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Gospel-Driven Encouragement for Homemakers

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10 Things Helping Me to Manage My Days as a Homemaker

by Marci Ferrell
Biblical Womanhood Christian Living Encouragement Homemaking Mentoring Menu Planning Podcast Time Management Titus 2

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I am sharing various systems, tools, and routines I've appreciated having available to me as a homemaker and how they help me manage my days. #homemaker #productivity #timemanagement @thankfulhomemaker

Inside: I am sharing various systems, tools, and routines I’ve appreciated having available to me as a homemaker and how they help me manage my days.

I am sharing various systems, tools, and routines I've appreciated having available to me and in place in my day-to-day life and how they help me manage my days. @thankfulhomemaker

I’m sharing a walkthrough of various tools and systems that help me to get things done. It’s a practical episode, and I hope to encourage you, if nothing else, to take a look at how your days are going and ask yourself some simple questions like:

What is working and what is not working?
Where do I find myself wasting time?
Where can I make better use of my time?
Can I simplify my days or various tasks or automate them?

These are just a few questions to ponder, and there are many more you can ask, but the main one is to seek the Lord and ask him, are you a good steward of your time? Is your desire to honor Him amid your days and in how you spend your time?

Many more than ten systems or tools help me manage my days, but these items top my list. I’ve shared more in detail on some of these in past blog posts or podcast episodes, but I wanted to put together an episode that walked through how I use each one.

An episode like this one is more helpful to me than you because it helps me to think through my days and systems and tools and determine what is working for me and what isn’t.

The show notes below contain the links to anything I mentioned in the podcast, and as always, if I forgot something and you can’t find it, please shoot me a note.


Listen to Podcast EP 136: 10 Things Helping Me to Manage My Days as a Homemaker

Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Favorite App

Recommended Resources:

My Favorite Time Management Books

Redeeming Productivity: Getting More Done for the Glory of God by Reagan Rose

Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity by Tim Challies

G3 National Conference – Use Code G3TH for 30% off Your Registration

Free Homemaking Resource Library

Show Notes:

10 Things Helping Me to Manage My Days as a Homemaker

1. Morning Routine

  • EP 68: Implementing a Realistic Morning Routine
  • My current morning routine:
    • Wake up between 5:30 – 6:00 AM
    • Check the to-do list and calendar for the day
    • Time with the Lord
    • Empty Dishwasher
    • Exercise
    • Shower, make the bed, tidy the bathroom
    • Breakfast
    • Start my day
  • Ruled Index Cards with Checkboxes – 300 pack of 3×5 cards

2. Time in the Word

  • EP 95: Developing a Daily Bible Reading Habit
  • Prioritizing God’s Word When Life is Busy
  • Truth for Life Ministry
  • My Current Time in the Word:
    • Tabletalk Magazine
    • Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship by Jonathan Gibson
    • Five Day Bible Reading Plan
    • PrayerMate App
    • Bible Memory App
    • Hymns of Grace Hymnal
    • Spotify Hymns of Grace Playlist
    • Christian Non-Fiction Book Recommendations

3. Spiritual Priorities

  • EP 10: Spiritual Priorities for the New Year
  • Spiritual Priorities Planning Guide
  • Shopping for Time: How to Do It all and NOT Be Overwhelmed by Carolyn Mahaney
  • Seven Categories of Spiritual Priorities:
    • Grow in Godliness
    • Love My Family
    • Serve in the Church
    • Fellowship with Christians
    • Evangelize Non-Christians
    • Attend to my Work
    • Care for my Physical Health

4. Task Management App

  • Things 3, ToDoIst or Tick Tick Apps
  • Simple Guide to Managing Tasks in Things
  • To Do Lists Done Right @Redeeming Productivity
  • The Productivity System that Treats Your To-Do List Like a River @The Art of Manliness
  • Main Categories in My Task Management App:
    • Home
    • Family
    • Work
    • Ministry
    • Personal
    • Social
    • Sub-categories I use: Travel & Gift Ideas

Ultimately, a strong system of productivity isn’t necessarily meant to help you do more, but to ease your mind, to calm your heart, to allow you to have confidence that your system is good enough, perfected enough, robust enough to grant you the joy of forgetting what you need to remember. Whether you learn that system through “our time here” or through one of a hundred other worthy books, I highly recommend creating some kind of a system—a system that fits your personality, a system that suits your life, a system that puts your mind at rest. You will know that system is where you need it to be when you trust it enough that you can forget what you need to remember, confident that the system will remember it for you.

