Time Makes Me Cuckoo

Time makes me cuckoo. There is never enough time in my day to get everything done. Once in my life I was considered to be a very organized person. So much so, that I was asked to give seminars on the subject. Y’all get up off the floor and quit giggling!

OK, the truth is that the people who thought I was organized were other storytellers, and we are an “artsy-fartsy” bunch of folks who aren’t always thinking in our right mind brain. But, I was organized, and I lost it somewhere along the way.

If you had been a fly on the wall at my house in the last few months, you would have thought it was a natural disaster area. I have definitely looked like a good candidate for some federal assistance; it’s been the most disorganized mess you could imagine. Time has been my enemy. There just is never enough time to do all the things I “want” to do AND all the things I “should” do. Believe me, I’ve been wasting a lot of time feeling guilty about it.

In my defense, I have been trying to “juggle a lot of different balls.” I’ve had the Share A Square project, my storytelling business, my family, my house, my blog…. But, everybody else on God’s Green Earth is doing the same thing. Whether you are a high-powered executive or a stay at home Mom, whether you are an engineer or a day laborer, you all have a lot of different roles you play in your life. How are we supposed to keep all the balls in the air? How can we get all the things done that must be finished in a day? How do we make the most constructive use of our time?

I’ve been pondering those questions, and trying to remember the organizational tools that worked for me “back in the day.” I realized that there were things that I was no longer doing. They are things that seem obvious, but I had decided I didn’t have time to do them! That was my biggest mistake.

The first thing I had stopped doing was making a list. It seemed like a waste of time. After all, I knew the things that had to be done. The time spent making a list seemed pointless. Wrong. A list is essential if I want to be effective in my use of time. Without a list, I can forget things. If I forget something important I get so upset that I waste more time in being agitated.

My problem was that I always made my list in the morning, when I was “fresh.” However, I found myself tossing and turning all night worrying about what had to be done, so I wasn’t really very well rested in the morning. Now, I make my list at night before I go to bed. Somehow, it seems to help me rest easier knowing that I can plow right into the tasks the next morning.

I have two kinds of lists. One is a master list where I write any task that needs doing (from getting the oil changed in my car to paying a bill to writing a thank you note). As I think of it, I jot it down. I use the master list each night to create my “to do” list of the chores that I can reasonably do in a day. The key word is “reasonably.” I have a tendency to expect too much of myself, so I write a humongous list and then am disappointed and deflated when I don’t get it all done. I have to remember to give myself the opportunity for success. I struggle with it, but I try to prioritize my tasks and list what I know I can do in my day.

All of us have a “peak time” for productivity. I knew that morning is mine, but I was ignoring it. I get up before the sun. While the rest of you are snuggled under the covers waiting for the alarm clock to ring, I’m on my third cup of coffee. By mid-afternoon, my brain is mush. Anything that requires creativity or cognitive skill has to get done before noon. Instead, I was using the morning hours to crochet for Share A Square or to tidy the house. I’m trying hard to remember now to schedule the “thinking” projects in the morning, and the mindless tasks in the afternoon and evening. I’m much more productive that way.

Not too long ago, I wrote about my Mamaw’s “Kitchen Sink Philosophy.” Mamaw knew that if you “clean the kitchen as you go along, you can sit back and enjoy the meal.” She wasn’t just talking about “the kitchen.” Julie commented that she also uses that philosophy, but calls it “do a little as you go along, and the little never gets to be too much.” Whatever you call it, do it!

I had gotten into the habit of not putting things away. If I didn’t finish a task, I left the tools necessary for it out where I could see them the next day. I didn’t want to forget them. It doesn’t take long to get “buried” that way. When there is a mess everywhere, I waste a lot of time looking for the things I need. Instead, now I clean up as I go along, and put the task on my list so I won’t forget. I can work much better if I’m not flustered by clutter.

It’s been amazing to me to find that doing these six simple things has helped me get my train a little bit more on track.

Maybe one day people will think I’m organized again? Probably not, but maybe I’ll get organized enough to quit whining about it.