Wondering what Mommy Homework is??? Each week you will have an “assignment” here to share in our comments here on this site. You will love this-both sharing AND enjoying answers by others. Some of them, I compile into an ebook (contributors can resell as a product of their own–be sure to submit your email and full name when you register so I can credit you appropriately!).
The result is AWESOME!
We get to know each other…we are encouraged in our journey…and we glean super ideas from other great moms!
Ready for this week’s MH? This is going to be a really good one!
This week, our topic for our Tuesday Talk-a-Latte Chat is Staying Motivated. This topic is the perfect topic for our Mommy Homework as well.
It is JUNE! How are you doing this year? Are you staying motivated to reach for those resolutions, goals, and dreams? If we want to have a year that counts, much less a life that counts, we must be intentional about reaching for our resolutions, goals, and dreams. If not, they will just slip by. BUT! How do we stay motivated all along the way? THAT is our topic for this week’s Mommy Homework!
Each of us has specific things that help us to stay motivated. I am going to share mine in our Tuesday Talk-a-Latte Chat. For this week’s Mommy Homework, share those things that you do to stay motivated. What helps you stay on track? What helps you to keep on moving strong? What has helped you to reach for your resolutions, goals, and dreams?
Share your secrets this week. And, don’t miss checking back to read the posts from your mommy pals here. Have fun! 
DIG IN!
Love ya!
Cindy
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Deadline–Friday at midnight CST.
Wow, I’m first! I was hoping to hop on and glean from everyone else….guess I’ll have to come back for a visit later in the week. 😉
My motivation is my kids and my sanity. We have a long way to go in many areas, but realizing that doing things like de-cluttering will help the entire family and specifically my children when they move our on their own, is a big motivator for me. Healthy meals…I am motivated to keep our kids, and us, healthy. There is a history of diabetes in my family, so we limit sugar and desserts in general to help keep any of us from getting to heavy since obesity is a major contributor to the development of diabetes. Cleaning….motivated by the need to have clean floors for my toddler! but also just to have a safe, neat-looking home. It’s so much easier to get on with homeschooling when the chores are done. However, we need work on this…all of us need to find more motivation here. My spiritual journey….the need to be able to teach my children, which means I need to be in a close walk with Him. Also b/c my husband and I struggle in this area together. We don’t really share this kind of relationship and I so want him to become the spiritual leader. I am spending more time in bible reading, prayer, and journaling. It gives me peace, helps me to ‘vent’ to someone other than my husband, and makes it possible for God to speak to me b/c I am still.
Can’t wait to read what others have to say!
Wendy Woerner
I have some things that I do to stay motivated and stay on track. Before I share, I would like to say that I’m not perfect and I don’t always remember to do these and I don’t do all of them for every goal I have. If I did, I would be thinner, richer and much more on-top-of-things than I am! But I DO remember that I am special in God’s eyes, so no matter what, I need to ‘forgive’ myself for not being perfect.
1 – Prayer – without God I am nothing, but through Him, all things are possible. I keep a prayer list with the things I ask God’s help with. At the top is that I do HIS will, not my own.
2 – Reminders – many times I fall off-track because I don’t have my eyes on the goal. I do things with my reminders – I am visual, so I put up pictures on my headboard that remind me what I am working towards. Some are actual photos, others just Post-Its with a word or two. I look at them when I pick up my bible, before bed and when I am just waking up.
3 – Lists and charts – I don’t feel motivated when it doesn’t feel like I’m making progress. I keep charts of time exercising, weight, etc. I like to use a line graph to see the line go down even slightly. I keep lists of exercises I can do so that I can keep it from getting TOO boring (I’m not the type of person who loves to exercise!) I also have savings charts and budgets (which is a kind of list) and time management charts that I like to keep handy.
4 – Help – The biggest thing I do (and kind of hardest in some ways) is to ask for help from the people who love me. Many people, myself included, find asking for help difficult, but are more than willing to help. I don’t ask anyone to lose the weight FOR ME, but I do ask my husband to ask me everyday if I’ve exercised. He’s more than happy to do that for me.
