“I have SO MUCH extra time right now… What will I ever do with it all?”
How many of you have ever said that?
Hmmm… no one? No one at all?
I’m pretty sure that’s a thought that’s never crossed my mind.
Time management is a HOT topic, isn’t it? Especially with us homesteader-folk who attempt to balance an old-fashioned lifestyle with all the demands of a modern one.
One of my favorite books is Essentialism by Greg McKeown. In it, the author talks of the origin of the word “priorities.” The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was SINGULAR. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for 500 years. In the 1900s though, we pluralized it. It’s like we literally thought we could bend reality by changing the word. Like we could have suddenly multiple first things.
Ahem. Guilty as charged.
I know this is a big deal to many of you, because I get emails from y’all almost weekly on the topic of time management…
You ask things like,
“How do you do it all?”
“Do you really homestead, homeschool, and run businesses all at the same time?”
“How do I manage all this homesteading stuff without going crazy?”
Well first off, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I mostly definitely do NOT “do it all”. Not even remotely close.
I pick and choose what’s important to me and I skip the rest. But I am most definitely guilty of having multiple priorities, and don’t see that changing any time soon. There are just too many parts of life I love.
We homeschool, we homestead, we run some businesses, we travel, I started riding horses again, and at any given time, we’ll have some audacious project happening around the homestead.
Life is beautiful y’all, and I aim to experience as much of it as I possibly can.
I’ve done time management the right way and the wrong way. There have been seasons where I was constantly grumpy and out of breath, and seasons that were blissfully peaceful. (Who am I kidding? Sometimes those happen all in the same week!)
BUT.
I feel like we have more of a groove now than we’ve ever had… I like where we are– we have time to rest, to take days off, and time to hustle. It’s a good mix and keeps me challenged without getting burned out.
As I was writing this post, I kept thinking about how I could make some sort of time management formula for y’all, but honestly? I don’t think that’s possible. We all have vastly different schedules and daily tasks, so it’s impossible to make a one-size-fits-all formula. However, what I CAN do is share some of the guiding principles which have helped me to wrangle my very-full life over the years.
I definitely don’t claim to be a time management expert, but since y’all have been asking, here are my top three actionable tips to help you manage your time as a homesteader. Or a mom. Or a business owner. Or just a human. 😉
Time Management for Homesteaders
(1) Big Rocks and Little Rocks
We CAN have all that we choose to make important in our lives. When something is important we make it a priority. When I say, “I don’t have time for that,” what I’m really saying is “I’m choosing not to make that a priority.”
If we don’t prioritize our life, someone or something else will prioritize it for us. (Been there, done that. Did NOT love it…) We get choose what we value most in our lives and what is important to us. I refuse to be a victim of my schedule, and you don’t have to be, either.
Dr. Stephen Covey uses an illustration of big rocks and little rocks that totally made sense for me the first time I heard it. He likens your to-do list to rocks, pebbles, and sand:
Rocks: Your top priority items (my big rocks are family, homeschool, crucial business tasks, and farm chores)
Pebbles: These are occasional events or things you enjoy doing (for me this is gardening, riding horses, landscaping the yard, etc)
Sand: These are the trivial tasks and time sucks (I’m looking at you, Facebook, Pinterest, and Netflix…)
If you fill up your jar with sand and pebbles, you won’t have time for the big rocks. And those are the days where we go to bed feeling unaccomplished and stressed out.
But if you fill up your jar with your big rocks first, you’ll have room for those, along with the pebbles and maybe even a little sand. (Yes, I do watch Netflix sometimes at night when my tasks for the day are complete. I’m not ashamed of that at all.)
It seems pretty elementary, doesn’t it? But how many times do we pack our mason jar full of sand and pebbles, and then complain about not having enough time?
If you make your most important things into big rocks, they will fit, promise. We all have the same 24-hours in a day. If you’re envious of someone who seems to be managing their time better than you are, it’s likely they are just prioritizing better. The key is being honest with yourself about what truly is a big rock, and what is not.
(2) For Everything There is a Season
One of the hardest concepts for me to accept when our live started to become more full was the concept of purposeful imbalance.
