Sneak Peek at 2 10x10s – Feeling Adequate

As a mother and business owner, I find the demands can be overwhelming and often wonder just how much I am “supposed” to accomplish in one day – in order to make myself feel that I’ve done enough.

Frequently, as the evening closes, no matter how long the day has been I feel inadequacy peeking in – should’ve done this, can’t believe I didn’t finish that…

The night before last, as I was painting I had a thought – if I write down all that I did each day before ending the night, that will probably help me to feel adequate. So I did. And as I composed my big long list of that day’s accomplishments, I did feel better and almost didn’t need my aromatherapy to fall asleep that night

Just for kicks, and because I know a large percentage of my readers are mothers in nearly the same place as me, I thought I’d record my list:

Played Bouncy Balls (that was fun!)
Organized the coupon drawer
Vacuumed all of downstairs twice
Took down the Christmas Tree (hence all of the vacuuming!)
Baked a loaf of bread
Organized the pantry and cleaned the shelves
Played pirate festival with the boys
Finished packing client gifts
Finished writing Holiday Cards
Cleaned the fridge
Gave the boys a relaxing, unhurried bath
Edited some websites, quickly
Played jacks with the boys
Prepared and cleaned-up-after three meals and bedtime snack
Packed Etsy orders
Went on a skateboarding walk with the boys
Folded two loads of laundry
Played Puppy BINGO
Read four bedtime stories
Tucked in two exhausted loves
Cleaned two bathrooms
1 hour marketing on the computer after the kids were asleep
1 hour painting after the boys were asleep
Started two new paintings
Worked on 4 paintings
Edited all Etsy print listings (organized into sections)
And more that I am forgetting, I’m sure

Does this look familiar to you? Haven’t you always wanted to write down all that you did in one day (and be tempted to show it to your husband?) ha ha!

I am now reading a book titled “Slowing Down to the Speed of Life” by Richard Carlsen and Joseph Bailey – it’s helping me to realize that getting more done will not make us feel more satisfied… I’ll let you know more as I get further into it. It is a good read so far, and a great deal at 50 cents from the Library bookstore!