5 – Reading – I read the bible, motivational books, bible studies, and books and articles about what my goals are – weight loss, time management, homeschooling, money management, etc. These keep me motivated and give me tips to re-energize my efforts.
Hope it helps someone. Wish I hadn’t missed the Chat today.
Elizabeth Bowen
First, to stay motivated, I have to pray, pray, pray. Then, I keep a clipboard on my desk with lists, plans, etc.. This way I have reminders around me of things I want to achieve, things I need to do, etc. (also keep some things in notebooks). This way, I have reminders around me, but not all the clutter (we attempt to keep it all in clipboard or notebook anyway). Also, I discuss things w/my husband, so that I am accountable, and also, so that we can share ideas, changes, etc. We also tell our children (they are not so little anymore), what our goals are, things we want them to accomplish, etc., and they help to remind me-funny how they don’t forget! There is no way that I could do all of this w/out spending time w/the Lord, and making sure that I am following what HE desires for me to do, as well as my children.
When I start to get off track, I may have to cut some things out and check to see where my priorities are. It is so easy to get busy. It is sooo important for us to recognize when other things are keeping us busy and preventing us from staying on track (even if it is good thing we are doing, we have to be careful not to over commit.
I try to stay motivated by realizing where I’ve been and acknowledging the progress that has already been made. As women, I think we tend to see what we haven’t done or what we still need to improve. It seems to be our default mode. To recognize that and make an effort to see the improvements that have been made can make a big difference in staying encouraged to keep going.
Strike the words “I should” from your vocabulary. I’m preaching to myself here, ladies. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” God does not want us to give up. He wants us to discipline our thought life. Self-sabotage is not part of His plan.
– Colleen Garcia (Clever Colleen)
For character goals, I like to focus on one character trait (habit) a month. Studying about that trait in Scripture and specifically watching for that behavior leads to the result. Journalling about my successes and failures in that one trait helps me stay motivated toward reaching the goal.
For housework, I like the routines idea, suggested first to me by FlyLady.net. I am amazed at the jobs that get done automatically because they are now routine. For example, I came out of our bathroom and saw my bed was made. No one else was home that could have made it and I didn’t remember doing it myself, but obviously I did.
Along the same lines is decluttering. Decluttering rewards me. I love the space it frees up. I love giving things away to Goodwill or friends. It makes cleaning easier and it makes my house look better. Since decluttering rewards me, it keeps me motivated to do it, a little at a time.
As for homeschooling, I am still trying out things to keep myself and the children motivated. I know I do better with weekly goals and am going to try that this upcoming year.
Ooooooh, this is a tough one!
I guess the first step in staying motivated is not to take on too much at once. I find I can only truly stay motivated in a couple areas of life at a time. Right now my main focus is to take care of my body. To that end, I get up early in the morning and either lift weights or do an aerobic workout, and then I enjoy a nice leisurely walk and talk with my bff Jesus. Prioritizing my time and tackling the goal early in the day works very well for me – as well as making Jesus part of the equation – if I’m sure I’m walking (or running) in his will, that helps me stay motivated.
Also, I make sure I have the right tools to keep going – for my main goal right now those tools are weights, running shoes, scales, and healthy foods. Rewards help too – I’ve rewarded myself with a new haircut, a massage, or a new outfit. And taking a day off from focusing on it does wonders as well – my body and mind need rest to keep from getting worn out of feeling deprived – yep, I splurge and have sweets and bad fats once a week.
While it’s difficult for me to stay motivated for different areas for the long haul, I find that there’s nothing like a crisis to bring about some motivation – for example when my DH told me yesterday he wearing his last pair of undies, I knew I needed to get motivated to show him some love with clean laundry. And when I know guests are coming to visit, it’s amazing how motivated I can get to make the house sparkling clean! And when my parents gave me a Christmas present of bathroom scales which revealed that my body age was twice my chronological age, that sure motivated me to get moving and take better care of myself.
