How Meal Planning Can Simplify Your Week – And Bring Your Family Together! — Podcast Show Notes

One Simply System Can Calm the Chaos

If you prefer to read, here’s the podcast in blog post form! ⤵️

Coming Soon!

Highlights:

When you understand your need for this simple tool — a weekly meal plan — it will make a huge difference in how your days go!

Being a keeper at home encompasses keeping meals on the table. And none of us get to escape it, do we?

Menu planning moved to the top of my “momma’s systems for survival” after several of my coaching clients shared their frustration with meals — and how not having a good plan affected their day and their efficiency.

We all need to eat. It’s one of the necessary tasks and events in daily life — so the easier we make it, the smoother our days will go.

We only need to tame the meal dragon and we can do better!

Stop meal prep from being an interruption to your day by having a plan.

Having a plan will give you a peace of mind and keep you from being interrupted to get dinner on the table!

When you put simple systems in place, you can make a world of difference about how you feel about your day!

Download the Meal Plan our family has used for years!

Get My Meal Plan google doc (editable) here.

Get a pretty pdf printable here.

Time to Think:

Steps to Create Your Meal Plan:

Start is gathering a list of your family’s favorite meals.
On Saturday or Sunday, take time to plan your meals out for the rest of the week. You can base it on what type of foods are in season, what’s on sale, and If you’re busy, adjust the plan for leftover days or an eat out day if you can afford eating out.
If you don’t need or want to eat out – just make double or triple portions of a meal earlier in the week. So when you’re cooking, you’re already cutting and prepping. You mix up two or three batches and put one casserole dish or one pot in the fridge for later in the week and leftover day.
For your easy days, make easy meals. On days where you’re home make a warm filling comfortable meal. If it’s summer, make a delicious salad.

Assign chefs & clean-up crew:

Who’s going to make the dinner? Choose your chef(s).
Take a look at everyone’s schedule.
Figure out who’s home or busy for the day.
What’s the family activity or outing on what day?
Then assign chefs and clean up crew.

A quick recap of the advantages of meal planning:

You’ll know what you’ll need for meals – if there’s frozen burger you need to thaw – or if you need carrots you can add them to your pick-up order.
You have a plan for the week – and you’re not caught off guard.
And, if you make a double batch, freeze one of the meals and you’ll be ready for a busy day in a few weeks.

Words to Remember:

“So aside from meals and home management – Titus 2 reminds us how important loving our kids is. And I don’t believe love only is a hug and a feeling. It’s love in action and that goes so far as preparing them to leave – to be confident and capable adults.

So really think about this part of parenting – you won’t even realize what you’re imparting to your children when you teach them these skills and then give them the opportunity to experiment with the lessons they’re learning. You’re going to see the fruit later on – but you have to be really patient.”
“We might as well add a dash of this and a handful of that to spice up our meals and let our kids be creative. Let them choose to make a meal or add some spices or try new ideas to put on our tables this week.
Help them to see how food is a gift from God and we can have fun with it. It’s not a necessary evil.”
“Meal planning really lightens the load. It takes one thing out of your already spinning head — it’s written down – so you don’t have to think about it. And you can move onto the other stuff of life – those things that are even more important!”

Bible Verses:

Exodus 16:12 “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’ “

And when Kind Solomon discusses the joys and hardships of humanity, he writes this in

Ecclesiastes 9:
7 Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.
10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
1 Corinthians 14:40 – “Do all things decently and in order.”

Proverbs 3:27 – “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.“
Philippians 2:3-11: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude as Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
Colossians 3:1-2: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
1 Corinthians 16:14: “Do everything in love.”

Resources:

My Meal Plan (editable) doc here.

Pretty Meal Plan printable here.

My “Think – Pray – Plan – Do Planner” —> Now on Amazon!

Think – Pray – Plan – Do Planners (with personal planning and review pages) ⤵️

Think – Pray – Plan – Do Journal Coming Soon to Amazon!

Download the Think – Pray – Plan – Do pdf here.

Think about all you heard today. The thoughts and questions and dreams and ideals you have.

Pray about those to determine what’s most important and valuable.

Make a Plan to implement those beliefs and values. Write them on a white board or get them printed on a wall hanging. The most important thing is to put them in front of you so you won’t forget them. So you can implement them daily and discuss them over dinner or when you need to discipline a child. Or make decisions with your husband.

Do! Live them out. Make them your reality. And then watch as your family life transforms as you and your family gain the morale and confidence and trust in God’s plan for your family!

