ORGANIZATION

Organization has never been my forte. I sit in awe of people who do their lives on a schedule… a perfect schedule that lets them get all of their things done every day! As for me, I make a list of to-dos for the next day (and so long as I find where I put it, it does help a little) or I ask the Alexa on my desk to remind me of this and that.

 

Still, my day never seems to go as planned. Okay, in my defense, as a part-time and semi-retired freelance writer, my writing assignments are not on a set schedule (but I do adhere very strictly to writing deadlines, that's kind of one of my pet peeves). And of course, if the day is just lovely and all then hubby and I might take a random drive. So, my schedule could not possibly be set in stone! I guess that's my defense.

 

I've always been like this, so it isn't just about my semi-retired and retired hubby's time. My mom always said (cliché warning) that I march to my own drum… I have tried for years, and at 67 I do mean YEARS, to get some type of organization to my day, to do things at set times WITHOUT distractions, but it seems I just don't work that way. Still, I usually manage to get the important things done — I just have to be clear about what is important and what is only "it should be done".

 

As I said, I DON'T miss writing deadlines, I am a stickler about that. I also don't like it when others miss their deadlines, such as promising me some info or keeping an appointment. And I also put the same weight in meeting a PAID deadline as I do a volunteer one; we have a monthly newsletter in my community and invariably someone who is supposed to submit a report or other tidbit will decide to forward it to me A DAY AFTER THE DEADLINE! (grrr…)

 

My desk is not a shambles, but it could certainly be neater. I do have compartments for certain correspondence, bills, records to file, etc. and I do put everything in its place… but then I seem to forget to empty the old stuff and it sort of overflows. Most times I actually can find what I am looking for! I have a calendar on my desk, a calendar on my phone, a calendar on my laptop and a calendar that hangs in the kitchen, but when I have to check on an upcoming appointment, I have to check EACH calendar because there is no guarantee which one I put the information into.

 

I don't think I was ever a very good role model for my kids as far as organization goes, but somehow they have managed to do well for themselves with jobs and getting things done. (It has to be in the genes, and the organization-genes definitely skipped me.) By the way, it was my son and daughter-il that gave me my Alexa, I guess they realized I needed someone to remind me to do ordinary things.

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Overwhelmed

Sometimes it just seems like there is never enough time to get everything done… actually that’s most days for me, LOL. I make my plans in the morning and, well, maybe I’ll get some of it done.

It’s rare for most of us to actually accomplish everything we tell ourselves to do. Too many of us actually, metaphorically, bite off much more than we can handle. Or maybe we don’t know how to organize as well as we should? Then again some of us just don’t know when to say “No”.

“If you want something done, ask a busy person.”
~ Benjamin Franklin… or was it Lucille Ball?

Part of the problem with not finishing all of your planned tasks during the day is the resulting frustration and sometimes the feeling of failure. It’s NOT failure if you did manage to accomplish THINGS and you merely optimistically AND unreasonably overscheduled yourself. But then again the next day the cycle repeats itself and the frustration grows. It doesn’t even pay to be a procrastinator, you never manage to get around to it.

And then there is such a thing as life — and somehow life doesn’t seem to stick to a schedule. Something always comes out of the blue to throw all of your carefully planned agenda totally off-track, I mean not even in the realm of completion. Parents may have their offspring’s school suddenly demand an audience. Commuters can’t magically control traffic jams and mass-transit schedules. Sudden family calamities pop up and your immediate response is highly recommended. Office employees may experience their boss’s sudden change of direction. Even home-based workers have to deal with power outages, annoying marketing calls (when you are busy and on the receiving end, it’s annoying!) And then there are always your own personal health issues.

Read up all you want on time-management skills, some of them certainly sound like they would, or should, work, but they are kind of generic.

•  Make a plan, a list of what needs to be done.
•   Be realistic as to how long each step should take
•   Be honest, what are YOUR biggest timewasters?
•   Allow for needed breaks
•   Assume a reasonable allotment of time to “work”– NOT all 24 hours.
•   Prioritize
•   Try to establish a routine
•   But if you get “blocked”, move on to the next task.
•   Organize what you need to work with.
•   Delegate tasks where you reasonably can.
•   And finally, prepare to SCRAP the whole plan and write a new one!

Actually that last step is very important. Once you are conscious of your work/responsibilities/want-to-dos and can assess how long something actually takes, re-work your schedule. You’ll probably have to re-work it every week for a few weeks before you even come close to something that works. And if LIFE (that can be one of those four-letter words) changes, be prepared to change with it. You’ve heard the phrase “Man makes plans and G-d laughs”, be prepared and versatile enough to adjust.

But don’t ever let yourself feel like a failure. 

If it was easy to get everything done for everyone,
there wouldn’t be so many time-management courses
or books being sold.

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The Ability to Multi-task ~ #MondayBlogs

Like many of us I need more hours every day… and a few more days in a week wouldn’t hurt either. Somehow I don’t think the days are going to get longer. With my luck those extra days wouldn’t be weekend days and then everyone would just be mad at me for having to work more days between breaks. I probably wouldn’t win.

The only solution left is doing more than one thing at a time, I believe that that productive and busy people call that multi-tasking; I call it a desperate act of the seriously overburdened. I type while I juggle phone calls, read while I cook, and return emails from my smart phone while I move from room to room. I don’t have time to sit in one place for very long being idle.

While I adore working from a home office and never having to deal with a messy commute, I also envy those folks who have on-site office hours away from casual phone calls, door-to-door solicitors, and home/family chores. I am fairly disciplined and manage to meet my deadlines, but sometimes it is a struggle to get the respect of others for my time. I already let MOST phone calls go to voicemail and explain to others that I am on deadline and can’t speak…

The truth is that life gets in the way of schedules. Urgent phone calls, unexpected visitors, last minute assignments and our own sometimes inability to concentrate will force us to adjust everything we had planned. There are a few proverbs and other sayings with a similar message, but my personal favorite is from Michael Chabon, “Man makes plans . . . and G-d laughs.”