Tim Challies, The Joy of Forgetting What You Need to Remember

5. Menu Planning

  • EP 12: Simple Menu Planning Tips
  • Free Weekly Menu Planning PDF
  • Menu Planning Made Easy Online Course
  • My Simple Meal Planning in a Nutshell:
    • Make a list of your family’s favorite meals for at least dinner (but it is helpful to have lists for breakfasts, lunches, snacks, desserts, holiday meals and company meals).
    • Plan your meals each week from these lists and add new meals to them over time.
    • Determine if daily, weekly, bimonthly, or monthly works for your schedule. Post it somewhere so you can see it and your family can see it.
    • Having favorite meal lists, working in leftovers and just taking the time to plan are huge time and money savers for me.

6. Grocery List App

  • I use AnyList to keep track of my grocery list, but there are many other options out there.
  • I keep many other lists within this app:
    • Costco
    • Travel Groceries
    • Favorite Travel Meals
    • Salad Bar Dinner List
    • Charcuterie Board Items
    • Taco Night Dinner List
    • Simple Meals for Travel at VRBO or Airbnb

7. Reading List

  • My Top Ten Book Lists
  • My reading list for 2023
  • EP 103: Simple Tips to Read More Books
  • G3 Reading Challenge 2023 & Reading Challenge 2022

8. Google Shared Calendar

  • Create & Share a Group Calendar
  • My Favorite Calendar App – Fantastical

9. Weekly Meeting

  • How to Do a Weekly Review @Redeeming Productivity
  • How and Why to Hold a Weekly Marriage Meeting @Art of Manliness
  • What We Discuss Weekly in Our Meetings as Empty Nesters (over a cup of coffee):
    • We look at the week ahead and make sure we have everything on the calendar.
    • We will see if we have busy weeks and if we can switch things around.
    • We see if we have a travel week coming up that I can tag along with him.
    • We plan family meals and time together, get-togethers with church family & friends.
    • We plan intentional time together with our kids and grandkids, and parents.

10. Cleaning Schedule

  • EP 126 My Simple Daily & Weekly Cleaning Schedule
  • My Favorite Cleaning Products & Tools
  • Weekly Cleaning Schedule Free PDF

In Closing:

I know as wives and mothers and homemakers, we are always available to everyone, and this can be a hard one at times for me in figuring out how to manage my days – I can start with this great plan – think I’m going to be productive and my day goes nothing how I planned it to – But and this is a big reminder to us all- my day went as God desired it to go.

I know it can be hard as a wife and mom to plan your days because your time is so at the disposal of everyone else. Moms are usually found taking care of the needs of others, and so often, it means your agenda for the day gets set aside as you meet the needs of your family and others.

Honestly – this is probably the biggest struggle for me in managing my days. I get up thinking I’m going to just get through my task list for the day, and I check off maybe one item on it, but I was busy all day with so many other things that needed to be tended to. 

As a full-time homemaker, you are on 24/7. We have things we’d like to get accomplished, but many times it gets set on the back burner when more important or needed items take priority.

I think this can be a struggle with how to have structure to your day to accomplish tasks and chores that do need to be tended to. 

I do want to encourage you of how helpful a good morning routine is in starting your day, and that’s an area that I always encourage, even for Mama’s with littles if it’s only 15 minutes, they can get of time in the Word and prayer but to really prioritize how they can spend time with the Lord in the morning first thing if possible.

I know it’s not a law to have to spend time with the Lord in the morning, but I know how it helps to direct my thoughts and attitudes to a heavenly perspective and how that shapes my priorities for the day. 

