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Health & Fitness

Is it Possible for Mothers to Slow Down?

"How can I organize my day to do less? How can I realize that my perfection is not in checking off the list but rather spending the time to be imperfect and love every minute of it?"

Kristin Mastromarino a professional organizer from the organized lifestyle.com, and I have been doing a weekly column entitled The Imperfect Perfectionist. We decided to redefine perfection because we both agreed that the only way we could experience this perceived state of Nirvana was in our next life. We both suffered from the reality that in order to live up to a high standard, it meant doing less; despite the number of times we tried to JAM IN one more thing.

In my role as a mom, I am spread out thin, unable to be all things to all people, and be everywhere at once. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t let somebody down.

The nice part about life is that we all have choices. I could choose to feel like a loser by making the best gourmet meals only to realize that I had forgotten my daughter’s physical which she needed to get into camp, or I could lower my standards, serve hot dogs, and do three additional things. In defining this three syllable word that creates guilt and lost hope, Kristin and I decided to redefine it.

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Perfection was now redefined as: acceptance; the best attempt I could make in accomplishing a task; the ability to accept my own imperfections, the realization that a round circle would never have square angles.

Summer with my children is a time I can test that definition. Am I capable of slowing down, doing less, and still have a feeling of accomplishment? My life has gone from full throttle into idle and I am not sure I can do it. Looking back at the school year, the activities, notices, rides, homework, and organization provided a comfort zone. Immediately out of the shoot, searching for tasks, I started organizing and packing for vacation. My day is no longer recognizable. Not only do I need to restructure my calendar, but I need to reprogram my brain.

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So how do you transition from chaos to comfortable? How do you slow down the pace? I want to enjoy these two fleeting months. I am reaching out to Kristin as a professional organizer.

“How can I organize my day to do less?  How can I realize that my perfection is not in checking off the list but rather spending the time to be imperfect and love every minute of it?”

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear from you.

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