Goal Progress - Getting Organized

So, getting organized is a big thing for me. Chaos can be fun, and change is good. But not being able to find your shoes because of the mess is not fun. Just like running around like a chicken with my head cut off is not fun. Not knowing whether I'm coming or going is stressful. So, a big part of being able to accomplish the goals I've set for myself is going to be staying on track and knowing when I should be doing what. This past weekend was a good example of that. With all that is going on in my life, this weekend was no different. I was running here, doing this, doing that. But basically it meant spinning my wheels, not accomplishing what I wanted. And it left me tired and stressed. And I didn't get my "Me Time" because I was just out of time for it. So, hmm, the first change I made was making me time, but I can't have me time if there is no time left. So, what to do about it.

Well, when I first started college a million years ago, they made me take a couple of little one credit classes to help me adjust to college life. One of those little classes was Time Management. It was one class only, for a couple of hours. But it held a wealth of information. How to prioritize, how to organize, how to let go of things, how to manage. And the task for the class was to fill in a schedule. She handed out these forms, filled in with the hours of the day, little blocks of time, and she handed out highlighters in three different colors. She wanted us to fill in our activities for the day, then color code them according to importance. Well, that was nifty. Although, being me, I had to tape two of them together to make enough hours in a day for all I did. And, to be honest, I highlighted way too many things as a high priority. When she came around and looked at mine, she told me I missed the point of the class - that I wasn't letting enough go. That I was not delegating. That I had to make some adjustments. Even back then I tried to cram too much into every day. But.. and here was the kicker. I agreed with her and asked her to look at it with me and tell me where I could make changes. I was a single mom, working full time, raising my daughter on my own and now going to school. She looked at it, turned her head this way and that, hemmed and hawed for awhile and then shook her head and walked to the front of the class. She told me to work on it and called an end to the class. So, even back then, my life was packed full. Sigh. But, even though I didn't find an answer back then for how to accomplish it all, the class did help me and taught me some good things about time management.

So I decided to apply those things now. But, the nifty thing is, I don't have to draw it all on paper and highlight it and scribble. I have something cooler now - Excel. I love spreadsheets. They are so clean, easy, and adaptable. So, I made a spreadsheet with all the hours of the day in half hour increments. Since some days I am on midnight shift, and some nights I am home, I had to have a 24 hour schedule. Besides, if I cut any hours out of that 24 hours, it wouldn't all fit - and I couldn't tape two computer screens together like I could the two sheets of paper. So anyway. There I had it, my entire week in half hour increments. Now to fill it in and make it work. Hmm, work hours set. School hours for kids, set. Bed times, set. Bath time, set. Wake up time for weekdays, set. Some things never change. Then, a little trickier. Dinner time, pretty much set. Clean up time, right after dinner. Five days a week, bed time pretty much set, or at least I hope so. Some days, more sleep than others, but hey, at least there are squares there FOR sleep. Hm, okay, weekends off, so a little more flexible. But still have kids and things to do. Set. Me Time - okay, squeezed in. But set. Okay, fit in some play time with the kids. Squeeze in some extra time for errands. Getting tight. Hmm, travel time... can I teleport yet? Okay, set. That leaves some time on weekends for housework, set. Should I actually take it step further and schedule in nights to have sex with my husband? Hmm, maybe I'll leave that up to chance. Okay, sit back and look at allllll the full blocks of time. Wait. What's that. An EMPTY SQUARE??? How did that happen. You mean I have a half an hour free? A whole half an hour? Jeez, what am I going to do with all that free time. Knowing me - I'll probably take a nap.

This may not work for everyone, but it works for me. I feel better knowing that I've got an action plan. I feel like I accomplished something just by sorting it all out and having it there to look at when I wonder if I'm suppose to be awake or asleep. Or both at the same time. Which I only think happens once a week. But hey, everyone has those times... right?