Procrastination

I used to be the queen of procrastination.  I would wait until the last minute to do just about anything. It's not that I did not want to do whatever task was at hand...I just always had something else that I thought needed my time and attention.

I am notorious for my to-do lists. Just ask my husband. I have paper lists, I have an app for lists. I have lists everywhere! Except my lists keep getting longer, and my time keeps getting shorter.  I have found what works best for me is to just slog through "the List." I stay focused, I stay on task, and I actually accomplish more than I had hoped.  Staying focused is not my strong suit.

Around Christmas time and into the new year, instead of hitting my to-do list regularly, I ignored it, almost entirely and enjoyed the time my husband was home on vacation. We played with the kids, we visited with friends, and we relaxed.  I am now paying for it, in the sense that I am out of practice of sticking with my tasks for the day.  In the last week, I hit it with renewed vigor and I am once again getting tasks accomplished.

I have found that having kids makes me more organized. Nothing brings on heart palpitations like trying to find your keys, loading up the car with snacks, etc that you forgot to prepare for the next outing, and being sidelined by 3 kids who all had to poop at the same time. Yeah, the last part happened to me once. It took us forever to get out of the house, which made us 15 minutes late for a class.

I now find myself creating my daily to-do list the night before. I have my gym bag packed for the next day along with snacks for the little kids while they are in childcare.  I have in my head what needs to be done and where I need to go for my errands.  I create my route for the day in order to be most efficient in getting out of the house, hit as many errands as possible in order to get the kids home before they collapse into a hot mess before lunch/nap time.  I am even going so far as to prep dinner during nap time so that at 5pm all I have to do is pop it into the oven instead of trying to prep while the baby falls apart because he is done for the day.

I am also fed up with the way my house looks and I am spending 30 minutes a day just trying to maintain the front hall, the family room, and the kitchen. Forget about everything else. I'll just have to tackle them on my cleaning days. But at least when Hubby or an unexpected guest walks in the door I no longer feel as embarrassed by the craziness of coats, boots, toys, and whatnot that they would have had to slog through in order to walk in.

I am not the most organized and of all the talents my mom possesses, I wish I had inherited her gene for getting things clean, organized, and done! My mom is a whirlwind and can make a house look sparkling in what appears to be minutes, while I find it very laborious and overwhelming and can take hours. Well, maybe someday I'll master her talent.

How do you keep on top of the housework? How do you stay motivated to accomplish your tasks? For me, this will always be my quest ;)

Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.

Benjamin Franklin
US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)

So Much to Do!

I have so much to do in the next 24 hours, it's ridiculous.  I've been really tired lately and it's been hard to get things done.  A friend suggested getting my hormones checked out and it's definitely something on my to do list...unfortunately my to do list already has 164 things on it! I'll get to it eventually...

Anyway, I had a very specific to-do list written down for the last two days and today.  However, I realize, my to do list is not the problem (well not entirely).  It helps to keep me motivated and clearly outlines what needs (absolutely has) to be done.  What I have come to realize is that it's the timing. I have simply not allotted enough time to get the things done that need to be done.  Some of this stuff I could have gotten done several days ago, but feeling so crummy it's hard to get motivated and to get moving.  Yesterday was a great day. I had gotten enough sleep, I had called a babysitter, I pampered myself a little, went out to lunch with friends I hadn't seen in over a year, and actually got a couple of things knocked off my to do list.  It was great!

Then, I started working on the never ending laundry.  As I'm washing, drying, and folding clothes, I realize that I'm folding and putting away clothes faster than they are washing and drying. This becomes a problem when I need the clothes that are being washed and still need to be washed. *sigh* I spent 3 hours doing laundry last night and still have several loads to do today. While I'm waiting for the clothes to finish, I'm multi-tasking. There are a couple of things that I need to get done...like preschool lesson plans and I'm having writer's block. I think it had something to do with the late hour. I was still doing laundry at 11pm. Of course, then I couldn't function, but I also couldn't sleep. I had too much on my mind.

Now I'm tired, frustrated, and definitely afraid I won't get done today what I absolutely have to get done. I'm going to have find some time somewhere and rearrange a few things. Unfortunately, it's made me cranky. Grrrrrrr.  I'm just going to have to dig deep. zzzzzzzzzzz

Priorities

The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities--Stephen R. Covey


This was the quote I read today and it made me really go, "huh."  If you know me, then you know I'm a planner. I have my Tungsten (I really want an iphone!) and I schedule everything in it.  Everything's color coordinated so I know who is doing what and when.  My planner also has a "task" section.  Everyday I have a list of things that I would like to get done. I'm also realistic and realize that I won't get it all done, but I really, really like checking things off.

In my "to-do" list, which I update every Sunday (hello 1st born neurotic tendencies or is it OCD?) I always have a list of 100+ things I'd like to get done that week. It never happens, but I try.  Who says that being a SAHM is easy? I give myself things to do and ideas for the week. I like being busy and productive. However when does busy and productive become overwhelmed and stressed...when you literally try to check off 100+ things off your list.


So the quote from Covey has me thinking. What are my priorities and how do I schedule them?  My priorities are:

**spending time with my kids & Hubby
**having a morning devotional. I feel it really prepares me for the day. It's my time with God.
**blogging (SO cathartic!)
**working out
**making baby blankets for friends, family, and the pregnancy center

I definitely get to check off each of the above each day...it's the other things that I would like to do, and some that should be priorities that don't get checked off. Something to think about.

What are your priorities? Are you able to get to get them on a daily or weekly basis? How do you schedule your time?

Threshold Thursday

By Thursday I had hit my threshold for my DH (dear hubby) being away on business. We are rarely apart and his traveling the last few weeks has disrupted our routine. Though I must say the kids have done much better this time around. Overall, we're all doing much better. But if you had seen me yesterday morning, you would not have thought so.


First thing, since I had gotten to bed late on Wednesday night, I got up late Thursday morning. I hate when I do this because I feel like that I start the day already behind with little chance of catching up.  Within two hours of getting up, I had to get ready, get the kids ready, make sure that I put the paperwork for the teacher in my purse, remember to bring the flowers as a thank you for the teachers, remember the camera so that I can video Boogie's May sing, try to get out of the house on time so that I was on time for Buggy's check up at the doctor's office.  Of course it's when I'm stressed and trying to get out the door that Boogie tends to dawdle. My patience quickly dissipates and my voice gets louder and sterner. I finally busted into tears on the stairs next to the door realizing that we would be late and my day was unraveling before me and we hadn't even made it out the door.  


It was at this time that my son sat down next to me and asked me why I was crying. He then patted my back, kissed my cheek, and said, "It's hard when Daddy's not home."  How true, how true.  


I pulled myself together, sucked it up, and out the door we went. I think I just needed to vent all the stress that has been building up with DH being gone.  Once I did, I was able to move forward.  I did and so did the kids. We made it just a few minutes late to school. We made it to Buggy's appointment on time.  I made it back to school on time for the Sing and I was able to record it.  We went home and skipped the gym afterwards. I focused on only getting the laundry done and made it the only thing on my to-do list while the kids played and napped. We made it to t-ball practice last night with minimal distractions.  Once we got home the kids went straight to bed and I was able to take a deep breath.


For such a stressful morning, the rest of the day was pretty peaceful. I let go of all of the other "to dos" on my list. I got the one thing done that I wanted to do and felt successful. We had a great night.  


I still can't wait for Hubby to get home tomorrow morning, but I feel like I'm finally over the hump and we'll make it :)