Download your meal plan and give it a shot!

Then let us know how it made your week run more smoothly … and … if you have other ideas that work for you when it comes to all things meal-related, I’d love to hear about it!

Shoot me an email at terry@livingabovethenoise.com or share it on social media.

Message me or leave a comment on one of my posts on meal planning so everybody can share in your experience!

Thanks so much for listening in!

Find Living Above the Noise Podcasts here:

Reclaiming Family Life for the Intentional Christian Mom

Simple Steps To Gain Sanity Through Planning

By livingabovethenoise

First Things First—Be Willing To Do the Work!

This post has the potential to bring order to your busy life. You really can gain sanity through planning. But you have to be prepared to do the work!

Yikes, maybe that’s not the best start to a post with the word “Simple” in its title! But, it’s true and I’m not going to fool you. You and I need to be willing to get past the lazy troll who lives within us and do the tough stuff. I’m sorry, but it’s just reality! If you’re new to this topic, you can find my post on why you need a plan in the first place, here. Now let’s get started!

We all know the chaos that reigns as we get busier and busier in life. There is just so much to do and not enough time to do it! But by following these steps, you will see clarity in getting things done — along with what’s really important to you and what’s just fluff on your to-do list. We get so generic in what we put on our to-do lists that we miss what’s really necessary. Read through this post, then read it again from your own life perspective in order to really see the picture from a 40,000-foot view of your life.

Remember, the steps are simple, it’s the work that’s hard—but oh, the reward is sweet!

The “How To’s” Of Developing Planning Habits

So here are the simple steps I promised you. Remember—as we repeat these steps, they’ll get easier, plus we’ll be forming habits to increase our productivity. And guess what? You can start this process before you get your planner!

Categorize
Brainstorm
Add Sub-Tasks
Ask Questions and Add Details
Set Due Dates

A lot of people recommend starting with a brainstorm session. Personally, I find categorizing my areas of responsibility first helps me hone in on the most important areas of my life, rather than lumping them all into one pile.

#1 — Categorize

This is pretty simple. Categorize your main areas of responsibility:

Home — Family — Work — Self — Finances — Relationships — etc.

#2 Brainstorm

(This section and the next Subtask section go hand-in-hand but the importance of doing both is often missed in most planning tutorials.) KEY – this isn’t the place to start writing down your specific to-do’s! Hang in there.

Under each category heading, brainstorm all areas that need your attention — the ones that drive you crazy and/or are simply your responsibility. Keep them basic (see example below). List out any projects, rooms to keep up, events, etc. **If you over-think and write down all your tasks and to-do’s, it makes it much more difficult when it comes time to decide which task is more important then another. (Believe me, I’ve done this wrong for years and wondered why my big stuff never got done!)

A lightbulb went off for me when I listened to a webinar by Sue Hollowell, a project manager turned life-coach. Under each category of responsibility, she recommends using Nouns to describe the things that need your attention. Think of these as the place or the thing needing attention, not the actual activity or task. This keeps you focused on the main goal, not getting sidetracked on the details before you have a plan!

Examples: (remember—use nouns!)

Home: Bathroom Remodel — Chores — Garden — Clutter — Garage — etc.

Family: Homeschool — Birthdays — Vacations — Clothing — etc.

You can add a “Miscellaneous” heading under each category. It’s good to have a place to keep track of your less important tasks without taking up prime space under your main categories.

#3 Add Subtasks

Now you’ll add specific tasks under each project and responsibility. So, start with the project, then add the subtasks to get the job done. Jeff Goins, author, explains it this way —

“Anytime a task on your to-do list has more than one item on it (requires multiple tasks to get it done), you will get bogged down.”

Why? Because that “one task” seems monumental to accomplish! It’s not clear enough to let you know what it will take to get the job done. You’ll keep passing over it due to lack of clarity on what should come first. So you’ll avoid it! Instead, avoid the overwhelm. Detail out each responsibility and the job becomes clear!

Here’s another way to picture it. What if you wrote down, “Sort through closets.” You’ll think of this job as pretty time intensive. It will seem overwhelming due to its sheer size. If you’re like me, you’ll put it off because it’s so foggy in details.

Before you can really plan for a project, each task needs to be broken down into the sub-tasks required to accomplish it. These are the things you place on your to-do list, NOT the bigger picture projects. Those stay on the brainstorm list.

