It never fails to amaze how quickly time slips out of my hands. Despite endless planning, scheduling, setting priorities straight...it's always *POOF* gone! It's funny how life constantly throws off your well oiled machine.
So, I decided to look up some tips for staying organized and time management. This image pretty much says it all!
This is probably the most important piece of advice for me: "Commit to eliminating from your schedule all the activities that didn't make it into the "important" stacks. If you have time after doing your important and urgent things, use it on important but not urgent activities. No matter how pressing something may seem to be, if it's not important, just don't do it". I often get lost in other things while I am supposed to be focusing on the important! I lose track of time by browsing on Etsy, flipping through TV channels, photographing another item that does not need to be photographed. It's so easy for me to see something "shiny" and go straight for that. Essentially I am doing this:
- Postponed promoting new book to raise money for research on Down syndrome.
- Canceled client meeting to bake my daughter's birthday cake.
- Blew off e-mail to chat on the phone with dear friend.
- Blew off e-mail to volunteer at local methadone clinic.
- Blew off e-mail to exercise.
- Blew off e-mail to bathe.
- Blew off e-mail to sleep.
- Blew off e-mail to sense a theme developing here.
A seemingly simple task to prioritize was/is not happening for me. Blowing off sewing to take a picture of something else, is not good. This leads to me even forgetting about my sewing project. HUGE NO NO. So, taking the tips I receive, I am supposed to "...follow your life's guidance, you may have to reassign some seemingly important things to "unimportant." If you believe that pleasing your horrible boss or having a spotless house is a higher priority than playing with your children or sleeping off the flu, be prepared for a long and strenuous battle against destiny."
I am eager to see if I can stick to a plan. I'm eager to see if I will write down my priorities. I'm eager to see if I can post those priorities before divulging into something else...First things, first...Finishing this blog post & backing away from the laptop.
If you'd like to see more tips and read the article from Martha Beck, it's right
here!
