Friday, November 2, 2018

Balancing Diapers and Deadlines REVIEW

Balancing Diapers and Deadlines
While I am not currently working on an at home business, it is something I would like to pursue in the near future.  When given the chance to review Balancing Diapers and Deadlines from Lisa Tanner Writing I was intrigued.  I do write these reviews for the Homeschool Review Crew and I do have to keep up with my deadlines so I was hoping I could find some help and direction in that area.  I received an email with digital access to her course.  Once I registered I was able to bookmark the access page and enter the course through my bookmark link. This is a digital online program.


Dashboard opening page

While I do not have any more babies in diapers, I do have a very busy and feisty 6 year old and challenging 14 year old.  This course is NOT just for moms with babies.  If you have schedules and deadlines to meet or if you just want more order to your homeschool day, this course can help you get there.  The units covered include:

  • Welcome
  • Building Your Foundation with the Basics
  • Minimize Your Decisions
  • Minimize Your Decisions: The Annual Meal Plan
  • Sustainable Growth (sleep, free time, setting boundaries, etc)
  • Growing a Business with Your Kids Around
  • Boost Your Productivity (work at home mom productivity tips)
  • Closing Thoughts
You can see from the above list that several of the topics can apply to any stay at home mom.  Each unit has several lessons to complete.  I have been slowly working through the course and I still have a way to go, but I have enjoyed working through the lessons and applying what I have learned and what has helped our home run a little more smoothly.  In the welcome section Lisa reminds us that it takes baby steps to "slowly find balance in your life."  She is a mom of 8 juggling farm chores, homeschool, and an at home business.

She begins in Building Your Foundation with getting your family onboard with your business.  In my case it was getting them to see why I take the time to do the Crew Reviews.  If you do have an at home business this step is so key for peace in the home.  She goes on to discuss flexible routines and making a plan of the day.  We all know that there has to be flexibility in homeschooling and that without a vision the people will perish.  Without a plan, the day is almost destined to failure.

Life is busy and things happen.  If we can't be flexible in our schedules and plans we will most surely become so frustrated we won't be of much use at anything or anywhere.  It is such an important, yet often difficult, skill to teach to our children.  Of course the best learning happens when you model what you expect yourself.  Flexibility can be a hard one, yet so necessary to keep the peace in your days.  Lisa's Action Steps at the end of the lessons have been helpful and challenging at times.

Sample Action Step

She advocates teaching the kids multiple skills so that no one gets burned out doing the same chores over and over.  You can then rotate the jobs they are expected to carry out.  Because I only have two and because of their ages, this didn't work so much for me, but completing the action step of designating what chores needed done and who would/could complete them was helpful.  And speaking of completion I like that after you finish each lesson you can mark that off as being complete!  You then click on the NEXT button to proceed to the next lesson.  You can of course go back to a PREVIOUS lesson and all lessons can be repeated as necessary if needed.

Another foundation was planning your day each day and involving the kids in it so they know what to expect for the day.  She has her planning meeting each day at breakfast when everyone is there.  She mentions that the kids are better behaved when they know what to expect and I have to agree with her.  When my kids know what to expect next and/or what is coming up, they do tend to comply better with the days tasks.  Kids like routine and this sets that up for them.  The skill of flexibility sometimes plays out in this area when despite your best plans, things sometimes have to change off the orginal plan.  Flexibility would be key here to keeping things in order.  The kids also just like being part of the planning process since the schedule involves them.

I also like that she has you checking in with her for an action step.  She really wants to connect with you and help you in any way she can to make this work for you.  The Minimizing Decisions section was much needed by me. I find myself overwhelmed with tasks so often.  And the 6 year old does NOTHING but ask questions constantly ALL DAY!  Once I made my list and had the answers to the questions I thought came up most each day, I felt more prepared for the challenges of the day knowing I already had the answers to most of the questions, LOL.


Meal Planning


I think my favorite was the 15 Minute Quick Clean.  It's not what you think and you'll just have to get the course to see what neat ideas Lisa has.  You're most likely to think that most of this stuff is just common sense, and it pretty much is.  It's just that Lisa has a little different perspective on how to tackle most of the challenges. The bite size tasks help to make the journey very doable and you can see results of your actions pretty quickly.  Follow her easy steps and watch your productivity increase.

Lisa provides plenty of lists and examples in her course.  She even provides PDF worksheets you can use for some of the assignments. The step by step, bite size action steps really help with time management for busy moms.  I have quite a bit more still to work through, but my progress so far has been helpful.  Lisa's willingness to connect with you through email is awesome.  She even ends the course with yet another check in with her so that she can continue to help you if you need it.  I personally did not "check in" with her but didn't feel I needed the extra help right now.


Lisa Tanner Writing
I am enjoying the course and would recommend that you check out Balancing Diapers and Deadlines from Lisa Tanner Writing (even if you don't have any littles in diapers).  You can connect with Lisa on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, and PINTEREST.

Please also be sure to check out the other reviews from my fellow Crew members through the link below.  Thank you!


Balancing Diapers and Deadlines {Lisa Tanner Writing Reviews}
Crew Disclaimer

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