Dear Friends,

Just how much time are you spending on Facebook or other social media? Be truthful with yourself! If you are wondering why your home is in CHAOS then look at how much time you are spending checking your groups, blogs, friends, and pages.Use Facebook and other social media as a reward! You can get things done around the house and come back at the top of hour or at the bottom of the hour to celebrate your accomplishments.Don’t have notifications go to your phone! The dinging will constantly be pulling you away from your focus. I actually have my phone set to Do Not Disturb during the hours of 9:00pm to 9:00am. Silence is golden. I just changed it to 6:00pm to 11:00am. It never rings anyway because it is always on vibrate. The phone is for my convenience.  My family calls can get through.The other day, someone posted they were in 500 groups. How does someone do that? Groups can be a time sucker much like soap operas used to be. They really are soap operas and rumor mills. Really who wants to see someone else’s messy house. I have decided that before and after pictures are attention seeking behavior that just keeps us in a martyred mode.

Bless your home for you! The benefits will outweigh any likes or Atta-girls you get from strangers.

Now here is the biggie! If you have created blogs, groups, or pages and your home is not in order then you are monitoring them to keep from establishing your habits. Sidetracked again! I tell you this like I would tell anyone who is trying to homeschool, go to college, teach public school, be a nurse, or any other profession and including stay at home mom. What example are you setting for your children?

Has your perfectionism forced you to just do it yourself because the kids can’t live up to your expectations? You are doing your children a disservice. One day they are going to be grown and they are not going to know how to clean a toilet, wash a dish, make a bed, or do a load of laundry! How sad for them that you would not show your child how to do things because you were afraid that you might upset them. I had this said to me today.

The truth was that her perfectionism was what the fear was about. She was going to have to tell him what he did wrong. It is one thing to instruct and it another thing to make someone feel bad because it was not good enough. Don’t do this to your babies! As someone who could never please my mom; I am begging you.

Those notifications and texts could kill you, your family, or an innocent bystander. It can wait! Check out this ad by AT&T

But what is social media doing to your family! Do you really need to belong to several hundred groups? Are those groups more important than your home, your family and you!

Something happens to people when they are anonymous on a page and or in an email. They don’t seem to think their words or actions can hurt someone. I have seen husbands bashed, children blamed, and relationships destroyed from hurtful words that spew from fingertips.

Release your stress and gain more hours in your day by only using Facebook and social media as a reward.

FlyLady