Tuesday, June 4, 2013

[organize chaos]: organizing myself and (hopefully) increasing productivity

I have been on summer vacation for a week.  So far, I've taken a trip to Indianapolis with my mom and grandma to see a cute new cousin and his super smart (and absolutely adorable) big sister and visit David's family, including our sweet, sweet nephew.  And just this past weekend, David and I went to my parents' house with one of my favorite people Kelsie and her husband to enjoy some time at the lake.  In just four short days we will be leaving for Guatemala with our church for a mission trip, and I am just so excited.

But on the 4.5 days I have actually had time in my house to - I don't know - ORGANIZE and CLEAN it like I've been griping about for THREE YEARS, I have found that trashy Reality TV on Bravo is just SO MUCH more appealing.  Seriously.

I drive myself crazy.

What am I proud about?  I have taken some time to decompress.  To sleep in... to lounge around.  To reset.  It seems so silly to say, but I have needed it.

What else am I proud of?  (I can tell you that it's not that I have ended my past two questions in prepositions...)  But I did make a budget for David and me for the month of June!  It's nothing fancy.  Mostly just a list of bills and other expenses and how much we have left over for the entire month to spend on gas and groceries.  And I cooked last night!  And I am planning to cook on Thursday!  That's two meals in one week.  Watch out world.

So where would I like to be in terms of organizing myself and increasing productivity?

     1.  Sticking to my to-do lists!  I am great at making them, but not always so great at checking off the     boxes...
     2.  Carving out "me" time.  This is an easy one right now.  I've got all day!  But I need to get into the habit of finding a few bits of time each week to read or journal or have coffee with a friend.  You can't be productive if you are worn out!    3.  Creating (and sticking to) a budget each month!
     4.  Making a schedule (or two or three!)  The goal... a monthly menu and cleaning schedule!  Yikes!

And since this is my first "real" summer off in quite awhile, I am totally open to any advice or suggestions regarding how to ditch the Reality TV and put my booty to work!