My previous post touched on the why. Now I’m going to set my schedule and fill in accordingly. Again, working my stuff out on this blog.
The biggie here is that I’ve reached a point where I do not want to get out of bed in the morning. I think it’s a bad case of overwhelm and all of my work feels life-sucking. I don’t exactly feel depressed, but I’m definitely unmotivated. I think it comes down to the fact that for the past two months or so, none of my work (actual job or family stuff) is energizing. I feel like it’s all stuff I have to do.
I get it — part of that is just being an adult, but I know myself well enough to know that if there’s no fun built in — as in stuff I really want to do, I rebel and do nothing, and I seriously procrastinate on all the things that must get done. And NO, I understand that this mentality is not productive, but I feel it’s worth admitting with the hopes of improving or rather acknowledging in order to change.
I’m logging my day tomorrow and plan to follow this as closely as possible. I have a lot of free time tomorrow. I’m not doing any work for Linda (my actual job that pays actual money) but Piers and Wallace have been out for a week on Fall Break and they’ll return to school in the morning. This adds to things I have to do. Gil has also been on vacation and though he’s not feeling well today, I’m assuming he’ll be going back to work in the morning and most likely working late all week playing catch-up after vacation.
Maybe I’ll post the schedule that I intend to follow and then tomorrow I’ll write out how it actually went. I know. This could get boring, but I need to do this for myself. I’d also love to hear how others schedule their time.
5:30 — Get up, grab drink, go work out — I’ve been slack lately and gotta get better with this. Tomorrow I’ll plan to do elliptical and some free weights and cool down with some yoga.
6:15 — Shower
6:30 — Get kids up and dressed (which means I have to prepare backpacks, lunches & something of a breakfast tonight & get Gil’s clothes out for in the morning — I KNOW! I shouldn’t have to do this but doing it makes our morning run more smoothly)
7:15 — Ideally this is when Gil and the kids should be out the door.
7:30 — Get dressed, makeup, hair, all that. I don’t do this everyday which is something else I dislike about working from home, but tomorrow I’m meeting a friend for coffee at 8:30ish.
8:15 — Leave to meet J (one hour max)
9:30 — 2:15 — unstructured time where I need to do lots of things — housework, unpacking, call for haircut, laundry, writing?, figure out Tuesday soup kitchen — brown beef, get browners, etc., figure out something for dinner, maybe go to store, gift for Bryn, start thinking about Christmas, edit friend’s paper and respond to her email. I need to eat lunch or something. OMG. Schedules make me crazy, but maybe I can stay off social media tomorrow — I’ve been avoiding my to-do list and binging on internet time.
2:15 — leave to pick up kids.
2:45 — snacks, homework, etc.
3:30-4ish — TV, game time for Piers and Wallace — now I have to figure out what to do during this time. Maybe dinner. Hopefully I will have come up with something by then. Meal planning is a pain in my ass. If I could scratch this part of my life, I could get a lot more done. I KNOW!!! Ridiculous, but true.
5:00 — get Piers ready for soccer.
5:30 — leave for soccer
6-7 — Soccer for Piers, just realized Wallace is supposed to walk in a parade with his team. Wonder if Piers’ coach was aware of this conflict when he scheduled practice tomorrow. Perhaps this will be cancelled and I am NOT doing a parade tomorrow. This is me saying NO. Wallace is done with soccer this season. Yes I’m a bad team mom. Plus he’s still snotty. I need to schedule an appt with his pediatrician. The seasonal allergies are rough for him. Poor kid.
7:30 — late dinner which hopefully I will have prepared by now. Kids will have to take baths while I finish up, bedtime stories at table, brush teeth, potty, all that.
8:30 — very latest for lights out for kids — this needs to be earlier but it might not happen tomorrow.
After they’re in bed I have to figure out when to clean kitchen, get clothes ready for Tuesday, finish browning beef if necessary, I guess I’m supposed to be blogging what my actual schedule looks like. This is making my head swim. I know it doesn’t look like a lot to many but it’s a pretty full day. I also have to plan for Tuesday. I think this will help me even if I don’t follow it. Can I do this for the rest of October? I need to do something and I need accountability. I have to feed animals. I said I was going to start walking the dog — maybe right after kids go to school or ideally before. Who knows when Gil will be around this week. I’m gonna be up late tonight getting stuff done. Geesh and it’s 6:20 now.
Okay, this can help me. My next post might be all the things I need to do that are in my head. Mercy.
Are you good at following schedules? How do you do it? If you happen to have ADHD or even if not, do you lose track of time? This is one of my biggest struggles. I need a life coach to move in with me and follow me around. Oh well, no money for that if I’m really going to quit my job. I guess blogging will have to serve as accountability.
Grief Happens 
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LISTS LISTS LISTS LISTS…and I mean detailed lists!
I’m not ADHD but two of my boys are – I taught them this and it works wonders…especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
I make a list for everything – no matter how small, and then I may even make sub lists. Sometimes I make lists and include things that I’ve already done just for the satisfaction of crossing things off.
This blog is a great start but you need both a larger (big picture) and smaller lists.
