Now that I've got 8 basic categories, now I have to figure out how to put those things into my calendar in the hopes of a more productive, more important, quality of life. Here's my preliminary thoughts on how to do this:
Start with the "big rocks" first - the most important, purpose-driven things I'm responsible for must go into the schedule first. Then the "should do this" things will be worked in around them. Finally, Habit 7 will probably be used to fill in the empty spaces that are left. If there's a lot, great. If there's only a little, then at least the most important things will be targeting to be done first. Also, I start my week on Saturday and end it on Friday to coincide with my business' week to make it easier.
Saturday: School planning, Business planning, Deep cleaning the house, friends & family calls/Skype sessions, Zumba, update personal blog, scrapbooking when possible, movie on Netflix with Jordan
Sunday: Church, get papers for coupons, clip coupons, Zumba, update faith blog,
Monday: School, enter new coupons, update lists, prospects contacted,Zumba, business FB/Twitter postings
Tuesday: Bible Study, School, Logan's drama class, Dollar Theater night (when there's $ and a good movie we actually WANT to see)- or else something on Netflix with them, prospects follow-throughs,
Wednesday: School, grocery list & coupon matching,caught up on webinars & phone calls,Zumba, business FB & Twitter postings
Thursday: School, grocery shopping, bills paid,prospects contacted,(this week, mtg. @ 7pm), Zumba (when there's no evening meeting), business FB & Twitter postings, Update couponing blog,
Friday: School, finish up business week, prospects follow-throughs, coffee with friends, Zumba, library to exchange books for the upcoming week
In addition to these, there's my daily to-do lists. Every day will have routine cleaning, errands to run, eating right, drinking my water, getting those one-time tasks on and off my list, getting rest & enough sleep, etc.
I really think I'm getting there. Hope this is helping someone else get organized & prioritized too.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Prioritizing: Step 2
Okay, I think I've got it down to 8 broad categories now - that in itself is an accomplishment. Here they are, in no particular order:
- My Home: Mother, Wife, Housewife, Finances, Kids
- Business: Everything to do with my home-business, incl. FB & Twitter postings
- Education: Homeschooling the kids, our homeschool group, and classes we'll be taking
- Faith: Church, Bible Study, Life Groups, Prayer & Reading, etc.
- Family & Friends: Phone calls, skyping, FB/Email messaging, coffee with friends, social events
- Couponing: Buying, Clipping, Organizing, Matching, & Shopping, then the classes I'll teach.
- Health: What I eat, water consumption, Zumba, other exercise, sleep, etc.
- Habit 7: (from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen Covey) This is where I can include rest & relaxation, scrapbooking, blogging, journaling, watching movies with Tim or the kids, taking time for me, quiet time to think & plan, taking time for moisturizing, doing my nails, conditioning my hair, all those things that slip through the cracks.
What did I get rid of? We don't have TV or else that'd be the first to go. I dropped worrying about finishing an old scrapbooking heritage album for now so I don't get overwhelmed at not keeping up with the present. I dropped cooking great meals that no one really wants or cares about. I'll still cook when our family will all be home together, but when I spend 2 hours cooking a meal and have 3 out of 3 kids say, "I'm not hungry" or they leave to go to their friends' houses for the night, it's wasted time & effort. I won't be playing the games I played on FB to fill my days in Concho when we were in isolation with no money & no gas to go anywhere. I won't be spending hours planning things I'll never get around to doing. I'll just get better at planning what's important, and doing that well by careful planning.
Hopefully, I can take these 8 categories and devise some type of weekly & monthly calendar to include all of them. I'm not necessarily hoping to get more done. I just want what I do to count for more. I want to improve the quality of life I live and not look back years from now wondering how much time I wasted on the unimportant.
What's important in your life that you could build into your schedule regularly that would improve your quality of life? Always open to ideas.
- My Home: Mother, Wife, Housewife, Finances, Kids
- Business: Everything to do with my home-business, incl. FB & Twitter postings
- Education: Homeschooling the kids, our homeschool group, and classes we'll be taking
- Faith: Church, Bible Study, Life Groups, Prayer & Reading, etc.
- Family & Friends: Phone calls, skyping, FB/Email messaging, coffee with friends, social events
- Couponing: Buying, Clipping, Organizing, Matching, & Shopping, then the classes I'll teach.
- Health: What I eat, water consumption, Zumba, other exercise, sleep, etc.
- Habit 7: (from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Stephen Covey) This is where I can include rest & relaxation, scrapbooking, blogging, journaling, watching movies with Tim or the kids, taking time for me, quiet time to think & plan, taking time for moisturizing, doing my nails, conditioning my hair, all those things that slip through the cracks.
What did I get rid of? We don't have TV or else that'd be the first to go. I dropped worrying about finishing an old scrapbooking heritage album for now so I don't get overwhelmed at not keeping up with the present. I dropped cooking great meals that no one really wants or cares about. I'll still cook when our family will all be home together, but when I spend 2 hours cooking a meal and have 3 out of 3 kids say, "I'm not hungry" or they leave to go to their friends' houses for the night, it's wasted time & effort. I won't be playing the games I played on FB to fill my days in Concho when we were in isolation with no money & no gas to go anywhere. I won't be spending hours planning things I'll never get around to doing. I'll just get better at planning what's important, and doing that well by careful planning.
Hopefully, I can take these 8 categories and devise some type of weekly & monthly calendar to include all of them. I'm not necessarily hoping to get more done. I just want what I do to count for more. I want to improve the quality of life I live and not look back years from now wondering how much time I wasted on the unimportant.
What's important in your life that you could build into your schedule regularly that would improve your quality of life? Always open to ideas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)