Whatever the “interruption,” I need to see it not as an interruption, but as an “appointment” from the Lord. My life is not my own, but it is God’s, and He ordains my days. I remind myself often – God appoints our portion. 

So one area I do like to encourage is if you’re struggling with managing your days or having focused, productive days – try to prioritize time with the Lord first thing. Time in the Word and prayer and even taking a few minutes to truly meditate or think deeply on what you read, and then before you get your day started – take a minute or two to pray over your to-do list. Seek the Lord’s help in reminding you He establishes your steps.

We seem to forget Who plans our days and Who allows moments in our days that we might consider interruptions. They weren’t accidents or interruptions but appointed by God for our good (Romans 8:28). These interruptions aren’t taking us away from our real work because they are the real work the Lord desires for us to accomplish.

We can miss the work God’s given us when we think the important work isn’t changing diapers or washing dishes. Our children aren’t an interruption to our work; they are the important work.

My home and the upkeep of it isn’t unimportant; it is an area that God has given me stewardship over, and He desires me to care well for it and those inside of it.

We will never finish everything we think needs to be done in a day or even in our lifetime. But we will finish the work the Lord has ordained for our days. We are going to have days that seem like chaos and so many things on our to-do list we’re left unfinished, but maybe that was the day we spent ministering to a friend on the phone. Perhaps that was the day we spent an hour in prayer over a broken relationship. Was it the day we needed to make dinner for a family in need or spend more time in the Word?

We don’t want productivity to be just an end goal and miss the higher goal the Lord has in mind—our sanctification. Jesus lived a very short but eternally productive life, and He stated to His Father, “I have finished the work You gave me to do.”

These moments or days that seem mundane or not very spiritual are the work the Lord has given us. The Bible doesn’t tell us to be the one who gets the most things done, but it does tell us to redeem the time we’ve been given, and we do that by making the best use of our time. 

And as we live in obedience to God – we will get things done because the work is given by God.  

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Related posts:

  1. EP 96: My Top 5 Productivity Tips for Busy Homemakers
  2. Planning My Day as a Homemaker
  3. How Well Do You Manage Your Home?
  4. My Top 5 Productivity Tips


4 Comments

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Comments

  1. Amy says

    at

    Marci, thank you! Thank you for using the precious time God has given you to minister to women. You are a blessing 100%!

    Reply
    • Marci Ferrell says

      at

      Amy – thank you so much xoxox

      Reply
  2. Abigail Gates says

    at

    Hi!

    I am so blessed to listen to your podcast. I am a young stay at home mom of two girls (8 months and 2 years), and I listen to your podcast almost every day when I am cleaning on Spotify (during nap time). You have helped me so much and I recommend you to every woman I know. You truly are a blessing to listen to, your insight on life and the word. My home runs so much smoother thanks to you!

    I hope you can make a podcast on (or refer me to one you’ve already done) how to memorize scripture. I hear you recommend great scripture to have memorized, and I have been trying to memorize 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and am struggling. It is a longer one but I think it is so important to have it down but it is eluding me!

    Thank you so much for all you do. I feel like we are friends, and if I don’t meet you on this earth I can’t wait to have tea with you in Heaven!

    Reply
    • Marci Ferrell says

      at

      Abigail – I’m so thankful for you xo. I have one on scripture memory but do download the bible memory app – it is super helpful. I’ll share a couple links from the blog and a really good video from Susan Heck on Scripture Memorization that’s so encouraging. It just takes time – it helps me to recite them out loud as I’m practicing them.

      Here is one from the blog on Scipture Memory -https://thankfulhomemaker.com/podcast-ep-54-meditating-on-gods-word-scripture-memory-spiritual-discipline-series/

      Another one – 8 Steps to Memorizing Longer Bible Passages -https://thankfulhomemaker.com/8-steps-to-memorizing-longer-bible-passages/

