Pssst – want to know a secret?
I’m totally good with letting other people do stuff for me.
Like, I’m-not-doing-it-myself-ever good with it.
Here are three things I outsource to get my life back. (I’m warning you, they’re not typical.)
Have a peek!
#1: Art lessons
I don’t really get this whole “art” thing. But I can tell my kids do, so grandma shows them all the ways you can have fun with art – because mommy doesn’t get it.
I’m totally okay with that. No “but I should teach them everything” homeschool mom guilt allowed here!
Leaning on your relatives’ talents, for the win!
#2: Grilling
Do I like home-grilled hamburgers? You better believe it.
Do I want to learn how to operate the grill? Um, nope. (Isn’t that what guys have fun doing?)
“We’re grilling today” is code for “You’re cooking today,” and I don’t have the slightest bit of guilt about it.
I don’t need to know how to do every single thing around the house to prove my feminine smarts. ‘Scuse me while I set out the pickles and ketchup for our next meal.
I don’t need to do every single thing around the house to prove I’m a good mom.
#3: Library books
You want your kids to read a lot, right? Same here.
But it takes a lot of time, doesn’t it, to browse for library books (or fill your online holds) each week? Especially when you’re trying to give your kids a balanced (reading) diet.
Here’s a radical suggestion: forget the balance.
If your kids are old enough, hand them the digital library catalog and have them type, search, refine searches, etc. (You just need to vet their holds list before you show up to the library, and give them a chance to redo if necessary.)
If you’ve got pre-readers (or just no brain space this week to help a struggling typist hunt-and-peck out his favorite author’s name), make it easy on yourself and pick a theme. Then run a search. Cars? Volcanoes? Nancy Drew?
Refine that search (kids’ books only, your preferred language, no DVDs or e-audiobooks), then save that link somewhere. And each week, just pick up where you left off on that list.
Oh, we’re on page 2 of dinosaurs? More dino books, coming right up!
By the time you’re done with that search, your kids will be ready for a totally different theme (thus getting variety), or they’ll have found a new research passion. (In which case, more dinosaur keywords!)
Either way, you didn’t have to carefully construct a reading list of one poem, two vehicle titles, three easy readers, two low-level chapter books, one autobiography, one science for kids, and two graphic novels.
Win-win, I say.
And if you need a customized delegation cheat sheet for your kids, so all you have to do is match up your kids’ ages, we spend a whole module on kids and chores in #Momlife Made Easy!
I can’t wait to help you free up your schedule and train your kids in responsibility at the same time – ‘cause I’ve been managing my own kids’ chores from ages 2 and up.
(That’s why I know change is possible for you, no matter if you have toddlers or teenagers!)
Back to you
So. Let’s bring this home.
Are there three things you outsource to someone else in your family, a friend, or the store?
Or are there a few things you’d like to delegate, but haven’t gotten around to yet?
Consider this your delegation permission.
Write out your three ideas and get to work. (Delegating them to someone else, that is.)
Which three tasks are top of your outsourcing list today?
