Replacing Chaos With Joy, Week 4 Summer of Joy Series

There are a lot of things that can still our joy and one of the biggest is when we are feeling like we are behind, forgetting things, or just not able to keep up.  When we talk about balance, we believe that it is possible when you put God first, live in community, and follow systems that help you stay in balance. This recipe works for balance and it also works for joy.  When we look at that last one, we can struggle because it takes time to get a system in place and things are always changing. For example, I have always worked best when things are in silos. Time with the kids...silo...meaning when I am with them, I am with them and just focused on that.  Same with work.

 

However, many of us have faced a lot of changes over the last year and a half and a lot of our silos have changed, merged, and life is not as clean cut as we maybe have enjoyed it in the past.  This makes finding the right systems more difficult and sticking to systems feeling impossible.

 

But, have hope!  I refuse to be defeated by the blessings that God has given me.  Let me repeat that.  

 

Juggling school stuff, social stuff, strengthening a marriage, taking care of my body, my home, managing my finances, and using my gifts at work are all blessings.  These things can cause stress, but I don’t think that these things or the stress of trying to do all these things and more are a cause to give up on systems thus giving up on balance and joy.

 

So how do we manage all the chaos?

1.  Get clear on what success looks like to you and how you define balance
2. Focus on one system at a time.  The great thing with systems is that they can cover mutli areas of life.  Start with something like your weekly prep.
3. Put time aside for planning.  This is self care. Weekly, daily is most important.
4. Don’t try to change your natural planning and operating patterns.  If you are a paper person, go with it. If you prefer digital, go with it.  Once you get systems down, then you can improve on those systems and how you do them.  Just because you heard about how someone else does stuff doesn’t mean you have to do it.  Example: Asana and Sunsama, google calendar vs. hand written to do lists and a planner
5. Give yourself grace.  It’s all an experiment in what works.  Know that what you are doing now will change when school starts.  It will change again when the weather changes, and when the holidays come.  It will always be changing so focus on the time you set aside and how you sort through the chaos.  The details will change but the foundations of the systems don’t have to.