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Hi, my name is Melissa. Pour yourself a cup of tea and stay a while. I'm completely devoted to my Savior, madly in love with my husband, and joyously raising my daughters. I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy your time here!

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Balancing Diapers and Deadlines from Lisa Tanner Writing: A TOS Crew Review

Lisa Tanner Writing
When we moved to North Carolina I remember praying the Lord would provide just 5 piano students for me to teach from my home. Initially I was discouraged because I didn't even have one student! Then I discovered I was pregnant with Grace. After she was born the Lord provided 1 student. That was nine years ago. Last year I was teaching 36 students! Woah! The growth that happened meant I had to quickly figure out how to manage it all with littles all around me! We weren't homeschooling until a few years into my piano teaching business, but when we did that added a completely different dimension. I floundered around as my time became more and more limited. Oh how I wish I had Balancing Diapers and Deadlines from Lisa Tanner Writing  during those early years of my at-home business! 

Balancing Diapers and Deadlines
Sitting down with this course was like sitting down with a cup of coffee and chatting with a good friend. The author's writing style is easy going and easy to read! You will feel encouraged and challenged throughout every section. I appreciated that they were "bite-sized" and I could work at my own pace. If you have ever tried to get anything accomplished with your kids running around, you know why this is important! Thankfully by the end of this course the author will have guided you so that you can accomplish lots with all of your littles underfoot. 
For the most part, I have already implemented many of Lisa Tanner's ideas into our home, but it took me years to figure out these needed changes. As I said before, I really wish I'd had this course years ago! Some of best advice concerns how to handle chores.  

I knew I could relate to the author when she admitted her hatred of laundry! I felt like I could have written what she did about how she used to handle the laundry, and honestly how I often do handle the laundry much to my family's frustration! I have the beginning of a plan implemented, but the post-drying plan is non-existent so it piles up clean. I appreciated reading her real-life example of her laundry plan and although her particular way of structuring this frustrating chores works for her family, I don't think that it will for ours. The great thing is that it doesn't have to! The author has inspired me to think outside of the box and find something that will work so that I have one less stress in my life. 


Another section that has me thinking differently is meal planning. I already typically plan meals, but it does take quite a bit of time and I often think there must be a better way! The author suggests a FULL YEAR of meal planning! WOWZA! That is quite an undertaking. She even provides meal plans for you for five full years which is completely amazing! We definitely could use a different system although, again, I'm not certain a full year will work. I plan to start with a month at a time to see how that works. The one issue we are facing that makes this harder is we have had to make some diet changes for 2 of us in the last 6 months. Buying in bulk is difficult because of our small pantry. However, a monthly plan may work out for us. I can't wait to give this a try! 

I absolutely loved Making Your Minutes Count and have found this the easiest and best implementation for me. When you homeschool and work every minute counts! Not only that, I have two part-time jobs as well as a slew of church responsibilities since my husband is the pastor. I'm also pursuing free-lance writing more fervently. This means that my "spare minutes" are precious few. Having a game-plan in place ahead of time is just what I needed to make this more reasonable. 

Over the summer I acquired a desk just for me in our schoolroom! I love having this space just for me to sit and work. After getting it organized the next step was to get a plan in place. I have a sweet little notebook I use to organize my various roles, jobs, and responsibilities. On separate pages I use a different color ink for a to-do list. I also include due dates so I have an idea of what needs to be done first. This has worked really well for me to organize the craziness of my life and include some down-time for me as well! 

Productivity is one of the harder areas for me. I'm learning to fight against my natural bent towards procrastination and be as productive as possible. What is beautiful about this course is no matter where you are in your life, how many kids you have, or your personality, you will  glean wonderful helps and insights. If you are a work-from-home mama, or hope to be one day, grab this course and start your journey to productivity!
Balancing Diapers and Deadlines {Lisa Tanner Writing Reviews}
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