Jan 222024
 

It’s a pretty well-known fact about me, if you know me even a little, that I love a schedule. Routines are my safety net when the world – at least my world – feels out of control. It is a coping mechanism that I developed before I even knew of such concepts. Luckily, it is one that has rewards; thus, providing me with positive feedback to keep on doing it.

Throughout my life, when things have felt untethered, I have turned to plotting out my daily, weekly, monthly, and sometimes even yearly schedule. It gives me satisfaction. It makes me feel purposeful. It is a tangible, actionable, and visual way of giving my days meaning.

For a while, I have been using Google calendars and worked my way through various task apps finding ones that work best for me – or that I can make work for me. So, after trialling apps like Evernote (back when it was trending), or Google tasks, Trello, etc. I finally got a system that works using GCal and Todoist. Then, came Motion.

As with most things that I find these days, I saw an ad for this app/program on my social media feed. It boasts using AI to schedule in tasks and merge it with my GCal activities (events). I’m always willing to try out a new option, especially when given a free trial period. So, I’m now in the fourth day of the trial period and am feeling pretty good about it.

There is a bit of time required in figuring out the settings for the schedules and working out how to designate the tasks accordingly. However, I think that I have gotten that sorted so that now when I put in a new task it automatically gets assigned to a time on my calendar helping me to stay on task. There are a few little tweaks I might have to adjust, but today I am letting it guide me.

So far, I’ve done quite a bit of what I had scheduled/needed to do and it’s only 12:30 in the afternoon. I have another hour of time before I head off to my yoga class, but then I’ll be back with some other work to do. I’m going to try to let it do its thing for the remaining days of the trial period before I decided if I want to purchase the subscription. So, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Does anyone else get excited about these things, like I do??? 😁

~T πŸ”₯πŸ‰β™‹οΈ

Sep 042023
 

It’s an interesting phenomenon that one inflicts a sense of urgency and demand on oneself even when not in an office environment or surroundings where it is easy to pinpoint the source.

While my work from home fluctuates from trickles to tidal waves, I do not have what one would call “stressful” jobs as a freelance contract worker. On top of that, I have a very cushy home and personal life as there are no kids or relatives to raise my stress levels, even if I do have a tendency to complain about the man now and then.😝 Yet, for the last week or so I have felt stressed!

I mean, sure, needing to complete edits on two full manuscripts ASAP, prep for an online yoga course, correct online assignments regularly, and try to write my own stuff while attempting to be social with staying guests–all while also maintaining the EPA duties that most wives carry out for their partners, could be deemed reasonable sources of stress. πŸ˜…

Still, I somehow feel weak for it.

Luckily, I believe the Universe heard me and saw me falling onto the path toward hysteria and meltdown, so I have been blessed with five glorious days of freedom from everything except what I want to do!

This means, I have spent most of the last 36 hours or so playing catch-up and working to get ahead of the game. My task list is looking more manageable and I would say that even my writing this the night before I am to publish it is a sign that I’m back on the “Tara-train track”. 😬 Although there is still a lot to get done, I think from tomorrow most things will be for future deadlines rather than ones past or ones looming. I do not like to work with pressure–never have and don’t intend to start now! 😁

So, with that, it’s about time for me to hit the hay to ensure I get my rest to be at my best productivity this week. I’ve got a mix of plans to see some friends and also enjoy some “me-time” activities. All that, plus work, so a girl needs her rest! πŸ’œ

~T πŸ”₯πŸ‰β™‹οΈ

Apr 182023
 

Years ago, I realized that being a planner and detailed scheduler gave me a sense of security and comfort. I discovered later that it was a reaction to having some kind of control over my life – something that I didn’t have early on in my development. Furthermore, I learned that it was a positive habit, so the reward feedback encouraged me to maintain the behavior.

Nowadays, I need it to reset my mental state and feel balanced. βš–οΈ

With two months of my previously scheduled life thrown by the wayside, I felt it was time to get myself back to “regularly scheduled programming” and reset. Despite having tried it a few weeks back, it didn’t take as my body and mind were not ready.

However, knowing that I was near getting the green light to return to a biped state πŸšΆπŸ½β€β™€οΈ, last Thursday I felt it was time.

First, I listed out the tasks that I have either been putting off for far too long or the ones that I know I need to get done regularly. Then, I broke down those tasks into daily chunks and put them on to my Todoist app that I use to guide my daily activities. This is a great and simple method of feeling a sense of accomplishment each day for me. It is second to making the bed each day knowing that at least I achieved one “good” thing for the day. 😁

Next, I went to my Google calendar to schedule in when these activities are to be done throughout the day. Now, some of you might be thinking this is just going too far, but I am a big believer in maximizing my productivity. So, I achieve this by also setting aside the times in which my tasks can/should be done. Before any reader moans or rolls their eyes πŸ™„ at this, note that just because they are in my calendar or on my to-do list doesn’t make it an absolute. I am quite flexible with my times and tasks since about 90% of what I do is designed for and determined by myself, so there are no severe consequences of any kind should I decide to procrastinate, reschedule or even skip something. πŸ€ͺ

Generally speaking, this scheduling and listing is used as a guideline for me each day.

The question might arise as to why I do this. My answer is that it helps me. It works for me. I achieve a fair amount by doing it. So, why not? Besides, it’s also pretty! 😝

The truth is that I do not have a 9-to-5 job. My work is freelance and on my own time. My passion/life’s purpose is to write – on my own time. In this world of constant distractions, living by chaos-led direction, and a myriad of other excuses/reasons that our creative brains are able to come up with to justify our methods, I choose to channel and redirect so that I can feel content at the end of each day and still find the time to enjoy life fully. I do not want to go to bed at night wondering, “What did I do today?”.

