That doesn’t mean that we have to sit there in a circle and hold hands. That doesn’t mean that we have to cuddle. Thre’s a whole list of things, even stuff that’s not on our list, that we’re allowed to do as long as we’re together in that and we’re not going and doing something that’s taking away from that quality family time.
Sasha Star Robertson 19:44
So, I’ve given a list of examples. I hope that you guys are understanding what I am saying here in terms of these time blocks. Even if you are a person who is like, I don’t even want to put this specific time block of work or something like that. You can be a little bit more broad. You can even put, I have this time from nine to noon and my options are to read a book; to write a blog post; to check social media for up to fifteen minutes at a time; to go for a walk; to clean the house. Maybe you have a broader list of things but you end up spending that time doing unproductive activities that you would kind of like to reign your life in a little bit and create a list of productive activities but be more broad. That is allowed too.
Sasha Star Robertson
This is a Freebird schedule. This is you looking at your life, your time, tracking it where you’re at now and seeing where it is lining up with your purposeful priorities, with your values, and with your goals. And if it’s not, then make those adjustments. Then finding a way to, Yes, even though you love freedom, even though you don’t want to be constricted and tied down, your schedule should not have to look like every hour of every day or every half-hour of every day being assigned for you do to something.
Sasha Star Robertson
And I want to let you guys in on a little secret here, I rarely ever clean the house. Don’t worry, my house is typically pretty clean. My husband does help; he is not allergic to cleaning by any means. But Saturday evenings are my time reserved for cleaning. And I do this because I want to honor and respect the Sabbath. And I don’t want to be looking at a mess when I’m trying to rest and being worried about, I should be taking care of that.
Sasha Star Robertson
So, every Saturday afternoon or evening I start the process of making sure all the dishes in the sink are clean, making sure the trash is taken out, making sure the floors are swept, trying to make sure all the laundry is washed. Just a lot of those bigger items that we could see. Any major messes. I make my son help me clean up the toys and make sure they’re all in the toy room before he goes to bed on Saturday night. So, that is a time block for me where it is for housecleaning. There’s a whole list of items I just ran through that are allowable in that time frame, but I need to be doing something that is cleaning. And I’m able to do that so that I’m able to rest on Sunday, my Sabbath, where I try not to work at all.
Sasha Star Robertson
But also because I’ve made sure the rest of my time throughout the week is doing other purposeful things. Even if the purposeful thing is spending quality time with my son or spending quality time outside or gardening or reading or doing other things that bring peace and joy into my life. It doesn’t have to be doing something that’s checking off a to-do list item or avidly in pursuit of your goals like learning and growing and doing mindset work. I’m rolling my eyes as I’m saying this because I’ve been heavy in that season. But I want you guys to know that it’s okay to make a schedule that works for you, that works for your family, and it doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. And if you need help doing that, I love helping my clients do that, truly. It does not take a ton of time. The first thing I’m going to ask you to do is to track your time and then we’re going to look at your ideal schedule and we’re going to match them up. And sometimes you’re going to need some accountability. Like, Uh, I don’t really feel like doing this today, or maybe you do need some extra eyes on those white spaces on your calendar to help you prioritize that Freebird list. That’s what I’m here for, sister.
Sasha Star Robertson
That is not the only thing that I am here for. I also help my clients establish and live from these really strong and sturdy faithful foundations. I also love to dig deep into the mindsets that can step in the way and hold us back from creating these schedules, from being obedient to these schedules, from being obedient to the call that God has on your life. And I also love helping busy moms make sure that they are prioritizing their self-care. But it’s simple, Biblical self-care. It’s not pedicures and chocolate. However, I am highly due for a pedicure and I love me some chocolate.
Sasha Star Robertson
So, that is it for today. I hope you are all doing super well. I miss touching base with you all on social media, but again you can jump on that Zoom Thursday morning, you can schedule a one-on-one consult with me, and I am here for you sister, cheering you on from the Intentional Abundant Life podcast. Have a God blessed week.
Sasha Star Robertson
So, just as a recap, these three tips for creating a schedule that actually works for busy moms is: Step 1: track your time before you go in. Don’t throw spaghetti at a wall. Know what you’re actually doing with your time. Step 2: Is to evaluate that and see where it matches up or where it doesn’t align with your purposeful priorities, and your values, and your goals, things that you’re trying to strive for and to do in your life. Where is it not lining up and how can you fill in that gap to make up that time? And step 3: Look for that white space on your calendar or that space on your calendar that you wern’t actually pursuing thigns that were in alignment with your goals and your purposeful priorities. Maybe it was time that you were, for lack of better terminology, wasting, scrolling social media, or oversleeping. You’re a mom, that’s probably not a reality. But looking for the time on your calendar that you’re not doing what is pursuing those purposeful priorities or time on your calendar that is a little bit more open and then making a list of allowable things in that space.
Sasha Star Robertson
So, again, not scheduling something every thirty minutes or every hour and making these strict time blocks for yourself with very specific tasks that need to be completed, but instead blocking out that space on your calendar and giving yourself a list of approvable activities and to-do list items within there. And the 4th bonus one that I’ve thrown into this episode is making sure that you’re incorporating things in your schedule that are those simple, Biblical self-care tasks. Things like reading or going for a walk or spending time outside, making sure not everything on your schedule and your to-do list is about being productive and pursuing more and growing but that you’re also allowing yourself to just be and enjoy your life.
Intentional Momlife with Jesus 