For example – try setting a MANAGEABLE goal each day. Maybe one day it’s laundry, or writing, or blogging or…whatever. Then, in those hours (like tomorrow from 9:30-2:15) make a specific list of how you plan to attain that goal.
So, if it’s laundry then you
Tuesday – Get Laundry DONE
1. Collect laundry from each room (just pick up the dirty clothes – be sure to ignore the clean clothes that are not where they are supposed to be – that’s another day).
2. Take those to laundry room and sort.
3. Unpack and collect dirty clothes from trip.
4. Take to laundry room and sort.
5. While first load is washing, pick a room and put away clean clothes
6. Switch out laundry loads
7. While second load is washing and first is drying, pick another room and put away clean clothes.
8. If time, put away clean clothes from trip and store suitcase.
9. Switch out another load and fold first load and put away.
10. Continue until 2:15 or until laundry is finished.
11. If time allows between loads, pick out Gil’s clothes for the next day. Lay out kids clothes for the next day.
This is totally just an example. The rest of your day is PACKED so you really only have that small window of time – you should make the most of it. It’s too easy to get overwhelmed and be caught like a deer in headlights. By making task lists you’re able to break it down into chunks, stay on task, and not overwhelm yourself.
Good luck and shoot me an email if you need any more tips. These are just some that work for me.
Sherry
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You are AWESOME!!!! I was really hoping you’d chime in. I can tell that you are highly efficient, but I also think our brains work similarly. This is exactly what I’m working towards. Today has been really good and productive so far. I think throwing something together for the blog will give me an element of accountability even though I’m certain I’ll be boring some of my readers to tears. I’ve been listing and putting up post-its all morning. I just finished up a work assignment that’s been hanging over my head AND I edited another paper for my friend. AND, YES YES YES, soccer has been cancelled and Wallace doesn’t want to do the parade. On another day I might push it, but not this one. We’re getting our house/life back together. Thanks again! I might take you up on the email offer. I really appreciate your input!!
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Anytime!!! Keep posting…we’re not bored! Besides, it’s YOUR blog so you get to post whatever the heck you want right?
Congrats on today!!!
Sherry
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I’m shit at planning my days. I need to follow your example. I need to write to-do lists. I need to set times to do stuff. In fact I had a similar thought just yesterday, that having a life coach move in would be a good idea. Well, it wouldn’t need to be a life coach, just someone to regulate my completely ungoverned life. Before it gets lost in all the wasted time..
Good for you. I think its definitely worth a try.
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Well, I’ve been awful at it lately and it seems to be getting worse. I suppose this scheduling nonsense is how I hope to jolt myself into action. I think I need someone to just come and sit with me and bring me back to the task at hand every time I get distracted. It might make for some drab blog posts, but I hope that doing so will motivate me to follow through. Thanks for reading!
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I have a friend who uses her weekends to prepare all dinners for the week to follow. Into freezer or fridge and then you only have to take it out and warm it up. A bit of work on Saturday or Sunday but safes you heaps of time during the week. She does stuff like a curry, a stew, pasta sauces (as cooking the pasta is not taking up that much time) or she prepares a lasagna. I tried it a couple of times, does not really work for me. But might help you?
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I’ve always wanted to try this and I know it works well for many people. We’ll see how this schedule-following progresses. I’ve been swamped and overwhelmed lately and at this stage I’m doing my best to simply restore order. I haven’t written this in my posts, but one of my priorities with all of this is cooking and eating better, which for me means better planning. I’ve done a lot of slapping food on the table and we’ve been eating on the run more than I like. I love this idea and perhaps in the future I’ll try it. I did just make muffins for the week. Seems I’m better at pre-prepping breakfasts and snack. Thanks! I’m curious why this method didn’t work for you. Are you quick at preparing healthy meals? I’ve always envied people who are. I’m extremely slow in this department.
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I feel like I want to be a bit more “creative” and that the pre cooking limits that. Having said that: Last time we went away for a week (skiing), I decided to pre cook our dinners (as we both agreed that it would be a) nicer to eat “home” and b) wayyyyy cheaper). And it was actually great! Pre cooked kind of my take on Shepard’s pie (minced beef done like a bolognese and on top mash potatoe) in an oven ready form. Done a lasagna and a beef stew and a chicken stew. All of them ready to just pop in the oven. Worked so well. And I thought how stupid to not do that at home… We are often out on weekends, hiking or somewhere else and I find it hard to take time away from that to cook for the week. I guess that is the biggest reason really…
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Totally makes sense about wanting to be more creative. Gil is the same way. He actually does more of the good cooking in our house while I do more day-to-day meal prep. BUT he refuses to ever follow a recipe because he feels it hinders his creativity. I’m somewhat this way, too, but I didn’t grow up learning to cook so I was self-taught — I had to start with recipes. However, I’m not at all opposed to deviating from the original. The problem I have with wanting to be creative in the kitchen is that it doesn’t work well while trying to prepare REGULAR daily meals. I need to be more structured in order to get healthy and tasty meals on the table for the family and that part is difficult for me. I know it’s a planning issue. I need to make a weekly cooking plan and stick with it. Thanks again for weighing in. Your meals sound delicious and are making me hungry. 🙂
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