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CTC Readers' Poll:
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"Routines. Routines. Routines.
They get me through the day and the week. Write them out and post them
inside a kitchen cupboard. Keep them simple to start, maybe 5 items in
the morning and 5 in the evening. Also, assign one special task per
day. For example, marketing on Monday, clean bedrooms on Tuesday, bake
on Thursday, and clean living areas on Friday. Whatever works for you.
When things get crazy, I just look at my list and make sure that I'm
doing the things that need to be done to keep my family and home from
getting out of control." ~ Karen
"I have learned to just take a
long breath or two. I've learned to TRY to not sweat the small stuff
but when a whole lot of small stuff attacks at once what can you do?
Just take a few seconds and breathe!" ~ Brenda "I know that not all of your readers will be able to relate to this answer, but homeschooling has been such a blessing to me, in terms of keeping my focus. When my husband was injured at work, and spent a year off in the hospital, having surgeries, going to different doctors, etc, we simply took the kids along and did school in the waiting rooms. When I broke my ankle last year and it took six months instead of six weeks to heal, I had plenty to do while I recuperated. My dear daughter brought the books to me, and we did school in the living room, with my ankle propped up. We had so many comments from nurses, doctors, friends and family about how together we stayed during these stressful times, and I tried to think what it was about homeschooling that helped us do that. I figure that first and foremost, we were honoring God's wishes and putting him first by doing what we felt he wanted us to do. Secondly, homeschooling kept us focused on our family during some otherwise stressful times. (Many were the times my youngest sat on my lap in a doctor's office, taking apart and putting back together those plastic puzzle body parts, learning without knowing it, and being kept quiet at the same time!) Of course, you don't have to homeschool to keep yourself focused on your important things. Just make those important things part of your life during stress." ~ Valerie
"When I feel 'scattered' many
different ways and I have a lot I need to do, I put on some music.
I prefer guitar solos or Indian flute music (without the words --
I find them very relaxing and calming). I have been able to
get more done using music than any other way." ~ Vicki in WI
"I make a deal with myself to work in spurts. I'll focus and set aside all other thoughts to concentrate on my task for 15 minutes, then I'll take a 5 minutes break. Sometimes, I have to extend the break to 10 minutes, but eventually, I can stretch my work time to more than 30 minutes at a time." ~ Sandra in San Francisco
Editor's Note: Thanks to all these readers who took time to write! |