photo credit: www.123rf.com

When I first started homeschooling one of the very first articles that I read online was about using 30minutes.  It was written by a mum who had many children and started off by listing all the items she had sewn for her family in one year.  It was an impressive list.  She went on to say that she sewed for 30 minutes every day.  Her oldest daughter manned the phone, if I remember correctly the other kids were having naps, rests, or reading, and she spent her 30minutes sewing:  5 minutes setting up, 20 minutes sewing, 5 minutes packing away.

It was about 14 years ago that I read that article, and her example still sticks in my mind – unfortunately I haven’t been able to follow her example.  There have been times in my life – the bulk of our parenting actually, where I have had 1 hour during the children’s nap or reading time where I have been able to work on creative projects – but 30minutes – I struggle with using such a short amount of time.

There are many things that I put off because I know that I only have a short amount of time to do it in – so I don’t do it at all!

The time has come for me to recognise that I can be productive or creative in 30 minutes of time.  So this week my call to myself is going to be:

Do it in 30!

It will be setting some new habits so I’ll have to be disciplined.

• Keep it to 30 – use a timer
• Be accountable – I’ll share this with my children and give them permission to keep me accountable (that is, they can prompt, encourage and remind me!)
• Do it every day