Instead, I have a task-list that gets ticked off as proof of having achieved. I have a calendar scheduled as a guide for those moments when I might think, “What was I doing?” or “What should I be doing right now?”

This brings me security and a sense of calm. Who doesn’t want that?

~T πŸ”₯πŸ‰β™‹οΈ

Nov 062020
 

If you’ve been reading this blog or following me for a while, then you probably already know my love of schedules. No, more than a love, they are a necessity in my life.

Strangely enough, most of the people around me are the absolute opposite including my husband, who has an almost allergic aversion to creating habits for keeps. πŸ˜›

Anyway, now that we are three weeks and counting in our new lifestyle I felt that it was time for me to start “scheduling” myself to reset my focus and ensure that I am accomplishing the goals that I have set out for myself on a personal level that coordinate with our physical move.

One way that I reset is by creating a detailed hourly schedule for my day-to-day activities that are regular.

As a new freelance worker (freelancer), I have to check in to my “work” every day. Even though I might allot time each day to conduct the required work, I admit there is flexibility in the timing of the schedule depending on the workload.

Still, the mere fact that I have a time schedule helps me to focus. It also gives me a sense of satisfaction when I complete everything in my day by noon (as in the past couple of days) – that’s with my schedule already ensuring that I finish by 3pm anyway.

Of course, this may all go out the window in another week or two as more activities get added or something changes, but during life in lock-down it is something that grounds me and gives me purpose for each day.

I had a rare comment exchange with someone on a Facebook group that I am in. Usually, I ignore people who appear to be trolls, or generally negative folks. However, for some reason, I felt the need to engage this person. She did not see the point in spending time making vision boards. She started with “who has the time?” and then asked “but what’s it all for?”. Finally, she tried to back-off with summing up that she just takes each day as it comes and doesn’t need such things. I challenged her with, obviously such things are not for everyone, but vision boards do create purpose and motivation and direction. As for me, I’ve already got two major things in process, which is because of my making it happen – because I believe in the law of attraction and that the Universe is working for me to help me have the things I want. In the end, I also nicely replied with, “what is it all for if someone just lives day by day without goals?” Thus ended the exchange.

I don’t know if she understood the other viewpoint or not, but I understood hers as someone who is probably not a scheduler. Of course, I could be completely wrong, but most people who do not plan find it meaningless to do so or that it is too controlling over one’s life to live by a plan.

Now, I don’t live and DIE by my schedules and plans. I KNOW life is not something we can control completely, BUT I DO KNOW from experience that we can absolutely control certain things in our lives.

One of those things is how we spend our days. Every morning, we wake up and make choices that will determine how our day will end. It is well-documented by some of the most successful and happiest people that they achieve this status because of planning, scheduling, and setting goals. Of course, there must surely be plenty of successful and happy people who don’t – I just haven’t heard of them! πŸ˜›

So, as I have plenty of other goals to achieve, I want to ensure that I keep myself focused on them. The first step to doing that for me is by making a detailed hourly schedule. πŸ˜‰ And, the bonus was that I applied my love of The Home Edit by color-coding it rainbow style!

~T πŸ˜€

Dec 232016
 

Every time I see or hear the phrase in this post’s title, I think of Star Wars “Return of the Jedi”. Yes, I am a Star Wars geek, I admit it!!! πŸ™‹πŸ½πŸ€“

Anyway, following up on my post yesterday, I thought I would write a bit more about how I am going to work on keeping myself structured for reals. 😏

I know I have written a number of posts on my need for scheduling or routines or having structure. I know I have mentioned how this is a reoccuring theme in my life and you may even be thinking to yourself, “Seriously, how many posts can this girl get out of the same topic?! Get organized already!!!”πŸ˜…

If you are thinking that way, I apologize. I am a bit slow these days with sorting my sh*t out. Or rather, I have not determined that I am ready to put action into my words falling into the preference for complaining rather than actually doing. Yes, even I fall into this trap! I say, even, because I know that I tend to give this advice to others with the seemingly outward appearance of also following through myself. While the majority of the time I try very hard to do so, I admit (again) that I am very fallible in this area and am extremely weak when it comes to pleasing others or trying to guess what pleases others especially my husband.

Now, I am by no means blaming him for my lack of discipline and effort. I am the only one responsible for my activities at the end of the day. However, I also acknowledge the influence of others upon me especially the one I love and spend most of my time with each day.😍

Still, it goes back to that saying “If I am not happy, then how can I work to make others happy?”. Is that a saying or am I making it up? πŸ€” Anyway, you get the gist. 

When M is on a regular work schedule, I can usually maintain my own and shuffle him out of the house by 8am so that I can start my day. However, even that usually results in me not doing my workout, yoga or meditation before he leaves even though it is the best time for me to do it. It also leaves me feeling as if I have wasted a couple of hours as part of my prime productivity period of the morning, which then results in antsy-ness (is this a word?!) for him to go out the door. 😫 

Sooooo….I am proposing to work on my own routine and schedule regardless of whether or not he works or when he wants to get up. I shall also share this with him so that he does not try to make me feel guilty about needing to get up right away or wanting to start my day, which he is wont to do at times. πŸ˜† Also, perhaps then he will become my cheerleader or better yet also get his own routine to match mine even on his ‘off’ days as we know he needs to try to control his own chaos. 😝

In doing this and following through, I believe that some of my new goals that I am processing will be much easier to achieve. I also believe that I will be back on the path of fighting off the dark-side of the force using my Jedi tricks. πŸ˜„ So, consider this plan of action as moving into play immediately! πŸ‘πŸ½πŸ‘πŸ½

~T πŸ˜€

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