Do you have a home project you’ve been putting off for days…months…years? Here are 4 steps that can help jump start your motivation to start AND finish that project!
1. Choose Wisely
Choose the project that is bugging the crap out of you. It might be a big project such as renovating your bathroom, or something as simple as painting a frame. You know…that frame you bought at a garage sale and said “Ah…this will be a cute chalkboard frame!”, and then you take it home and it sits in a spare bedroom or in the garage for months, maybe years. Once you finish that project, it will likely give you the desire to move on to the next.
2. Save
Many people put off projects because they can’t afford the cost. It’s hard to save for annoying projects, but try to think of how your project will look once it’s complete! My advice would be to get a standard white envelope and label it whatever your project might be, and with every paycheck take cash out and put it in that envelope. My project budget isn’t very much a month, usually about $40, so it takes a while for me to save.
3. Plan out time
This is one of the most important steps and probably the hardest for us busy moms. Taking time out of our busy schedules to work on a home project is not easy, but if you want to get it done you must schedule time on the calendar to do it. As a full time working mom, most weeknights are spent playing with my son, cooking (sometimes), exercising and blogging so there isn’t much time for projects. I’m left with the weekends, which I’d much rather spend hanging out with family and friends. My trick is planning a kid free weekend and trying to get as many projects done at once. When I painted the interior of my home, I probably took at least a week of vacation. Thankfully I have family that would take my son for a long weekend or even a week so I could paint. I had drop cloths and paint supplies everywhere so having a 2 year old around was not ideal. If you have young kids and aren’t able to get this time away, you must do it during nap time, or just suck it up and do it after your kids go to sleep. This does truly suck, but you do what you have to do to get it done!
4. Power through
To find motivation to power through those annoying projects, focus on the final outcome. I love going to Pinterest for inspirational photos. Who doesn’t love a good Before & After reveal? I’ve been putting off painting my craigslist find bedroom furniture for almost 2 years, but I know my bedroom will look so much better once it’s painted. Thankfully my 5th wedding anniversary and Memorial day are on the same weekend, so I’m going to take those 4 days to finally complete it! My in-laws will be watching my son so I can paint during the day and party at night ; ) Follow me on Instagram to see the big reveal!