Thriving With Systems

Thriving with systems is a series for the busy mom that’s ready to finally eliminate overwhelm and increase productivity.

Let’s face it, productivity looks different for moms and I know firsthand how easy it can be to fall into a funk when you feel like you can’t get anything done. We have so many different things on our plates that when one area starts to fall behind, it may seem like we will never catch up.

After I had my baby girl, I found myself in this constant cycle of waking up in the morning with a positive outlook and enthusiasm for all the many tasks I would get to check off of my to-do list that day.

Then, fast forward a few hours, and I’m completely over it. I found myself dragging throughout the day and once the kids were all in bed and fast asleep, I was still up wondering where the day went – feeling like I didn’t accomplish anything.

If this sounds familiar, I’m happy to let you know that you are not alone. Many moms feel this way from time to time. What I’ve learned through trial and error is that the trick to avoiding this miserable, unproductive cycle is to realize that this isn’t something entirely outside of our control. 

Sure, things may be a bit chaotic at times – especially if you have more than one little one to look after. And most times these things derail us completely. I realized that I had to accept that more often than not, things are going to happen. The question I had to ask myself was what am I going to do when things aren’t going as planned.

Then I discovered the power of systems!

Creating and implementing systems into my daily routine completely changed my life! I’ve created systems for multiple facets of my daily routine and I’m excited to share how you too can create your own systems to finally eliminate overwhelm and increase productivity.

On the surface, the idea of creating systems may sound like too much work. I mean, why not just stick to a to-do list, right? Well, sure. To-Do lists are a great tool to utilize when you need to get things done.

However, to-do lists can also become pretty limiting AND they may even cause you to become discouraged if you don’t check everything off of your list. 

Everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you, but to-do lists didn’t work for me – not on their own at least.

See, I’ve tried it all.

+Planners

+To-Do List

+Digital Trackers

+Calendars

+Audiobooks

+Minimalism

+The KonMari Method™

Yeah, I’ve tried pretty much everything you can think of. What I learned was that, while all of those things did help me in different ways, it wasn’t until I combined them with a personalized system, that I was really able to maximize my productivity. 

When I finally thought of ways that I could simplify my daily tasks while simultaneously achieving my desired goals in other areas of my life, a switch was flipped and everything changed.

I’ve created systems for my Home, Business, Kids, Health, Money, Marriage, and other personal miscellaneous systems that have helped me to significantly reduce my anxiety and overwhelm while also increasing my productivity and overall peace.

Don’t worry, I’m going to break down each of my systems and show you how you can create customized systems of you very own!

 With a lot of trial and error, I’ve created a fool-proof method that helps me to create seamless systems that are easily intertwined into my daily life.

So consider this the first installment in the Thriving With Systems series. This first installment is simply an overview of systems: what they are and what you should consider before creating systems of your own.

In the second installment, I’ll share the exact method that I created and continue to follow as I implement new systems in my day-to-day life – so stay tuned!

First things first: What is a “System”?

There are tons of definitions for ‘systems’ but the best, most applicable one that I have found is from The Macmillan Dictionary and it defines a system as:

a set of connected things that work together for a particular purpose.

This perfectly sums up what my approach is to systems and why I love them so much.

One thing I really struggled with was feeling either overwhelmed or simply stuck when I couldn’t complete my daily tasks OR when completing those daily tasks meant compromising in another area.

Now that we have defined what systems are, I wanted to share a few things that you should consider before creating and implementing systems into your daily routine.

Be Realistic

At the end of the day, we are all in different seasons of our lives and what works for you may not work for someone else – and that’s okay!

The great thing about systems is that you can continually modify them to suit your needs. I tried a number of different methods and systems, but I always found myself frustrated with the rigid structure of many resources out there.

By being able to modify my systems as needed, I was able to give myself a lot more grace if the day didn’t go as planned.

Prioritize What’s Important

The beautiful thing about systems is that no matter what your day-to-day looks like, you can customize your daily systems around what’s important to you.

The first thing I did when I started creating systems around my day was to prioritize what was important to me. As a result, I created systems around the things that I HAD to get done first and once I got the hang of those systems, I started to create systems around my less important tasks.

The reason that my approach to systems works so well is that instead of a rigid set of rules to follow, I created systems based on most important tasks to the least important, and then everything in between.

Take a moment to sit and list out every single task that needs to be done. Next, categorize them from most important to least important. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be ready to start creating your systems – BUT FIRST.

I have one final thing that you should know before you begin.

Give Yourself Grace

If you’re expecting these systems to change your life overnight, I’m here to tell you that that is NOT going to be the case. Instead, there will be a lot of trial and error in the beginning as you begin to implement the different systems into your daily life.

Remember, life will continue to happen, however, the key is to continue to tweak your systems until you find that sweet spot.

Don’t worry, there are also different fail safe’s that you can put into place to ensure that you don’t fall too far behind on your daily tasks. We’ll get into those in future installments.

Now that I’ve laid the groundwork for how systems have helped me thrive, shared what exactly a system is, and given you a few things to consider before you begin, it’s time to get started creating your own systems!

Soon you’ll be more productive than ever! 

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