photo credit: H is for Home via photopin cc
How many times have you read the advice to sneak tasks into those “spare” minutes in the day? The five minutes while waiting in the car pool line, the seven minutes while the kids play in the bathtub, the four minutes while you wait for the water to boil or the oven to preheat. We’re told that these are golden opportunities to sneak in those things we say we don’t have time for.
We are told we can fill these stolen moments with:
- reading for pleasure
- taking care of ourselves
- cleaning
- organizing
- connecting with your kids
- teaching your kids
These are just a few of the tasks we are told we can fill up those “extra” minutes in our day with. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that many unaccounted for minutes in my day. Certainly not enough to squeeze in all the suggested activities I could squeeze in if I were maximizing those seconds in my day.
For example, take bath time. After the hair is washed and the wriggly bodies are scrubbed, my kids like to splash and play for five or ten minutes (or until after the water gets cold if I would let them). So according to all the suggestions I read, I could be using these minutes read a magazine. Or to give myself a five minute facial or remove my nail polish. Or to clean my sink, toilet, etc. Or to organize my linen closet or cupboard under my sink. Or to talk to my kids about their day, their hopes, their dreams. Or to practice skills like counting, spelling, or patterning with my children. I don’t know how you do the math, but that’s at least 40 minutes worth of “stuff” right there. Talk about cold water and prune-like fingers.
So what do I usually end up doing while my kids are splashing and squirting? I usually feel so overwhelmed by all the activities I should be fitting in right then, that I stare out the window or at the wall and fret about all the things I should be doing right then. Productive and efficient, huh?
I wish this was one of my posts where I then go on to offer five or ten tips for solving this dilemma. However, I don’t have the answer, either. So this is a post where I ask YOU how to solve this dilemma. How do you spend the minutes you can fill with things you never get to? How do you decide what to fill those minutes with?
How do you prioritize the priorities?
Waiting to pick up: I get out of my car (if I drove) and go talk to other moms. I try to make friends. It’s good, healthy, exciting!!
Bathtime: My kids are older so I just keep doing what I was doing. When they were little, I would read.
Ready early to leave? What? That never happens!
Other spare moments: I always have a book (I have 2, a devotional and a book about homemaking tips) or my phone with me. I check emails, read a chapter or two or check FB if I am away from my house… otherwise I pick up clutter and put it away… that doesn’t take more than a minute or two and you can accomplish a lot!! Good post!
In our pick up line you have to stay in your car. I sometimes feel like it’s a conveyor belt of kids – they have the kids go to six spots, six cars up and load up, then move out. Then the next six.
So I can never decide whether to read, check email, get on Facebook. Usually I decide to read since it is one of the few quiet alone times I get in a day.
Thanks for stopping by AJ!
Hey Beth!
Thanks so much for coming by my blog, Piggy In Polka Dots! First I have to say… I LOVE your blog! It’s so fresh and pretty! Second… I am totally with you… I find myself just thinking about all of the things I have to do during those very few spare minutes of the day. I then tell myself it’s ok that I just totally wasted them. Moms need a few minutes to waste. It sounds like it isn’t constructive just wasting time, but then again it is at least a few minutes that we can just stop and do nothing since those are so few. However if I am in my car waiting on the kiddos after school I tend to get antsy so I will start to gather up any garbage floating around the car… and that is like instant gratification and it totally makes me feel like I have just been productive! lol Anyway, I enjoyed your post! You seem delightful and I am looking forward to keeping up you on you blog! Have a great weekend!!!
Shelley
Thank you so much, Shelley! You make a great point – those moments where we can simply do nothing are usually so rare, we shouldn’t feel guilty about not being productive! I tend to do my quick clean ups when I am cooking dinner and waiting for water to boil or something in the oven. It is that instant gratification, just getting dishes in the dishwasher or the old leftovers cleaned out of the fridge! Thanks again for stopping by and for your kind comments! Looking forward to following you, as well!