When it comes to balancing friends, family, a home and a career to boot, you have choices. If you find that life sometimes seems like it’s just too much, the cope method can help.
Practicing the Cope Method
From an outside perspective, I would say that the secret to success in organising is the ability to prioritise your various commitments, enlist the help of others and not to sweat the small stuff.
Do you feel overwhelmed? If you want good time management skills, you should consider practicing the Cope
Method.
Cope is an acronym for Capitalise, Organise, Prioritise and Energise.
Capitalise
You need to capitalise on getting everybody within your household to contribute towards the chores. This includes tasks such as setting the table, clearing the dishes and vacuuming the floor.
If you have kids, train them very early to put away their toys and make their own beds. Put all of your perfectionist tendencies aside while the kids are growing up. As a rule of thumb, try to do more with your children and less for your children.
Organise
It’s important to organise your home and make it easier to locate and store things. Large shelves, or a huge toy chest and hangers placed where children can reach them are good examples.
Keep things in see-through containers, hang an essential rack on the wall, keep storage bins on casters beneath the beds and then centrally locate a lost-and-found basket to stash items left lying around the house.
Prioritise
You should make an effort to prioritise each of your tasks. You cannot do everything but you can do certain things. Pick the most important activity and then concentrate on getting it done. If something falls through the cracks, let it be the laundry, but not the family outing.
Do what is really important, not simply the things that need to be done.
Energise
Without energy, you can’t function. So energise yourself by getting plenty of rest, eating all of the right foods, exercising and making time for self care.
Being physically fit and mentally alert will allow you to handle those stressful situations, which always pop up. Do not do chores at the expense of sleep time. Let the house collapse all around you before you do.
