Family Organization: 80% Rule

Although I know the basic steps of organization, have read many books on the topic, and have been working on family organization for many years, I am an amateur. My best guess is that I will never feel completely organized. Being organized "good enough" is our family's modest and doable goal.

I like modest and doable goals because they keep me in good spirits. Good spirits on the part of a wife and mother are much more valuable to my husband and children than perfect organization. This isn't a cop out and I'm no slacker! If I become too fussy about the scattered baseball equipment or the forgotten errand my husband was to run, it ruins family relationships. My husband encourages our family to follow the 80% rule. Translated: If we stick to our priorities, To Do list, calendar, schedule, etc. MOST of the time, 80% of the time, we are doing well. If we strive for my version of 100%, we are always failing which is not good for family morale and unity.

Besides, the best organization allows for flexibility. Our family wants to loosen our grasp and let God and His will in. We want to absorb..Grandma coming by to help sew a dress...a friend calling to process her fear about her child's illness...the plumber coming to put in a new hot water heater and he's late!...Grandpa taking the boys fishing because the weather is beautiful and the fish are biting...daily phone calls from dad whenever he can make them...

Which gets me to my final book on family organization which is very popular in Catholic circles right now, A Mother's Rule of Life. From an organizational point of view, the book is solid, clear, and full of specific suggestions to help organize a family. It is a hard earned and honest sharing of what has worked for the author. I gleaned several good ideas from it. Yet, I would caution that if taken wholeheartedly, it is unnecessarily rigorous and misleading. It is definitely all about being 100%. I can see where it could be misunderstood that all mothers are called to a rigorous Rule and that those who don't follow it are failing themselves, their family, and God. A Rule is an arbitrary human construct and our Church, in her wisdom and mercy, has not dictated a Rule for wives and mothers. Be not afraid! Go forth and organize...80%...more than good enough.