      And the one from Susan Heck -https://youtu.be/WVvPtTCni1E

      Reply

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thankfulhomemaker

Marci Ferrell
Whether you're running errands, doing household ch Whether you're running errands, doing household chores, or sipping your coffee, you can do it in style, reminding yourself and others you are a Thankful Homemaker 🥰⁣
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Shop TH Gear at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
What do you think of when you hear the word discer What do you think of when you hear the word discernment? The dictionary defines it as making a distinction between good and evil and truth and falsehood. As believers, we all desire to be discerning and wise in our choices. As we mature and grow in our knowledge of the scriptures, the hope is we will use that information to make choices in line with God's will.⁣
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We become discerning people by not just knowing what to think but how to think. Being spiritually discerning is an ability to see the world the way God does. This comes about as we grow and mature spiritually into the likeness of Christ. It is about seeing “All That's Good.”⁣
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Read Seeking Whatever is Good at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
“Waiting exposes our idols and throws a wrench i “Waiting exposes our idols and throws a wrench into our coping mechanisms. It brings us to the end of what we can control and forces us to cry out to God. God doesn’t waste our waiting. He uses it to conform us to the image of his Son.”⁣
~ Betsy Childs Howard⁣
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Listen in to EP 23: Seasons of Waiting at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
As I’m sharing this episode, I’m finding mysel As I’m sharing this episode, I’m finding myself in a waiting room on the Lord, and it’s been a long one, and I don’t see an end near.  It has reminded me that when I gave myself to Him, I gave up my “right” to be in charge. The reality is we never were in charge anyway; we just came to that understanding when the Lord opened our eyes to His sovereign control over our lives.⁣
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Even though it is a truth I know or we know, how many times do we want to think that somehow we can effect change in our life situations?⁣
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Waiting is hard because there is no guarantee that my waiting will end in this lifetime. One thing I have learned – my waiting has deepened my trust in the Lord and has helped me to develop patience, perseverance, and endurance.⁣
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It’s also given me different eyes to see with compassion others who are in a season of waiting.⁣
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Listen in to EP 23 Seasons of Waiting at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Six questions I have written in my Bible that have Six questions I have written in my Bible that have been a help to me over the years may be a help to you, too, to be prayerful and slow to speak. These are helpful questions not just in our friendships but in our marriages and with our children, and truly any of our relationships:⁣
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1. Is this the time to say this?⁣
2. Am I the person to say this?⁣
3. Is it necessary?⁣
4. Is it true?⁣
5. Is it kind?⁣
6. Do I need to say this?⁣
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Listen in to EP 140: Threats to Biblical Friendship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
We all know that fostering true biblical friendshi We all know that fostering true biblical friendship isn’t easy – it takes work. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that we’re going to have trouble in this world, and trouble does touch all our lives in various areas, but this includes our friendships too.⁣
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We’ll be hurt; we’ll be the ones hurting others; selfishness is a battle; jealousy and envy raise their ugly heads; we have our fears and insecurities, failed expectations, the damage our tongues do to one another, not appropriating the gospel and these all come from hearts that are still battling sin. ⁣
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So when these threats to our friendship with one another in Christ come up, it shouldn’t surprise us that we have these issues, but what we need to keep at the forefront of our minds is how we respond and deal with them when they do come up. ⁣
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I want to walk us through some of these threats, and this list I’m working with isn’t exhaustive – there are many more threats than what I am addressing today – but these are areas that stood out to me that have been a battle within some of my friendships over the years. Sadly, it is often the sin I’m battling in my heart, and I need to get my thinking, attitudes, and actions lined up with God’s Word.⁣
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Listen to EP 140 Threats to Biblical Friendship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
May we be women who are willing to return to the a May we be women who are willing to return to the authority of God’s Word, embrace God’s priorities for our lives and homes, and live out the beauty and wonder of womanhood as God created it to be.⁣
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Read more at The History of Modern Feminism at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Women will never find fulfillment and satisfaction Women will never find fulfillment and satisfaction by trying to be "like" men and shedding their uniqueness as a female.  They will only find satisfaction in Christ.⁣
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Come read The History of Modern Feminism at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
“Complaining will seem increasingly ugly when yo “Complaining will seem increasingly ugly when you let the beauty of God’s Word transform your words.” ⁣
~ Ronnie Martin⁣
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Listen in to EP 24: Dealing with Our Grumbling & Complaining at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
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