How to Use a Journal for Better Household Management

When you think about journaling, you may think about pouring out your deepest emotions about dramatic events in your life. While a journal is a great place to let it all out when you are going through a difficult situation in your personal life, it also is a great way to learn more about yourself in a more general way. With a closer look at the benefits of journaling, you may realize that this is an excellent resource to use to manage your busy household more efficiently.

Clear Your Mind

When you are stressed out about how much work you have to do around the house or how you will manage to get all of your kids to their different activities after school, you may feel overwhelmed and anxious. This mindset creates a mental challenge, and it makes it difficult for you to concentrate and to enjoy the small joys in your daily life. It can even lead to burnout. Journaling gives you an excellent way to clear your mind and unwind.

While some people journal for up to an hour or more each day, you can simply sit down for five or ten minutes to create a small journal entry. This is an excellent way to improve your mental health. After your mind is clear, you may be able to think about ways to better manage your to-do-items. It may also help you to focus on the items that you are currently doing, and this can boost efficiency.

Gain Clarity About Your Daily Activities

Because your busy schedule may be at the front of your mind, you may find that some of your free-flowing journal entries explore the activities and chores from time to time. When you spend time focusing on how and why you are doing these activities, you may find a better way to address them.

With some items, you may find that they are not needed or are not convenient. For example, if your child’s piano lesson is booked at the same time your other child’s soccer practice is scheduled, you may realize that a simple solution is to schedule the piano lesson for a different time that is more convenient.

Determine When Chores Are Not Equally Divided

Journaling may also help you to determine if you are pulling more than your fair share of the weight. Remember that chores may not be evenly split if one parent has a much more demanding work schedule than the other. However, this does not mean that you need to do all of the work. The other parent should pull some weight, and you may get the kids to pitch in and help in different ways. Journaling may give you clarity about how to allocate weekly chores so that everyone does their fair share.

Understand When You Need Extra Help

Journaling can help you in each of these ways, but there are instances when you and your family members are simply too busy to handle all aspects associated with running a busy house. If you have determined that your to-do list is too demanding and that you cannot reasonably expect to get help from your family members, you may need to look outside the home.

For example, you could set up a carpool with other busy parents to get your kids to their various activities. You may determine that you need to hire an assistant at work so that you have more time to spend at home. Perhaps you can work remotely to better manage your busy home life. You may even hire a maid service to clean your house periodically.

Journaling is an excellent way to reduce your stress level regardless of the source of the stress. It can help you to find balance and harmony in your life when you are going through tough times and even when your stress is caused by your daily activities or schedule.

Many people who journal regularly find that they can think through their problems more clearly, and this includes both smaller and larger problems. If you do not currently have a journal, now may be a great time to begin journaling.

Remember that your entries may be rather short if you have a busy schedule, but even short entries can provide you with excellent benefits.