How do you manage to fit it all in? Options

[Impressionist]

For the last week or so I've not been able to do any constructive practice. I am a little frustrated. :-(

To give an example, at the moment I am burning CDs for my early years music classes, plus printing off CD inserts and labels. I have baked four trays of shortbread as one of my children has a fund raising day at school, I have to see child 2's teacher after school about maths, then parents evening at child 1's school tonight. In between this I also have to sort out the washing, meals, general tidying (and I would say my house generally resembles the site of a small, but pretty nasty nuclear explosion) and keeping things ticking over at home.

I have lesson plans for next year to sort out, confirmations for the new term to send out, banking and other financial stuff to finalise as well as the dreaded tax return for January!

On top of that I've got two fairly large commissions for music production for other early years groups of which one is needed end of year/early next year and the other by March.

And I've not even thought about Christmas shopping yet.

How do you get any practice done? I need to spend around 2 hours a day to achieve my goal of grade 8 by the summer, or at least by the end of next year (which I really want to do so that I can change career direction away from the under five classes and return to private teaching). I just can't see it happening. Or perhaps it's just a difficult time of year?

[Impressionist]

So I have to prioritise and make sure I don't get lost in the process.
Then it is time to delegate and despite the protestations and complaints let the other members of the household realise that 'Mother' is not a synonym' for general-slave and dogs-body, complete dumping ground and mug.

Ah well, although I am not a "Mummy Mug" I still feel a certain amount of guilt about not doing it all - product of my upbringing where my mother did do it all (but went ever so slightly doolally in the process I fear). The kids are great, are easy and not demanding, do their share of tidying up and so on (with a bit of prompting) and husband when he is about is supportive. Some of the guilt issue comes with the fact that I enjoy practising - it's not a chore and I'd spend all day on the piano if I could - so it's like "umm, shouldn't be doing this because it's fun, and there's all sorts of other stuff which could probably be sorted out and is glaring balefully at me from a corner of the room".

I used to have 'proper' job - when I came to the UK I didn't want to continue working as a peri flute teacher so got a job in a law firm in London. I spent years commuting to the City and being grown up. Once I had the children I thought I'd return to teaching but chose to work with pre-schoolers (it fitted rather better with having little ones of my own). To be honest, I think working in London was SO easy compared with the other things I've done - you could switch off once you left the office and then there were all those lovely long hours in the evening... happy days.