avatarAnn Rickert Leach

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Abstract

rderly manner, into routines.</p><p id="b727">By talking it through with someone else, I was able to get out of my own head and see there is time for everything — over the course of the week. The routines are flexible. This is not a regimented schedule but routines with blocks that can be moved and moved again if need be to allow time for a trip to the library, a teens & tweens meet-up, inviting friends over, etc.</p><p id="4b21">Over the 20+ years, I have been a mum and based at home, I have created many, many daily and weekly schedules (meal plans too) so feeling overwhelmed is not new to me. Given some time, I always do pull it all back together, but it is so much easier when I ask for help, especially when the someone who I ask is someone I trust to be on my side ( who will not judge me) and who I know will see the situation through my perspective.</p><p id="44a2">In life, there is no perfect plan. Why we expect we will have one in homeschooling, I do not know. There is no homeschooling plan that once created will be a perfect plan for the rest of your homeschooling days. We actually do not want that. The repetition and tedium would drive us crazy. (Remember being in school? Nothing ever was different. Ugh!)</p><p id="6e80">It is good, healthy even, to shake things up every now and then. Do lessons at a coffee shop. Call off the whole day and go to the beach. Be spontaneous! Adventurous! Be brave and take risks. Be willing to be in the moment, take advantage of opportunities that come up, and not always be driven by a schedule or even the plan. A day spent immersed in reading or gaming is as valuable as a day that goes according to the plan.</p><p id="21fb">Invite friends to join you. They may be ready for a break too. How different is inviting friends to join you for a day of playing hooky from asking them for help? I say not a lot.</p><p id="f6a2">It is OK to ask for help. Call a friend. Friends like to feel needed. Take care of You.</p><p id="aa3d">How do you reset when life goes off the rails? Let’s talk about it in the comments.</p><p id="cedc"><b>Affiliate Links*:</b></p><p id="8696">I find much inspiration and support in reading <a href="http://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/b3D3ag">The Brave Learner</a> by Julie Bogart. Julie

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comes across as a good friend who is sharing the wins and challenges she experienced in homeschooling her own five children.</p><div id="37e1" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.com/@AnnRLeach/membership"> <div> <div> <h2>Read every story from Ann Leach (and thousands of other writers on Medium)</h2> <div><h3>As a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, and you get full access to every story…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*-axNMY3s_oUY9Zee)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="8ade">*When you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I make a small commission which does not increase the price you pay. Thank you.</p><p id="3a7a"><b>Previous Article:</b></p><div id="3e3e" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-set-up-a-bullet-journal-b14d48dc301"> <div> <div> <h2>How to Set Up a Bullet Journal</h2> <div><h3>Month at a Glance, To-Do List, Notes, and Habit Tracking</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*748fTplAlKGYZrRkuCjaRA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="a7b4"><b>Related Article:</b></p><div id="965e" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-improve-mental-health-for-free-a-prescription-for-time-outdoors-32ee17e642e7"> <div> <div> <h2>How to Improve Mental Health for FREE</h2> <div><h3>A prescription for the lowest price.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*L4ZgdU1-o7EfrRRYiZlIjQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

How I Recover When All of It Is Just Too Much

Asking for help is OK.

So much chaos! Where to even start with sorting and cleaning it up? It is overwhelming. Photo by Ann Leach.

Sharing my struggle

Recently, I completely lost the plot. I was struggling to get my daily routines done. Lessons with my daughter fell by the wayside. It was all just too much.

I had started looking into intermittent fasting and skipping rope and was feeling overwhelmed with meal planning. If I add skipping rope to my days, should it be in the morning or afternoon? Should I exercise in the morning before or after I shower? Where can I slot in time for blogging and video creation? I need to be more attentive to my husband and daughter. Which are the priorities? Does it really matter if I spend 20 minutes cleaning a room each day?

I was feeling overwhelmed by my thoughts going round and round and round and round and round . . .

It had gotten to the point where I couldn’t even decide on which notebook to use to do a brain dump and get it all out of my head. Have you been here? I’m sure I’m not the only one, but how often do we own it? I mean we chose this lifestyle of homeschooling, staying home all day every day, so we just have to suck it up, right?

Well, I say no. Sometimes it all IS just too much. And when that happens, it is totally OK to ask for help. Totally OK!

Asking for help

That’s what I did by sending a text message to my husband:

Screenshot of text messages between me and my partner. I felt so incredibly overwhelmed by it all. Photo by Ann Leach.

At this point, he called me. He didn’t try to fix the problem but he helped me fix it myself. He helped me find the end of the string, a starting point for each day (shower first) and then stack up the blocks of time into an orderly manner, into routines.

By talking it through with someone else, I was able to get out of my own head and see there is time for everything — over the course of the week. The routines are flexible. This is not a regimented schedule but routines with blocks that can be moved and moved again if need be to allow time for a trip to the library, a teens & tweens meet-up, inviting friends over, etc.

Over the 20+ years, I have been a mum and based at home, I have created many, many daily and weekly schedules (meal plans too) so feeling overwhelmed is not new to me. Given some time, I always do pull it all back together, but it is so much easier when I ask for help, especially when the someone who I ask is someone I trust to be on my side ( who will not judge me) and who I know will see the situation through my perspective.

In life, there is no perfect plan. Why we expect we will have one in homeschooling, I do not know. There is no homeschooling plan that once created will be a perfect plan for the rest of your homeschooling days. We actually do not want that. The repetition and tedium would drive us crazy. (Remember being in school? Nothing ever was different. Ugh!)

It is good, healthy even, to shake things up every now and then. Do lessons at a coffee shop. Call off the whole day and go to the beach. Be spontaneous! Adventurous! Be brave and take risks. Be willing to be in the moment, take advantage of opportunities that come up, and not always be driven by a schedule or even the plan. A day spent immersed in reading or gaming is as valuable as a day that goes according to the plan.

Invite friends to join you. They may be ready for a break too. How different is inviting friends to join you for a day of playing hooky from asking them for help? I say not a lot.

It is OK to ask for help. Call a friend. Friends like to feel needed. Take care of You.

How do you reset when life goes off the rails? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

Affiliate Links*:

I find much inspiration and support in reading The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart. Julie comes across as a good friend who is sharing the wins and challenges she experienced in homeschooling her own five children.

*When you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I make a small commission which does not increase the price you pay. Thank you.

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