Holy cow! STOP! Aren’t we striving for balance at all times?
Yeah, that was my reaction too, but the answer? Nope.
I used to have this imaginary picture in my mind (key word: imaginary) of the perfect day having the perfectly equal portions of each part of my life in it. But ya know what? That’s not how it works.
There are seasons where we focus hard on homesteading. There are seasons when we are elbow-deep into every aspect of our essential oil business. And there are seasons when we rest (or just be pregnant and throw up a lot. That was not my favorite season…)
Life isn’t meant to be perfectly balanced all the time. Not if you’re actually doing stuff, that is.
(3) Let it gooooooo….
I’m not a purist. I gave that up years ago. I’m not trying to be the world’s most perfect homesteader and you can bet your bottom dollar I cheat sometimes.
There are days, weeks, and months when I pick growing my business over growing the homestead. Or I pick having a good day at homeschool over weeding the garden.
I don’t milk my cow every day.
I don’t make all of our own bread.
We eat store-bought tortillas most of the time.
Sometimes I have big gardens, some years I have little gardens. And some years I just have dead gardens. Oh well.
Are there bloggers out there who are better homesteaders than I am? You bet. Homesteading is at different priority level for them than it is for me, and I’m OK with that. (Honesty moment– it’s taken me a while to be OK with that– it used to really bother me…. It’s been a process.)
We chose this homesteading lifestyle for the quality of life it brings, not so I could use it as a big stick of guilt to whack myself continually over the head.
My days of stressing out if we aren’t eating absolutely perfect food or having soaked grain bread are over. And I’m happier for it, to be sure.
(And P.S.– sometimes letting go means just flat-out saying no… I say no a lot. It’s not always popular with people, but it’s my job to manage my calendar, and people will happily fill it for me if I let them.)
So my friends, there is enough time to do what you want to do with this homesteading gig– just prioritize, work in seasons, and don’t sweat the rest. You got this.
Listen to the Old Fashioned On Purpose podcast episode #40 for a Day In My Life HERE.
A Few Tools That Help Me Maximize my Time:
- A great daily planner can be pretty miraculous. Check out my Old-Fashioned on Purpose Planner, a planner I created to help homesteaders organize and plan. The planner includes livestock charts, gardening charts and tips, weekly and daily calendar slots, with space to meal plan if you want, and tips on how get things accomplished with my “Get It Done” method.
- There are a few tools I wouldn’t want to be without in my kitchen because they make the jobs that much easier.
- And ditto for tools I use to preserve our food around the homestead. The right tool saves aggravation and time in the long run, right?
A Few More Time Management Tips for You:
I love the rocks! This is the second year on our homestead for my husband and I and at this point I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things will run smoother this year now that we’ve learned so much! Not getting my hopes up on that one though! ??
You are blessing my life! Thank you so much for your encouragement!
What a wonderful post! I love the big rocks vs. little rocks comparison. I’d never thought of it like that before. Time management is so tricky, and I am guilty of letting the “sand” take over some days. Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to check out the book you mentioned.
Thank you for the book recommendation. And for the photo of your cow, so fuzzy and sweet-faced and wise!
I really enjoy reading your posts. I wish I could write stuff up as I go through my “homesteading” conversion and actually get others to read it too. No idea how to actually blog though. This site is very informative in so many ways.
Blogging is a process for sure. 🙂 It takes time to build up following– no one read my stuff at the beginning either!
Well dear, we are reading it now, including many city folks!!! I just love to read your blogs to see what is going on every day at the homestead. Thank you so much Jill for taking the time to write down the happenings and your thoughts. Have a wonderful Easter!
Great post, Jill. Thanks for sharing your wisdom gained through experience.
Blessings,
Mrs.B
This really hit home for me tonight. I have been trying to ease into homesteading for the past year and almost no-one can appreciate my vision. I am wife to a wonderful, sweet, visually impaired husband (I am also the bread winner for our family) and needless to say, he thinks I’m getting in over my head. He might be right, but I have wanted this for almost 25 years. I am an upholsterer and I work here at home so I think it can all come together if I just keep at it. Most people give up just before they see daylight. I guess I’m a bit too stubborn for that. (God aways provides a way)This post just gave me a refreshing breeze for my raggedy ole sails. Thank you for your encouraging words!! I love your Blog.
