Welcome to the Inner-B Blog

Were heading into the busiest season of the year which normally means lots of shopping, parties and travelling, making this a good time to start blocking out some downtime. Having some downtime will not only help you rejuvenate your mind and body, but give that breathing space you need to make better decisions and be more effective.

Downtime doesn’t have to be a full or half a day, although that would be nice. It can be as simple making sure you have 15 minutes everyday to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, or an hour all to your self twice a week go to the gym, make time to read or simply just chill out.

Regardless of how busy your day is finding 15 minutes is not as hard as you may think – here’s the how to.

• Look at your week/month ahead and start going through each day reviewing your appointments and what you have planned.

• Keeping in mind the time of the day you are most productive start by making an appointment with yourself and block out your ‘me time’.

• In order for this to work you will need to ‘keep to time’. Set yourself time limits for all your tasks and appointments.

• While your blocking out your ‘me-time’, consider blocking out a date night or a simple coffee with your partner; time to connect with the kids. All are very important for nourishing your relationships.

Finally, add some ‘spice’ to your downtime. If enjoying a relaxing cup of tea is your thing, then why not treat yourself to some exotic and relaxing tea blends or have a special tea set just for your traditional English breakfast tea.

Whatever you decide to spend you downtime doing make sure its relaxing and it just for you.

Your task this week is to review next weeks schedule and start blocking out some downtime. You may decide to start with a simple 15 minutes a day or perhaps 30 minutes twice a week. Enjoy your lead up to Christmas.

Most people love sharing and are willing to lend their items to family and friends. This is the easy part, what becomes hard is making sure they come back and in the appropriate time frame. Sounds simple right – nooooo if it’s out of site it’s generally out of mind and this is where it starts becoming hard work.

It’s easy to assume that because the other person borrowed the item its their sole responsibility to remember to return it. Yes this is somewhat true, but while your waiting for them to return you may start to become frustrated, especially if you have a need to use it and besides who's item is it anyway? 

Why not be proactive and rather than getting frustrated and storing all the particulars in your mind,  keep a record and write it down in your Mum Organiser. On pages 26 and 27 of the Mum Organiser Resource Section you will fine two pages solely dedicated to help you record your ‘Items Borrowed’ and ‘Items Lent’. Complete with dedicated columns for item, lent to or owner, returned and even a thank you note reminder. 

Don’t rely and wait for the other person who borrowed the item to return it. By making a note you can simply recall the information, send them a quick gentle reminder and hope that you get it back sooner rather than later.

I lent a family member five books last year and yep it took just over a year to get them back! Needles to say i was not happy about it. I am SO glad I wrote down the titles, becasue they couldnt even remember. After such a long time, there was no way I would have remembered every single book title. Thankfully i did get them back and was able to tick them off the list and refer to them again.

The same goes for 'Items borrowed', make a note in your diary of what items you have borrwed and when the items are due back. i would also recommend adding a special thank you note when returning items, its gives it that extra special touch!

The next stage now is to have a rule about who I lend items to and be 100% clear when I want them back. 

How many items are on your list?

Once of the best and proven ways to coordinate and keep your family organised is by using a family calendar. With so many events, birthdays, appointment and household routines to remember, having a family calendar makes perfect sense. It also acts a communication tool to keep busy families informed and avoid disappointments.

Even if you have your own personal Mum Organiser I would recommend that you also have a family calendar. There are many types on the market, so choose one that fits in with your family. We have an undated weekly family calendar that you can start at any time of the year.

Here are a few tips on how you can make a family Calendar work for you and your family:

Many of us check the weather to decide what to wear or if we well need a jacket, umbrella or sunscreen. We also generally prepare in advance for many EVENTS in our life, but the one thing we should prepare for we more than often forget. That thing is called TOMMORROW. When you run a busy household or your trying to manage work, life and a household, planning for tommorrow could be solution to making your days run smoother and getting more out of your day. Here are a few ways you can prepare for TOMMORROW.

Check and review your diary and family planner

Check to see what appointments are scheduled, what are the kids doing. If you have a few appointments work out how you are going to get from A to B and how long it will take. I prefer to work out the directions the night prior and often run through the trip in my head so I know where I'm headed.

I am a big fan of writing To-Do lists and writing things down I need to recall. Why? Well because I know I can’t remember everything. My mind is full of so much information that not long after the conversation is finished the thought it gone.

I also only ever write things down in ONE place. I do this because I learnt the hard way. For years I used to think that I was being effective but then realised that I was writing things down on post-it notes, scrap pieces of paper, my organiser, journal, notebook and so on. So when it came to recalling the information I was literally wasting time going through all the different notebooks to find that phone number, price, address or critical piece of information I needed.

If your anything like me and have a thousand thoughts going through your head then its time to give your mind a break and switch off. Its time to get everything out of your head and into a notebook, journal or organiser.

You can start by creating a master to-do list – Click Here to download. Make sure you include everything from doctor’s appointments, to errands, items to fix, people to call.

Over the last month I have had to make some pretty important decisions. Decisions that I couldn’t just rely on intuition but rather look at actual facts. For those that know me personally, will know that I used to sit and wonder, agonize a little and maybe after hours and hours I was often still left with a dilemma.

Then my little sister, who is not so little anymore, came the rescue. I was in Africa travelling at the time when I received an email - she had been offered a new job. As we communicated via email she spoke a lot about the pro’s and con’s. I knew what this meant but for the first time I was seeing it in action. Each pro and con had a good argument. She was able to review each aspect without being biased. I was so impressed and proud of her and without realizing it at the time, she had taught me a very valuable lesson on decision-making.

In life there always seems to be something to do and never enough time to do it. They say that having children changes everything and while this is true it is also unquestionably the most amazing experience in ones life.

Most days you seem to be managing ok, a few manic mornings; some busy weekends, but generally all in all life is good. BUT, what happens when you’re faced with a mini crisis - it’s 6am and you have been up all night because your little one has been unwell. Both you and your partner have a busy workday ahead with meetings and deadlines looming.

I know what your thinking, the answer is simple right - family always comes first and while I agree, we also have the responsibility of work. Situations like this can cause a great deal of stress.

The solution is simple.