Specify each area of responsibility and all the details needed for you to gain the “order” you desire. Examples:

Garage: buy doormats, sort boxes, sweep, wipe off shelves…
Clutter: put sweaters in totes, go through closets and give away anything that doesn’t fit, organize shoes, dust shelves…
Chores: dust 1/month, vacuum 2x/week, wash windows 2/year…
Garden: water weekly, buy fertilizer, fertilize every other week, weed 1/month, have Bruce get mulch and add 3″ to beds, plant roses…

Do you see how this highlights the time and tools and people needed for a job? This makes planning so much easier!

#4 Ask Questions And Add Details

Now is the time to ask lots of questions. The answers will add the necessary details to your list. Instead of having a foggy idea, you’ll know exactly what it will take to reach your goal. You may even discover that purchasing a simple tool or not knowing a step is all that’s holding you back!

Where do I start? How much time do I plan for? (Clean garage 3 hrs. on Saturday – all family needed)
In what order does each task need to be done? List out each step. (Sweep. Pressure wash. Throw out old tools/toys. Straighten totes on shelves.)
When will you need a tool or a person to help? (Buy new cleaning rags, doormats. Bruce get pressure washer set up.)

#5 Set Due Dates

Set the desired end date for each goal, project, or activity. Consider when you want or need to accomplish a goal and choose a due date. Work around events already on your calendar. Then work backward from that date on your calendar, portioning out your time and tasks right back to today!

#6 Next & Last Step — Add Tasks To Your Planner Calendar!

Just do it! Start adding tasks to those little boxes on your planner. This seems like such a basic step yet it can feel so difficult to commit to. We don’t want to put it on the “wrong” day. We worry something else will come up or we won’t have enough time to do it. This century demands busy schedules. We get mired in the chaos and forget to make a plan. But we really need a strategy! Again, just do it!

Begin adding tasks to your weekly schedule. Choose to treat these tasks like actual appointments you make with yourself. Act like you would at work — like you’re getting paid for your time and your projects. Be the CEO of your life! Once you do, you’ll see this process take a complicated list of tasks and responsibilities and bring order and sanity into your life!

Whew! We covered a lot! Read these steps again, picturing your life and responsibilities. It will begin to make sense. Then follow the steps in a few areas you want to work on. But, most importantly —

Don’t Quit!* — You can do this!

*And I really mean don’t quit! I had to remind myself of this the other day. I had a plan — a really good one. But my day was filled with unexpected events. Think: dog gets hurt and may need a vet visit; son needs to make a last-minute birthday gift order; mother-in-law needs emergency doctor appointment. You get the picture!

This is life. Full of unexpected events. It evolves and changes even though we have a plan.

Please don’t let that stop you from gaining order. Adjust as necessary.

And don’t let it stop you from reaching for your goals. One day at a time!

The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. Proverbs 21:5

No pressure to purchase anything, but if you make a purchase through one of these links, you will help to support the work I do here at Living Above The Noise. Thanks!

3 Steps To Stop The Chaos…Why You Need A Plan!

By livingabovethenoise

Are You Guilty Of Creating Chaos?

Did you know you can create chaos through lack of planning? Does a feeling of insanity ever come to mind? Then this post is for you—the eternally busy person with lots of to-do’s in their day, lots of people in their life, and lots of ideas in their mind. Somehow, some way, you need to make a plan. You need to get all the details of life organized so you can live above all the noise!

What’s the reward? Organization and order which bring calm, peace, and sanity.

You will gain sanity through planning.

Life’s busy for all of us, but the extent of that “busy” will depend on your season of life and your personality. If you have lots of ideas, goals, dreams, and projects you know what I mean when I talk of chaos and stress. And you need this post! If you enjoy a more simple lifestyle, you may not have big goals and lots of projects. For you, order comes more naturally. This post will help you stay sane when the busier seasons of life come.

I’m not a person who organically finds order in my day—but I crave it as I juggle all my responsibilities. Because I’m in the trenches like you, I’m seeking that balance between my always-saying-yes-to-great-opportunities personality and the reality that I need some structure and routine in my life! It’s given me plenty of opportunities to learn about planning, goal setting, brainstorming, planners, and more.

How about you? Do you want the peace of mind that comes from choosing to use your time well? But where do you start? Let me share some of what I’ve learned along the way!

Planning — Let’s Start With The “Why’s”

As you work through these steps and think hard about what it will take to accomplish your goals, you’ll discover activities or belongings that are just keeping you busy. They aren’t really helping you. You’ll see other things that stand out as really important. Sifting the time-wasters out of your life will help you turn down the noise in your own corner of the world!

