A Few Organizing Ideas

Reigning in My Thoughts!

So many things have gone through my mind this week.  I've tried to write most of them down, but when I want to look them over later, I can't seem to find the myriad of pieces of scrap paper strewn around the house.  So, I started something new.  I put little legal pads all over.  I have 4 telephone bases around my house.  So I put one by each of them.  I also have one on my night stand, in the console of my car, and in my purse.  So, pretty much wherever I am, I have some paper available.  I started that at the end of last week, but that posed a brand new problem. WHERE IS A PEN?!?!  I have millions around my house, I know I do.  So where do they all go?? 

I've solved that problem thanks to a woman named Carol Barnier.  She is the author of If I'm diapering a Watermelon, Then Where'd I Leave the Baby?.  It's a book geared toward the "Highly Distractible Mom".  While I'm not a mom, I would definitely say I'm highly distractible, and I've found a few really helpful things in her book.  One thing she mentions is her 'tethering' method.  She loses things like scissors, staplers, calculators, tweezers, and hairbrushes.  So, she ties them to whatever surface she uses them at.  The tweezers are tied to her bathroom mirror, the calculator is tied to the surface she uses to work on bills, etc, etc. 

So, I've taken her idea and tied pens to my legal pads using a little piece of string.  This has been a miracle so far!  Then, when I'm ready to look over my ideas of the week, I go around and rip off the first page of notes, and staple them all together.  I'm putting these stacks of paper in a pile on my dresser.  Actually, I'm putting the stacks on top of clothes, on top of dishes on top of jewelry on top of my dresser.  But that's a project for another week.

A Packed Schedule

This week I've added another big thing to my schedule.  I've joined a drama group called Stage Right Players.  We're doing a play called Flowers for Algernon.  This is going to take up at least 7 more hours per week, including drive time.  My mother and I have also started working out 5 days a week.  AND I've agreed to make dinner for the family every Wednesday.  I thought I must be completely off my rocker to start 3 new projects when I can hardly keep up with what I'm doing already, but then this little voice told me that maybe it's a good thing.  Maybe it can force me to get my act together.  Kind of like, when you can't seem to get your house clean, you invite company over, and make yourself get it done.

Major Time Management

Whether that is true or not, I'm definitely gonna have to crack down on my time management.  So, I've adopted a calendar.  I keep it with me and write down every appointment, obligation, and thing that I have to remember.  Every night before bed, I check it and see what I have to do in the morning.  That way I don't wake up at 7:30 and realize my chiropractor appointment was at 7:15.  That happens to me a lot.

Now, I'm just working on being consistent with the things I've started.  And I'm still trying to get all the junk out of my car. Some days, it only comes down to Laziness Vs. Diligence. 

It's a lot of work, but this little blog-friend of mine is holding me accountable.  

Alright, I'm off to workout...twice.  I didn't do it yesterday.  Go figure.

I'm WAY ahead of you!

Ugh. Today has been crazy...and awful.  
Progression: I was a few minutes early to my chiropractor appointment.
               I was on time dropping my brother off at his appointment.
               I cleaned a bunch of things out of my car.
               I made the time to pack myself a dinner, instead of buying food.






Regression: I made a total mess of the bathroom counter while I was getting ready, and left it there.
                  I left some garbage in my car (two steps forward, one step back, right?)
                  I left every single cabinet door wide open in my kitchen while I was looking for something.
                  Finally, I was lectured on my state of disorganization. ......


That last point is in the 'regression' column for a good reason.  Tell me if any of you know what I'm talking about in the following scenario.


You have a problem.  You decide to fix that problem all on your own.  You're determined, and feeling great about the project at hand.  This can be cleaning a dirty bathroom, renewing your license, attacking personal character faults, or starting a project to organize yourself.   Then somebody decides to come along and TELL you to do it.  They TELL you that there's a problem, and TELL you the best way they think it should be fixed.


Result?   Immediate loss of all determination and motivation previously held.


Maybe you're not like that, but I am, and this is what happened to me tonight.  As of this minute, getting organized is the very last thing I want to do. I'm crabby and frustrated because all the negative points about everything I do have been brought up and smashed in my face.


Despite my obstinacy, I've decided to keep going.  I will do my best to ignore what I heard tonight, and focus on the job at hand.  I thank this blog for that decision.  This just might be my key to success.


Wish me luck!!

Project Organize!

I Need Organization Help!

Most days, when I look around, it seems that everybody's got their life together.  They're organized, efficient, and on time.  Their rooms are clean, their work is on-track and their ducks in a row.  Basically, the polar opposite of me.  I am the most disorganized person I know with the possible exception of my mother.  I'm always arriving late, my work is constantly being turned in either last-second, or after the last second, and my room looks like New Orleans after Katrina.

Every once in a while I see small glimmers of hope.  I'll show up to an appointment 5 minutes early, or have my work done a day before the deadline, but these occurrances are few and far between.

A Disorganized Mind, Too.

One thing I enjoy is writing.  I love it, but I never seem to fit it in when I'd like to.  Sometimes I'll be working and an idea will pop into my head; something I think is really interesting.  I always forget though, and never get to form the thought fully, and then it slips away for good.


It has got to stop.  I need to get on track, and start making the most of my time and talents.  I'm wasting the things I've been given, and I'm going to change that, starting today.

A Plan to Get Organized

So I've decided something.  I need something else to hold me accountable.  I'm going to use this blog as a tool to keep me on track, and organized.  I'm going to use it to make sure I don't let those ideas of mine slip away.   So here's the deal:  At least every Wednesday, I'm going to write a post.  I'll tell the adventures of being unorganized and scatter-brained.  I'll show the details of my quest to become more put-together, and prove that even while I'm not, crazy people can have good ideas, too.

Keep checking in! There will definitely be a new post up Wednesday, if not before then. 

I can't wait to get started on this adventure of mine!