Nlssa, if that’s the dream the Lord’s given you, go for it! One time the Lord told me not to forget my dreams. He wants us to prosper, and have hope and a future (Jere. 29:11) We weren’t created to just go to church, and just work for a living. He says He will take us by the right hand to lead us. Bring your dream from heaven to earth, Nlssa!
Hugs to you, Nissa! You got this!
Nissa- hugs to you, i am in your same situation, hubby is blind – I’m working a 40 hour week out of the home and we are farming his family farm – it’s a lot but the love of the land makes it worth everything- even days he gets overwhelmed and can’t figure out how to get around a sighted item to find his way to do it – this are hard ones but love and determination and grace for ourselves and each other are all that we have to keep coming back to and knowing it will never be perfect…
Thank you for sharing the rocks, pebbles and sand story, I think we all need to hear this…and for me, often lol!
I’m on the verge of tears right now! This was a very timely read for me and I appreciate it tremendously. I struggle daily with feelings of inadequacy in our parenting, businesses, farmsteading, etc. Thank you for the perspective and encouragement.
Hugs to you, Amanda! I know the temptations of embracing those feelings of inadequacy– they can be hard to shake, but remember your journey is YOUR journey and it’s not supposed to look like anyone else’s. You’ve got this!
Such true words! You are such an encourager, Jill. Thank you for your words and perspective and for your honesty of how manage time.
I love this post, Jill. After being sick for 3 weeks, I’m super stressing trying to catch up on everything. Spring is the worst possible time for a homesteader to be sick and I’m overwhelmed now. Thanks so much for the reminder that it doesn’t all have to be a priority and it doesn’t all have to get done at once.
Yes indeed– all bets are off when you’re sick! You got this. <3
Thank you Jill for this post! We started our homesteading journey the end of October, and it has been ROUGH!!! The feelings of inadequacy in every aspect of my life have been overwhelming the last few days. But this gives me a much better perspective. It is helping me to see the trees through the forest. Thank you so much <3
Thank you Jill for this post! We started our homesteading journey the end of October, and it has been ROUGH!!! The feelings of inadequacy in every aspect of my life have been overwhelming the last few days. But this gives me a much better perspective. It is helping me to see the trees through the forest. Thank you so much <3
We have been on this journey for 35 years, but just didn’t realiize there was a name for it: homesteading. We tended to the land, raised 4 children, (homeschooling for 10 years), grew our own meat, eggs, vegetables and herbs, canned produce, baked bread and cooked meals from scratch. I constantly daily have to sift rocks, making decisions whether priorities are to clean the chicken coop or the house, plant the vegetable garden or weed the flower beds. I honestly have to admit continuing the lifestyle in which I grew up is not getting easier, and I still struggle with the guilt of heading out the door without making beds or doing the dishes. Likewise, if I clean the house, the weeds stay in the garden, and the transplanting does not get done. Yesterday I took the clogged bathroom sink apart and cleaned the gutters (after putting in a full day of substitute teaching; though “retired,” my husband and I still work part-tine) Yeah, when I headed out to put up the free-range chickens, I almost appologized to them for their messy nesting boxes. Thanks so much for your encouragent. I am going to take a qt-and-a-half Mason jar off the shelf and fill it with large rocks, small rocks, and sand. It will be a visual display of managing the many grains of sand in my life!
Seriously consider hiring someone to come in once a week, or bi-weekly, or even monthly, and clean your house for you. It’s money well spent, and FREES YOU to do the urgent and the important things that press in on you and bare on your conscience. You’ll be amazed at how it lightens the load on your mind, conscience, and spirit!
Not all of us have the money available to pay someone to do cleaning, Richard. I would love to turn scrubbing the toilet and tub, and dusting and vacuuming over to someone else, but there is nowhere in my budget for that luxury. My house cleaning gets done whenever I can grab five minutes of time to do ONE THING.