I have a problem with being lazy so staying motivated is challenging.
Praise and Prayer
Bible verses posted in kitchen
I make/use lists.
Visit with non-condemning friends-seeing what they are doing motivates and encourages me to get busy with my own work. If they can do all that they do, I can too.
**But reading blogs of the perfect family are de-motivators for me personally. They come across as too perfect and condemning. I can’t be perfect and my kids are not perfect or geniuses, my marriage isn’t perfect, and after reading blogs of perfect families I feel like, why bother. SO I try to stay away from things that make me feel worse about my life. I focus on the blessings that we do have.
~Marni
This is a tough one. The heart medication I’ve been on since last fall has a side effect of depression. While I’m not at full depression, I have struggled with staying motivated to even move forward some days. I’m still struggling, but here are a couple of things I do.
1) To Do Lists: I have separate ones for school and family/ household. I also make a daily one most days based off of the main lists. This keeps me from forgetting things when my head is fuzzy. Writing a list also seems to help kick in that internal motivation to do it because it needs done.
2) Worship time: I am realizing more each day that I need a time of daily (or more often) worship. Not studying, not listening to motivation or teaching. Just time to read a bit of scripture about God or sing praises or look at His creation and focus on Him reflected.
3) Taking regular time for me. This is taking the shape of going for a walk alone or with my husband, time sitting in my favorite garden spot to smell the flowers, learning a new craft, or just reflecting on my blessings.
I’m truly finding that staying motivated relies on retreating and refreshing. If I burn out, there is no way to get motivated until I’m refreshed again. I’ve known that in my head before, but the line I walk on this medication is really taking the lesson deep inside me.
Lately it has been to keep things simple. “What can I do today?” I am blessed to be taking part in a challenge this month focusing on just one thing each day and how to make the task list work… I have been reminding myself that the goal in simplicity and no more chaos (or at least not as much).
When I get totally off track and know it, I try and step aside and pause.. Take a break from what ever the path was and get re-energized. Lately, this Mommy has been taking a few more time outs then usual to keep my focus and not totally lose my motivation..
Also scheduling in both our classroom and home life is helping. I know when different activities are going to occur and for things that are weekly or twice a month and try and not schedule anything else those days.
I also read a lot of blogs, knowing there are other moms out there going through the same or similar days has helped keep me motivated and on track.
Besides prayer and reading my Bible, I would have to say what keeps me motivated is reading. I have been trying to add more motivational reading on all different topics and I have noticed that it keeps my mind fresh and has motivated me to follow through with some things I have let slide. Also, listening to your podcasts has been a great blessing in helping me stay motivated.
How do I stay motivated? Well, I don’t always. But I do have some principles that keep me on track for the most part. These might not be in order. I could take a week to write this if I get too caught up in it, so I’ll just let the thoughts roll.
I remember my “why”. For me, if I’m going to do something, I have to know that I know it needs to be done. If i just think it may be a good idea, or other people think its a good idea, I won’t make it happen when things get tough. Remembering my “why” is keeping a clear focus of what is the real reason I’m doing this. The harder the challenge, the bigger my why has to be. Sometimes I have to write it down. I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes I can get so pressed down by the “why not” I can forget my “why”. An example might be why I home school, or more particularly, why do I home school the way I do? (that would be “the Easy Way”). If I forget why, I might find myself in a sea of text books, administering tests to weary little children.
I maintain multiple interests . I get bored easily, so its easy for me to drop something and move on to the next thing. I am so thankful that God has put me in a place in life that I can actually use that to my advantage. I wear many hats; child of God, wife, mom, homeschooler, homemaker, friend, entrepreneur, the list goes on. This can get overwhelming if I let it. Instead what I choose to do is to relish in the diversity of it all. If I’m not in the mood to focus on one aspect of my life, I can always find something that needs my attention. Today I might want to improve my knowledge of healthy eating, tomorrow I might need to do some work on a business project I’ve got going. It may sound like I make choices based on emotion but notice, all my choices are from among my predetermined priorities. So, as some people say, “its all good”. Having the freedom to change up what I’m doing while still pursuing my God-given passions helps to not get burned out.