#1 — First Things First – Why You Need A Plan

We all need a place to record our calendar items, the dates and times for events. Don’t just hope you’ll remember. Record them somewhere or you’ll forget one of them. Don’t ask how I know! :o)

When we know what’s next on our plate, it’s so much easier to enjoy the meal. Right?!

My Living Well Planner just arrived! I am so excited to have a new space to not only keep track of my events and to-do’s—but to plan and develop a system to reach my goals this year. (You’ll see what’s on my goals list below!)

Why am I so excited to get my planner? I love the motivation of starting fresh with a new perspective! My tendency is to write a to-do list or a brainstorm list (like everyone tells you to). Then, I get lazy. I use the list to choose what I feel like doing—then I record what I did in my day. Note the past tense verb! No planning. Just a list of to-do’s, then haphazard actions toward getting them done, and recording what I did in my planner. All with the hope they were the best things to get done. Argh. But there is a better way!

Here’s a little side story of how habits can stop serving us. My daughter-in-law happened to hear me talking about how this year I’m going to actually use my planner to plan, not just record what I did on a day. She outright laughed! She said, “You mean you write down what you did after you did it?!” That’s when I realized I’d been operating on pre-cell-phone-era habits. Back when the only way to remember life’s events was to write them down. With email, Instagram, and Facebook we don’t need to keep track anymore. We have a constant record of times and dates of events!

In what ways are you operating on old habits? Remember, a planner isn’t just a glorified calendar. It’s actually for planning all those activities ahead of time! Novel idea, huh?!

If you’re new to organizing and using a planner, this post will help you see even more benefits of planning. You can learn about all the different styles of planners here. My recent post, Time to Get Organized, has lots of helpful links and ideas to get you started thinking about the bigger picture of your life.

#2 — The Importance of Having Goals & Finding Accountability

Like the song from Sound of Music, “Let’s start at the very beginning.” A really good place to start is with what you want to accomplish…this year, in the next five years, or beyond. Your goal could be as simple as “clean out all my closets” or as complicated as “get my doctorate degree.” Based on the amount of time needed to do it, work your way backward using a calendar to see when you need to get started in order to make it happen! (The “How” steps in my next post will make this less overwhelming. I promise!)

You’ll quickly discover you need a place to map out your course. Plus, it’s easy to miss the important step of how to stay on track with those goals. A planner is the perfect tool for self-accountability…

…but we often miss another driving factor—outside accountability. Share your plans and goals with a like-minded friend, your spouse, or kids! It will motivate you to stay on track. The pressure of commitment helps you remember you were actually headed somewhere. Plus, you’ll gain a new perspective.

Let that special “someone” in on your plan to get organized, reach for a dream, or hit the bullseye on a goal. When you talk through your ideas, you’ll actually hear what you’re saying out loud, which helps hone your thoughts. Plus, that person wants to help you stay on track especially if they have something you can help them accomplish. Find your “someone” and let them in on your dreams!

Here are my goals for 2018-2019:

Really use my planner to bring order out of the chaos of having too many things to do and not enough time to do them.
Gain order in my home after 16 months of moving in and remodeling.
Update and revise this blog — hone my message; reach more readers with encouragement and ideas, develop great tools to help them live above the noise.
Write a book! This is one scary goal to share! Over the years, friends encouraged me to write a book using my experiences and ideas. My book is for parents—to help them realize their potential in teaching their kids to think, love learning, be responsible, along with discovering their child’s individual “why.” I also love to encourage the entrepreneur in people, so we’ll see where I fit that in!
Develop discipline to stay on course with my responsibilities, goals, and my plan.

Okay, so are you ready to get accountable for your goals? Share them! Write them on your Facebook page or post in the comments below. Accountability is good for us—it encourages us to know other people are hiking over the same rough terrain we are. We root for them while they cheer us on! Let’s get going on our goals together!

#3 — The Importance of Having A Planner — And Using It!

You know the old adage, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It’s a no-brainer. The busier life gets the more we need to plan. A plan keeps things from slipping through the cracks. Remember, all the stuff accumulating on our list along with those last-minute fire drills keep us from working on our bigger goals. We get sidetracked and forget what’s important! Planning actually helps you weed out the unimportant and it quiets your to-do list!

