From Overwhelmed to Organized

It was 6:30 a.m., and I was staring at my coffee maker like it held all the answers to the universe.

My kids were halfway through breakfast (somehow, oatmeal had made its way to the ceiling), my husband was looking for his lost keys (again), and I had exactly 17 minutes to get everyone out the door.

Oh, and I still needed to pack lunches… but where did I put that lunch meat?

Spoiler alert: this is not a one-time thing.

Every day seemed like a circus without a ringleader.

Between homeschooling, chauffeuring my husband and older boys to their different drop-off points, running my own business (yes, I make planners in my “free” time).

I am also tackling three college classes, attending Mass, and somehow keeping the house from looking like a tornado had gone through it (maybe just a small one some days), I feel like I am living in a constant state of "just barely holding it together."

There sometimes is no peace. Just… chaos. And I can’t always keep up.

And then last week, I sat down and asked myself: “What if I stopped letting my to-do list run me, and I ran my to-do list instead?”

Sounds simple, right? But actually, it isn’t.

I needed something to guide me—a tool that helped me see what truly mattered each day and make time for it.

That’s when I turned to (brace yourself for it) the very planner I am making.

Instead of listing every single thing I could do (like single-handedly organizing the house or prepping gourmet meals every night), I started focusing on what I needed to do to feel balanced and whole.

I filled in time blocks not just for the must-dos, like picking everyone up at three different times (I swear I live in the van most days), but also for the want-to-dos, like personal prayer time or attending weekday Mass.

And the more I am planning, the more I realize something magical is happening.

I found pockets of time I didn’t know I had.

I started prioritizing moments of peace—simple things like sipping my coffee without the mad rush, reading a chapter of a book that wasn’t a textbook, or saying a quick prayer of gratitude before the next wave of chaos hit, maybe even learning a country line dance or two.

Somehow, the planner has helped me shift from feeling like I am just barely surviving my days to actually thriving in them. I won’t say the oatmeal doesn’t still make it to the ceiling from time to time, but at least now I can smile about it… because I know I’ve got my priorities in line.

So instead of feeling like every day is a three-ring circus with no ringleader, I just needed a little help prioritizing what matters most. Trust me, there is peace to be found, even in the busiest of days.

Blessings,

Melissa

P.S. Somewhere in the middle of all this, I decided to tweak my own planner a bit. I added an "hourly dashboard"—a to-do list on one side and hourly slots on the other. It’s been my secret weapon for keeping track of all the moving parts and somehow finding a little sanity in the middle of the madness!

P.P.S. You can follow along with my journey on Instagram here.