I keep a balance. There are times when one of my many “hats” is needing more of my attention than others. Right now I’ve got some business stuff to take care of in order to meet a very important goal. But I do have to remember that while this current project may need more of my attention than usual, I need to keep it in perspective. I can’t let everything else suffer in order to focus on this one thing. So, I do what I can with an eye on keeping the other things under control.
I remember where my heart is. We women, dare I say we home schooling women, are good at doing way too much. I’ve learned to cut way down on what I do. If you read back over my list of hats, you’ll see there’s plenty there. I have no problem letting someone else do “it” , whatever “it” may be, if I don’t feel like it fits in with my definition of what I’m to be all about. Sometimes that can come across as being lazy or uninvolved, especially at church. The truth is, I’m very involved. With my husband, my kids, and the people who need me on a personal basis. There will come a time when I can give more in a public way, like being on certain projects at church. But for now, I have to remember that God did not design me to be all things to all people. So I start with the people I know I was put here to serve. If I have something left of me after those needs have been met, I move on to other things. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength… all things, that is, that He has called me to do.
Last but certainly not least, I try to give myself a break. It’s hard with a two year old who doesn’t ever get babysat. (long story) and who doesn’t sleep. But when I can I take a moment to just do something I want to do, or read my Bible, etc. I have to find ways to recharge and refresh or else everything I have in front of me looks boring at best and insurmountable at worst. God has not given me anything I can not do. I just have to allow him to give me the grace one step at a time and He does that through pulling me away to the green pastures and causing me to rest.
Staying motivated! Okay this week is not the best week for this subject.
So I have goals and dreams but all to often I get sided tracked. Than I never finish or it takes me longer than it should.
Long term goals are the hardest for me,because other things will come along and that is when I get side tracked. If it’s a one or two day goal to accomplish I can really get into it and get it done. There is no stopping until it’s done.
Back to this week, I blew it all. You can have all your goals and dreams in your head but if a few things go aloft – – –
So this week God got to me, more than once, to finally write, write, write, – no not a story but write down my goals and dreams.But I have them in my head, I didn’t have time to write all this down.He kept telling me,you need to get serious and write these down. So it is back to reality and the drawing board for me.
When I am working on a goal,God keeps me motivated and on track. Especially when I stop and think I am not going to get this done on time. Unless I have a deadline, rather it’s me a day, week, month,or whatever I need to set one or I may never get done. Example – A few years ago I did a family genealogy/photo book for our children. I had two say to myself I have to get this finish before winter ends.I had been working on this for years, it wasn’t done and I wanted it finished before I was gone.
Now I look back and say, I know all this in my head, why don’t I do the same now, except write out my goals and dreams.Set dates where I can.
Having someone to keep on you about getting your goals finished.That kind of accountability is good. Therefore I don’t have time to slack off and when I do, I have to get busy again.
Nancy Lewis
Staying motivated is very important. Often times we are easily distracted and lose site of our goals and what is important.
To keep centered on what I need to accomplish I use a variety of helps.
Quiet time – My quiet time with the Lord is the most important way I have to stay on track. I need that time of Bible reading and prayer to keep me centered on the Lord and what He wants for my life. The Lord God has to be the most important or everything else in my life is out of order and will not be fully effective. In this season of my life a morning quiet time is the most effective. The days I do not get my quiet time in the morning are always harder and usually I end up making a mess of something.
List – List help to clear my mind and remind me of what needs to be done. I can become easily distracted if I don’t know what I need to get accomplished. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly list each have a purpose and help me reach my goals. When you check things off your list you can see progress.
Plan – Make plans and tell others what they are. This keeps me accountable and gives me something to look forward to. Writing out steps to accomplish my goal is a big help.