My mother is the kind of person who mopped the floor every day except for Sunday. There was never any clutter anywhere in our home when I was growing up. It made me feel really guilty that my house is such a disaster until I reminded myself that my mother lived in the city and didn’t even have a garden, let alone run a farm. She wasn’t milking twice a day, and then making cheese or yogurt with the milk. She wasn’t growing and canning fruit and vegetables to get us through the entire year. She didn’t have baby goats in her living room, who needed to be bottle feed every few hours because their momma couldn’t take care of them and it was too cold outside for them to be on their own.
So, if my toilet isn’t sparkling clean all the time, and there are dust bunnies in the corner of the living room, I no longer worry about it. I know that eventually either me or my husband will get it taken care of. And no one has died (or even gotten sick) from living in my home, so it’s OK to not have a perfectly immaculate home.
There are some differences in detail, but my life is like this, too. There is not enough time to do everything everyday and keep it all up perfectly. I used to really struggle with that, but sometimes I now leave things undone on purpose to save my own sanity. My health, physical and mental, is more important than every dish being put away before I go to bed. My house is a disaster most days, but we spend a lot of time serving others during the course of our weeks, whether it is me babysitting my friend’s kids (she is a single mom) or my husband is out making a hospital visit (he is a pastor) or simply running our kids around. We homeschooled, too, though my youngest just graduated. We are entering a new season. Our house is run down because we couldn’t afford a nicer place. Our yard is one big weed hole in a clearing in the woods, and the woods threaten to smother us every year. We are constantly picking up branches that fall during storms (this year a 35ft section fell of the top of a tall pine tree and smashed a portion of our garden fence.) I have already pulled up two dozen pine saplings that started growing where I didn’t want them. The work to do is overwhelming when there is so much beyond the *normal* day-to-day.
This is a very interesting post if just for all the comments. There’s a certain tone to the comments – one of guilt, inadequacy, lots of “shoulds” that come before the encouragement (I feel it too). I’m just wondering where all these feelings of guilt and inadequacy come from? I think homesteaders tend to be creative, sensitive, reflective, hard-working, self-driven, and values-driven kind of people. We feel deeply about the responsibilities of stewardship we’ve taken on (caring for children, animals, plants, the land). These are all wonderful things! Are we just too hard on ourselves? For myself, I know that my imagination (dreams, visions, plans . . . ) often outruns my ability to do, for example, the 136 tomato plants I have growing! Maybe I should check back in September for some encouragement when I have to can all those ‘matoes! 🙂
One of my fav analogies! I’m a HUGE list maker. I’ve learned that creating a daily list helps me stay focused, and crossing things off of the list gives me a burst of energy to keep going. That being said, I’ve learned to let it go if I don’t have everything crossed off. If I’ve had the same thing on my list for more than three days I have to A. Do it first if it’s a necessary or B. Reevaluate it’s purpose. Thanks for the jar story. I’ve heard it before but, as with all good advice, it was valuable to hear it again!
Yes indeed– lists are my life saver!
Gosh, I certainly can relate to this. I run my own business, raise a family and manage a chronic illness – you’re right it’s all about picking & choosing what to spend the most time on, and doing the best you can at any given moment. This post really hits home with so many women because we are all so busy trying to do it all. It’s good to read the comments, too.
I love the rock, sand, etc illustration. And your cow is so fluffy….lol. I recently wrote about the same thing on my little corner of the web. From a completely different perspective of course. Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks for the encouraging read. This is a great way to put things into perspective for me. I am still learning to manage the responsibities of running a homestead as well as learning to manage a new chronic illness. This will help with the balancing act.
What a great post. I am certainly one who gets overwhelmed by guilt when I can’t do it all! And sending my husband to work with just peanut butter and jelly kills me sometimes!
Where did you get that planner? It looks like what I need!
I have always loved this analogy. Keeps me in check!
After having two under two and then finally starting my blog. I have started to prioritize things so much more better, and am so much more happier than before.
Enjoyed your post! It was fun and informative. Thanks to you and J Rhodes today.
Thank you so much for writing this post! As I prepare to go back to school (I am a teacher in our tiny town), bring in more and more of the veggie harvest, start a new after school routine with my kiddos, and prepare for winter…I will keep a jar of big beautiful rocks as a reminder of what counts! Like many, sometimes I forget.?
