I have been juggling a lot of balls around here lately—as I know many of you are doing as well once school starts.
The funny thing is that when I had all littles, and I didn’t have a lot of kids “in homeschooling,” I was swamped. When I had six kids in homeschool at one time, I was swamped. And now that my youngest only does college his senior year of high school, I am swamped (with writing and teaching cottage classes).
I am chasing my tail on some Meaningful Composition deadlines in order to have the fourth through tenth grade books for both semesters done for the spring sales—and to get into some new catalogs and be ready for the convention season next year.
We are all busy…always. Seriously, when one thing gets taken out of the schedule, something else goes in it. ALWAYS.
People often ask me for the bottom line: How can I get organized? How can I get thing done? How can I be more productive?
I could say a lot about this (and I do…just search the blog for organization as easy as ABC, home management, dailies, terrible tasks, efficiency {podcasts}, and more!), but there is one thing that I consistently do to stay on track: I act like a student and do what is “due” next!
I can be so overcome with my to do list. I can be incredibly overwhelmed and feel like I cannot turn around. I can truly have so many things screaming at me that I can’t process how to order them. And in each and every situation, I do the exact same thing: whatever is due next.
I stop, take a deep breath, and look at the rest of that day first—what is it that has to be done. These are non-optionals—I could tell everybody to fend for themselves for dinner or pull a casserole out of the freezer if needed; I could skip the laundry today (though I don’t); I could trade dish days with one of the boys (I do!). But what is coming up?
Kids coming for games later tonight? My “office table” has to be cleared by then. (And if I don’t want somebody else stacking my stuff in disorganized piles everywhere, I want to be the one to do it!) Okay, that is what I will do first.
The next thing that is due is a podcast episode that my tech girl will run tomorrow. Okay, after the table is cleared, I will go make the podcast episode.
Next thing….I leave for classes at 7:15 tomorrow. I still need copies. The supply tubs need refilled. A parent needs answered. And a small stack of student papers has to be edited. Those things will be next.
I try not to do something that is coming for Wednesday. I try not to get on the computer and do something else (answer messages that are not “due” or post some FB statutes or read about Disney World! 🙂 ).
Whatever is DUE next is what I do.
Once I get ahead to where I am not chasing the things that are due in the next twenty-four hours, then I can breathe and do regular things and not stress so much….and I go back to my normal way of getting things done (all the other posts at the blog!).
I even verbalize this to my husband. He will say, “What do you absolutely have to do before you can go to bed tonight?” And I tell him what I just told you. (He can help me stay on track if I need it!)
My dream is to not always be doing whatever is “due” the next day. To get ahead of the game and be working a few days out. And that often happens in the summer when I am not teaching—and it is a great feeling.
But when I am not in that place, I just do whatever is NEXT!
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Thanks to Scrappy, Sticky, Inky, Mess for the free library card download that I used in the picture above! Check them out here 🙂