So…the solution? Get that planner! Take it from an over-analyzer. Just decide. I’ve used lots of planners over the years, but I’ve never found the perfect one. I’d procrastinate for months on end, trying to find the one planner suited just for me and my season. I’ve tried to save money by designing my own. But doing so much research always puts me behind. I’m finally realizing something. It doesn’t have to be perfect! And I don’t have to do all the work! Ahhh. (You’ll find free ready-made planner templates at Canva or you can choose from a variety of pre-made planners.)

In the 2nd picture in this post, I’m using Ruth Soukup’s weekly and daily planning pages (you can find them in her planner and on her website. I don’t have the routine down yet, but because PROGRESS is my word this year I’m committed to working on self-discipline and gaining order in my day! Messing up isn’t going to stop me. Don’t let it stop you, either!

Don’t forget this!

When we think it should be easy, we set ourselves up for disappointment when the going gets tough.

The solution? Expect reshaping habits to be painful. Don’t let the pain stop you from reaching for your goals.

Remember, the reward is sweet!

The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. Proverbs 21:5

No pressure to purchase anything, but if you make a purchase through one of these links, you will help to support the work I do here at Living Above The Noise. Thanks!

School’s Starting! – You’ve Got To Plan If You Want the Best Day Possible

By livingabovethenoise

It’s that time of year again! Where did summer go?! No more vacay — it’s time to get organized!

Eight years ago, I decided to start really using my planner — not just for recording lists and what I did for the day. But to actually plan my life, my year, my days!

I turned my journey into a Year-Long-Planner Challenge and encouraged my readers to share it with me. The accountability of going public pushed me (and you) to succeed! If you’re up for a challenge this year — to get your life in order and stop procrastinating on dreams, goals, and responsibilities — please join me again this year!

Resources To Help You Get Organized

I’ve tried lots of planners over the years and I finally narrowed them down to what actually works for me. Read this post to discover the benefits of using a planner — and this post to see several different planner styles and how they might fit your needs and personality.

The key? — Find the planner style that works for your personality!

The sky’s the limit online — hundreds of creative ideas for organizing your dreams and goals. If you follow my social accounts and subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll get tips and tricks for goal setting and planning, plus a lot of encouragement!

I did a ton of planner research (my weakness 😉) a few years ago, and here are a few more favs:

Think Pray Plan Do Planner

I’ll start with my own creation — The Think Pray Plan Do Planner. It comes in 12-month and (2) 6-month planners.

I designed it after using about a dozen planners and finding what worked best for my life and my personality. That’s why I don’t only suggest my T.P.P.D. planner to you.

You have a different life than I do, so you want to find what works for you!

The Big Happy Planner

A favorite with my daughter and me is the Big Happy Planner*. I especially like the long columns to plan out my day, along with sections for to-do lists, meal planning, etc.
It has a monthly page for birthdays, goals, important dates, and a fun area to jot down activities you’re currently spending time on.
The feature that makes it stand out from the rest is disc binding, which allows you to move pages around or even add your own! —> (After using these for years, I’ve discovered the discs can get in the way. They catch on backpacks or computer bags and now I find them a little annoying. but I still love that I can add pages!)

The Living Well Planner

I used Ruth Soukup’s Living Well Planner for a few years and really liked it. I needed more room each day, so decided to create my own planner. Unfortunately, Ruth’s planners aren’t for sale anymore. But, you might find some on eBay-type sites.

Using this planner, you’ll learn how to:

Brainstorm your responsibilities and to-do’s
Choose Big Goals
Develop an Action Plan by breaking those big goals into bite-sized steps
Plan each week and day to get MORE accomplished with less time WASTED

These planners help motivating you to take action!

Are you ready to take back your days?
Get that to-do list checked off?
Start your planner challenge?

Accountability is KEY! Let’s do this — together!

*** If you’re serious about using a planner to get life under control, leave a comment, message me on Instagram, or join my mailing list. I’d love to help keep you motivated!

Start Here To Reach Your Goals

Planner Challenge To-Do List:

Research and decide which planner style you prefer. You can find my planner research in these posts: Goals of A Planner – A Necessary Part of Success here and Choosing A Planner – So Many Options here.
Listen to Ruth Soukup’s podcast on “How To Break Down Your Big Goals into a Plan That Works” here.
Read Ruth’s Goal Planning and The Magic of Thinking Big posts. They’re really helpful and I highly recommend them if you want to gain order in your life!

Let’s learn and grow together!

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8

*This asteric indicates that I may earn some compensation for these items IF you purchase through my website. I only share products I love and use personally! Thanks!