Having experienced the good, bad, and ugly I consider myself an expert when it come to home school management. Given said experience, I can safely assume you have endured live performances of “Should” in your head; he is lead vocalist for a heavy metal band, whose number one song is, “Do more! Do more!”

Motherhood is certainly not for wimps. It is the ultimate challenge for those of us who are obsessively convinced we should be doing more. (Note: Said “more” cannot be defined but is likened to the song that never ends!)

Are you awake at 3:00 a.m. with Should’s song blasting? Obsessively attempting to accomplish more? My dear, exhale, grab a cookie — and read on …

Organization is about intention and grace — not perfection and should. Here are some simple techniques to facilitate intentions by way of grace.

• Vital Tasks — Determine 3-5 tasks to be accomplished per day. These are your priorities; allow everything else (yes, everything!) to remain undone until these tasks are complete. “School lessons” is routinely my priority. Once my son has what he needs to begin, I move onto my second most important task and so on.

• Divide and Conquer — Maintain task-specific To-Do lists in order to avoid the paralyzing (and mind-numbing!) effects of perfectionism. Choose 3-5 aspects of your life that need your attention. Write each as a title on the top of a page; these are your task-specific To-Do lists.

• Blocks in a Box™ — Assign a block of time to each of your task-specific To-Do lists, implementing a time for each list within your schedule. But remember: Intention and grace fortify our homes; perfectionism tears down.

Organization is a process — not a formula or standard. It requires diligent consideration and adaptations to your unique situation.

★ For inspirational ponderings and bits of dark-chocolate humor, click over to Star Gardener’s Dessert Years. Need some creative planning ideas? Visit her Right Brain Planner blog.