Thanks for this post! My nursing career ended a little earlier than expected when it wore out my back. Enjoying retirement, but still working on time management. I had a veggie garden this year, but all the zucchini got burned by the heat. Lesson learned for next time: shade cloth and deep mulching! Water exercise class is a must for my back pain, but it sure cuts into my day. When my back hurts, I have to stop cleaning and save it for later. Cooking ahead is a big help.I usually have beans soaking or cooking, and brown rice made ahead.
I’m glad Justin Rhodes introduced you to his YouTube friends!
Very nicely said. I admire you for admitting you can’t be perfect at everything all the time. So many wouldn’t do that.
Thank you
Perfect. Love this. Thanks for the honesty. It’s rare these days. 🙂 Ain’t it wonderful to just love your life? No matter how messy or chaotic or fun it is?
Very well said. It’s nice to see honesty and being real. Thank you.
We used the same example in VBS this summer. The big rocks were praying, reading our bible, spending time with family, and helping others. The next biggest was doing our chores, being kind to people, taking care of our animals, and the smallest was what God allows us to do, computer, playing games, and having fun with friends. If we do it the other way around we end up with no time for God or family.
Thank you for your thoughts on time management. It can feel like a constant defeat when we are unable to get it ALL done. But there is a peace in being ok that it didn’t all get done today. Tomorrow is now filled with purpose.
This is great, and very encouraging. This is the start of a new year and I believe I have finally come to understand that managing my own business and taking care of my family can be intertwined because everyone has the same time within a day. I enjoyed this.
What is the planner book in the picture? I’ve been trying to look for a planner set up like that but have been unsuccessful.
Thanks for the article,good advice, especially in the busy season of summer!
Thanks. Like everyone else it seems, I needed this message today. I retired from teaching just two weeks ago and moved to my homesteading paradise only to find two weeks after retirement that…….my tomatoes don’t seem to be growing……my pea plants died………the weeds are everywhere……the rhubarb I bought with the intention of cooking is going limp in the fridge….and on and on and on. And I have been busy every day from six in the morning until 8:00 at night. So thank you.
I read Stephen Covey’s book years ago about time management. I’ve always loved the rock, pebble, sand analogy, but I needed to be reminded. Also, thanks for reminding me to “choose” to do what’s important to me. I tend to act as though what is important to me is “selfish” so I stall doing those things and waste my time with lots and lots of sand, leaving a lot of emptiness instead of fulfillment.
That is a wonderful perspective on life. We should enjoy the journey instead of seek the destination. My whole life I have strived to get it all done so I could rest and relax. Now I realize that is never going to happen so I’ve learned to just enjoy the trip.
Very timely. My husband and I were talking about priorities a half hour ago. Problem is, he’s more a dreamer so setting priorities aren’t at the top of his list of important things to do and we know how successful we are when we try to set priorities for other people….Anyone out there have suggestions for how to achieve the goal with a non goal setter?
Girlfriend, I am so with you in these words and thoughts. ‘Essentialism’ was a big book for me too, also brendon burchard, ‘the not so big house’ by Sara susanka and anything Brene brown.
I homeschool, homestead (small scale presently but it’s been a huge shift last four years), just opened a bnb and write. I dabble really. And I love it.
Go ‘honesty’ and owning it!
http://www.capturingthecharmedlife.com
http://Www.givernyofthemountains.com
I am so happy that you figured it out while your children were small – mine are grown and gone, and I’d love to spend more time with them as little people. Honestly, hated pregnancy and infancy, but loved the teen years. I know, I’m weird! I’m semi retired – subbing some days at the school where I worked, and resting on others. Trying to eliminate years of “stuff” that’s been shoved into cupboards and closets that needs to go before my next move. Living on a city lot, but planning a garden. Big dogs, so no chickens here. That just means I have to go to the farmer’s market to get produce and eggs to support my local farmers/homesteaders. What are my priorities? Today they include getting the laundry and dishes done, making homemade cinnamon buns (with caramel topping that cooks while the buns are baking!), and preparing for Easter with my sons. Going to try to get some basic cleaning done today and prepare for the beauty that is Easter. Thanks for being a cheerleader!