Fall back again.
... I've been thinking about change lately.
Oh, life it seems a struggle between what we see and what we do.
For as long as I can remember, I've worked really well under pressure. It has gotten to the point where I've relied on it, even gotten off on it. Run fast, faster. Some of my greatest accomplishments have been in the eleventh hour. In fact, just last week I planned and hosted what might have been our most successful birthday party yet and I did it in one. whole. week. Crazy!
But this quirky asset also seems to be my biggest liability.
For the last 5+ years, October - February has become my personal pressure cooker and frankly I can't keep up like this. For goodness sakes! My greys quadrupled this past holiday season and I felt like I might spontaneously combust from all of my frenetic energy. But mostly, I'm just sick of being late and feeling like there is never enough time in the day.
Look around about this round about this merry-go-round and around.
... I suppose it all began back in December shortly after I mailed our Christmas cards -- on December 20th, no less. In my exhaustion, I sat down to read Martha Stewart Living and noticed the calendar that she puts in every month. Not surprisingly, I'd been glossing over it all these years. Every day in January she had a job like: Monday - Polish Silver, Tuesday - Clean the Shed, Wednesday - Wash Dog Collars, etc. In all of Martha's Type-A scariness, I had a revelation that I absolutely must learn how to plan better in the coming year, even if for no other reason than to stave off dyeing my hair every three weeks.
Take a look again. Everyday things change but basically they stay the same..
Amidst the busy-ness of homeschooling, schlepping my children to their activities, working part time as a photographer, traveling nonstop and trying to stay fit + healthy through it all, many things have been slipping through the cracks. Short of hiring a clone, I had to make some changes. What I needed to find was that balance between being last minute and being right on time, being flexible but still being structured, being active but not overwhelmed. I set out on a mission to find that happy medium between Type A and Type B... because as usual and please excuse the obvious, I truly teeter between the 180/360 all the time. (That moniker. It follows me everywhere.)
Forget about the reasons and the treasons we are seeking.
In January, I started to make a detailed schedule of tasks to complete each week. They range from "planning the annual travels" to "starting seeds" and "getting the piano tuned" to "cleaning the pantry" and "organizing the garage." There were other more life-altering goodies like "amp up my sex life" and "design our Christmas cards by Halloween." (I'm guessing I'll be pulling an all-nighter on October 30th, but that will still beat doing the same thing on December 20th!)
And even though the past 6 weeks have been as nutty as ever (see birthday party above*) I'm feeling positive that it will set the stage for a more organized fall and winter. My ultimate goal is to create a master list that will eventually work up to one task a day. As I go along, I will fine tune it by picking and choosing seasonally appropriate activities, some worth repeating multiple times throughout the year (like editing the children's closets/toys on a scheduled basis. Ugh!) And to infuse it with some of my type B personality, I can pick and choose many of the tasks as the mood strikes.
So that's where I've been. Planning and scheming, doing and staying on top of things (my husband included! wink wink) I've still been late to everything, but I'll eventually learn to leave a little earlier. Baby steps, my friends! Overall, I'm feeling really focused, but sadly that usually means I'm absent over here. Adding "blog more regularly" to my list right now...




























