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Homemaker’s Friend: How to Stay on Task and Encourage Others

Homemaker's Friend: How to Stay on Task and Encourage Others

Every day, you juggle dozens of tasks while you nurture your family and engage with others. Homemaker’s Friend can help you focus on your daily duties, even as you work to spread kindness and joy.

📢 UPDATE (06/16/2023) – It’s a BOGO deal, my friend! Buy the 2024 Planner and get the 2023 Planner for FREE. Click here to order.

“We all have resources and abilities we can use to encourage others,” wrote Sue Hooley. It’s easy to think of wondrous ideas, she said, but forget that small things can make a big difference.

Wondering how YOU can stay on task and encourage others in the new year? Read on. This post highlights a great little tool that can help you do just that.

Let’s get started.

📋 DISCLOSURE – I received a free copy of Homemaker’s Friend in exchange for an honest review. Regardless, the opinion expressed on this page is my own.

Encouragement, Fellowship, Connection

Homemaker’s Friend is a daily planner designed by Sue Hooley. Married for 32 years, Hooley is a mother to children, ages 13 to 29. She created the planner after several years of motherhood and homemaking.

Hooley understands that today rarely follow the schedule and structure of yesterday. Daily tasks don’t always fit in the narrow times slots that other planners allot. Hooley’s planner addresses these issues.

What’s more, Hooley sprinkles inspirational quotes and Bible verses throughout her planners. This edition focuses on encouragement, fellowship, and connection. Not only will it encourage you on your daily journey, but it can help you bless others, too.

📋 DISCLOSURE – This page has affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, I may earn a commission at no cost to you. Read more here.

Homemaker's Friend: How to Stay on Task and Encourage Others

How to Stay on Task and Encourage Others

The dictionary defines encouragement as “inspiring courage, confidence, or hope.” But offering encouragement is more than saying nice words. It’s a gift that can “transform a person’s spirit and change the course of their life,” said Hooley.

In Hooley’s Sunday School class for girls, they discussed encouragement. As a group, they were intentional about working to spread encouragement and kindness. Each Sunday, one of the girls shared an idea for the week ahead. They collected more than a dozen suggestions.

Ways to Encourage Others

After reading about the girls, I sat down at my computer and made a list, too. How can any of us stay on task and encourage others in the new year? Here are eight ideas I hope will inspire you to bless others:

  • Send a handwritten note to your friend or sibling, and include a tuck-in gift. For example: a restaurant gift card, event ticket, photo, recipe, or tea bag.
  • Give your mom a pop-up flower bouquet. This is a wonderful alternative to fresh flowers – and they last longer, too!
  • Do something special with your dad. Take him to lunch at a barbecue joint, or treat him to a few rounds of mini-golf.
  • Go on a field trip with your kids. Take them to the zoo, museum, or library. Spend a day at the beach, combing the sand and listening to seashells.
  • Deliver home-baked goodies or a care package to your next door neighbor – or one you have never met.
  • Visit your grandparents at their home and stay a while. Or take them to lunch. Ask them to tell you a story from their past.
  • Reach out to someone with cancer or other chronic illness. Speak encouraging words – or just listen to them. Ask them how you can help them.
  • Remember your pastor with a card or gift, and let him know you are praying for him. Ask him how you can serve him and others at church.

Kindness coupons are another good way to offer support. For ideas, Hooley included some coupons in the month section of Homemaker’s Friend. She also recommends using the line “comfort + edify” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) in the weekly tasks section. This can help you become intentional in your encouragement.



Homemaker’s Friend Daily Planner

I’ve been using Homemaker’s Friend as my daily planner for six years. It has everything I need for my daily work as a homemaker and blogger. I love the planner’s layout and cover design.

Priced under $20, the planner is a real bargain. And the compact size (5.5 X 8.5 inches) is practical for my needs. It tucks into my purse or laptop bag when I leave the house.

The 2023 Daily Planner

Ready to manage your tasks and projects in the new year? When you buy Homemaker’s Friend, you join thousands of homemakers who use it every day. The planner is divided into seven tabbed sections:

Homemaker's Friend: How to Stay on Task and Encourage Others
  • Yearly Calendar
  • Monthly Calendar
  • Weekly Planner
  • Household Tasks
  • Projects and Events
  • Information / Notes
  • Shopping Lists

The 2023 edition also has two new features: perforated corners and a magnetic bookmark. I know they’ll be put to good use.

Need help planning your meals? Hooley also has FREE menu planning worksheets for readers who want them. That’s 13 months of menu sheets that match the planner’s design. Click here for the free download.

Menu planning takes time, effort, and a little forethought up-front. But it actually saves time in the long run. “It’s a work in progress that takes practice,” said Hooley. “But the more you do it, the easier it will become.”

Visit Homemaker’s Friend (or shop Amazon) to get YOUR copy of the 2023 daily planner. While you’re at it, order a few extras. They make great 🎄 Christmas gifts. And if you order from Amazon,  Prime members enjoy free shipping.

Wrapping Up

I hope you enjoyed reading how to stay on task and encourage others. If you have any ideas for scheduling, meal planning, or blessing others – please share them in the comments. Until next time, Happy Homemaking! ◻️

Homemaker's Friend: How to Stay on Task and Encourage Others

📢 UPDATE (06/16/2023) – It’s a BOGO deal, my friend! Buy the 2024 Planner and get the 2023 Planner for FREE. Click here to order.

Now It’s Your Turn

Thank you for reading my post. Now it’s YOUR turn to chime in. Are you ready to grow and flow in the new year? How will you organize your schedule to adjust for change?

Let’s fill the comments with friendly conversation. Scroll down to leave a reply, ask a question, or just say hello. And if you liked this post, please give it a share.

Blessings, Annette

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Written by
Annette R. Smith
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