I have serious issues with being organized. Throw in my ADD and you’ve got a person who walks around like a rabid raccoon; stumbling around aimlessly, foaming at the mouth and snapping at anything that gets in its way.
“Just make a list!” people say.
Duh! But has anyone thought about how ineffective and overwhelming list making can be? Well I have. And I can tell you this:
LIST MAKING CAN BE INEFFECTIVE AND OVERWHELMING!
I go from list to list…to list and I wonder why my to-do lists never get to-done!
A LIST FROM A MONTH AGO
- work 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
- grocery store
- eggs
- milk
- bread
- wine
- get list for kids’ camp
- Holy crap!! How much stuff do they need?!
- Kids after school:
- Ellen stays for track
- Daniel to piano, then to golf
- Back to school to grab Ellen from track then rush to pick up Daniel from golf.
- call back:
- Mom
- Hubby
- co-worker to switch schedules
- switch dr.’s appt.
- cancel other dr.’s appt.
- child’s teacher about why I missed teacher conference and to schedule another
- go to Staples to get more school supplies
- project poster board
- tape
- glue
- get whatever an sd card is
- calendar for child who needs help getting organized
- calendar for self who needs help getting organized #appletree
- go to Target to get more house supplies. (See #10)
- Lysol®
- Pet stain eliminator
- birthday card for friend whose birthday I forgot
- Excedrin®, Tylenol® or Advil® (whichever is on sale)
- concealer for dark circles under eyes
- exercise clothes
- Look up new exercise studio that works around my schedule
- Make dinner
- Take out trash
- Clean house
Eventually, the lists stopped. They were showing up all over the place, like little Post-it® poops all over the house, my car and my purse.
My therapist listened to my frustrations about my inability to get things done. The never-ending tasks piled on top of the mountain of things already needing to be checked off. My lack of organization and its effects weighed on my marriage, our kids’ lives and even my anxiety. What does it mean if I finish? What does it mean if I start? Avoidance behavior isn’t a coping mechanism.
How is it that some people just manage to get it done and I just fall off the wagon the second I roll out of bed.
“Prioritize,” she said.
Wait. What?
She told me that I don’t have to get it done in one day. Choose which things get done on what day and go from there. Those items that don’t get done, roll them over to the next day or pick a day where they get done.
Great. Now I need a list to divide my other lists.
So, into Staples I walk (with my list) and I stop in front of the Post-it® section to find yet another sticky to-do list. What I find is something better! A calendar. Not just any calendar, though. I found a calendar for ME!
It’s the Post it Weekly Planner calendar. The way it’s marketed, you fill in the blanks with people’s names as they take up a whole column for the week. If I did it that way, I’d be overwhelmed with all I had to do for other people. (Don’t get me started with my ability to put everyone before myself.)
So I think for a second and I then I see the product in a new way. What if I divide the calendar up differently?
Where it has the spot on the far left side to fill in four people’s names I made it my own by dividing the time of day into AM, Lunch, After school and Evening. It was genius! A place for me to organize my lists by time of day, not just during the whole day!
I brought it home began to look at my calendar on my computer. This makes sense. Though I use my computer’s calendar, I don’t see it spaced out the way I need to. I have to scroll up and down the page. By writing everything down, I’m able to process it better. Slowly I realize I can prioritize my life according to time of day, and then who needs what done and then where they’re going. I began to find the holes in my schedule where my day was heavy and where it was light.
Haircut appointment? Ok. Let’s see, I have work on Monday and Saturday a.m. and Thursday is taken up with a doctor’s appointment. “How about Thursday early afternoon? Sure! 1 p.m. is perfect.” As I write that down, I realize there are only 5 lines within each column.
Five.
That’s manageable.
Then I think even further about the number 5.
Five fingers on each hand. That’s what I can handle; a handful if you will. Any more tasks than that and I get overwhelmed. There are five books in the Old Testament. Five servings of fruits and veggies a day. Five good friends or teachers…count them on one hand. The number five was starting to awaken in me.
I can do this.
Now, here’s an example of my lists following my five.
- Sprinkler guy at 8 a.m.
- Work on blog while he is here.
- Change the reservations for Saturday night dinner to 7:15.
- Marinate the chicken and roast the vegetables for tonight’s dinner while sprinkler guy is here.
- Exercise class at 5:30 p.m.
Ok. Yes, there are other things that need to get done like writing the kids at camp or walking the dogs, but those above things are things I NEED to get done TODAY and checked off my list. I can walk the dogs anytime or write the kids later tonight in bed. Meanwhile, if I get some other things done like setting up appointments or making plans while I’m stuck home today, it’s a bonus for me.
Derive Your Five 