Stay motivated – I need to listen to people who encourage and help me stay focused on what is important and what needs to be done. Cindy is great for staying motivated. Cindy and others help me stay focused, get re-focused, and motivate me.
Priorities- Make priorities. It is easy to become overwhelmed and discouraged. Determine what is most important and needs to be finished first. There are times I may have something important that needs to be done, but spending some time with my family is more important. Be careful that you do not use this as an excuse for procrastinating. Rearrange your schedule and keep going little by little.
Most of all keep your sight on what is important! I need to align everything with what God wants me to be.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
Another timely topic! The two main things for me have already been mentioned here and are, in one sense simple, and in another, the hardest part. They are:
1. Figure out what my goals actually are and write them down so they are clariified.
2. Tell someone which will make it real and stop me from justifying giving up before I even start! It also means that I have encouragement and support. I have been quite surprised lately reading my diary from a few years ago and reading things I had determined to do that I don’t even remember and never actually managed to do – I have realised that I really need accountability if I want to persevere.
Ruth V
this is tough.
I’m a list maker
And a reward inventor
We put music on to do a good cleanup job
I often ask myself if our homeschool “looks” like what God wants it to….if I didn’t know anything about Western education and just had the Word, how different would school look? I keep asking His wisdom.
And my children themselves..years ago God taught me an important lesson about loving them…but that’s a discussion for another time!
LISTS, LISTS, LISTS!!! Need I say more? But I will anyway.
I LOVE lists. Seeing things crossed off is a big motivator for me. Sometimes I do something NOT on my list and I have to add it, just to feel like I accomplished more. I think moms are in a hard job because our deadlines and tasks aren’t as concrete as other people’s who work outside the home. Daily, my dishes, laundry, house, kids, animals need maintenance and doing that maintenance never unchecks anything on my list (wow, then it would be two pages long instead of one!).
If I write the secondary tasks, such as calling my Grandmother, or putting in a new vegetable bed on my list, then I can feel a sense of accomplishment when it is done. I recently bought a small magnetic marker board for my fridge and that has emiminated the need for paper lists. It’s not portable, but I don’t recall looking at my paper lists much out of the house anyway. It was four dollars at Walmart and definitely worth it.
One of these days I plan to get “caught up” enough to have a baking day, a cleaning day, a laundry day, etc., but not while I have four six and under, I think! My mom did retire this year, though, and I think her being able to help me once or twice a week may make my goal of organization a more near reality. Now that’s motivating!
Another motivator is my journal. I keep brief overviews of our daily events and cute things the kids say and do in there. Once in a while, I go back and reread the entries and I can actually see the progress we are making. Things that are so sweet that I might have forgotten otherwise have the power to bring a smile, even on a somewhat down day. Who can go through life with kids thinking that what they are doing (raising Godly children) is anything less than important and remarkable? Kudos to all the moms out there…you have the most important job in the world and it has the power to influence thousands. Now THAT’S motivating!
Character: We work on character traits on a monthly basis. When I can look at the list of traits and see how much better the kids are doing with one of them than they were last month, I feel very motivated to keep going, even though it is a gradual process.
Listening to seminars and sermons: I love to get motivated by being convicted! When my enthusiasm is flagging, a sermon or homeschool seminar tape usually does the trick. When I am driving in the car is a great time to do this.
I also stay motivated by doing some things for myself once in a while. I maintain a site of free homeschool stuff that motivated me incredibly, just because it is FUN and I feel I am accomplishing something apart from my Mommy accomplishments. Some might say that that is selfish, but I feel God put it in my heart and gave me time to do it recently, so if He is OK with it, then I am, too. Knowing I have folks who go to the site and check on it motivates me to keep going. Accountablilty is a motivating thing, whether virtual or in person.
Prayer is motivating. When all else fails to help, or rather, as a first line of defense, ask God for help with your motivation and focus. He will provide the tools, people, and situations you need to succeed. He always does for me.