how to get things done when routine/schedule is impossible?

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how to get things done when routine/schedule is impossible?

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Started 5 months ago by luxcat
Latest reply from chacha1
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luxcat
Member

This morning I deleted my "ideal schedule". It just isn't going to happen.

Given my work schedule, DH's work schedule, and the various things in our life, a set daily schedule simply won't work. No more square pegs in round holes.

I even am struggling with my more basic idea of "a task a day"- like doing the wash on Mondays, the dry cleaner drop off/pick up on Tuesday, the banking on Wednesday, etc. I end up with work or personal commitments that overflow into my evening hours, and I can't get it done so it all piles up on the weekend- which was exactly the problem I was trying to fix by assigning myself "A Task A Day" on weekdays!

I'm sure I can't be the only Unclutterer with this challenge, how do you all cope? Advice? Ideas? My main goal is to not have my precious weekend hours cluttered up with errands and tasks.

Posted 5 months ago #
ninakk
Member

luxcat, why don't you tell us what the two of you want to get done during a week and which tasks are yours to do? Maybe we could help you see something if you're currently stuck?

I have so much to do still that Saturday is the day for pantry/fridge/freezer inventory, cleaning of fridge, meal planning and grocery/wine shopping. It is convenient to combine it with bottle returning and battery recycling, dry cleaning the rare occasions there was some to take in, too.

Saturday is also bureaucracy day when bookkeeping/financial stuff and scanning will get done (2012 here we come!).

I have often been so disorganized that even Sundays have just disappeared but by sticking to some type of structure I hope this day will become sacred.

Posted 5 months ago #
pwm78
Member

When my schedule gets crazy and unpredictable, keeping a small notebook with a running list of things that need to be done in my bag helps. Every time I leave the house I check the list, see what can be done while out on this trip and get something extra each time I go out. When I find I have an hour or two open, I can check it and do something that takes longer or requires time at home. It works best if you get in the habit of writing down everything, even if you don't think you need to, because it jogs your memory when you are thinking of the next thing. Sometimes I even added things like "read a book," to remind myself to take some time out.

Posted 5 months ago #
Jude2004
Member

I've tried a lot of different systems of my own invention over the years, and I constantly change and tweak them. When you're a single working mother, a system that tells you to do what's most important first just doesn't work. Nor does it work to say that Monday is laundry day, because for me, laundry day is every day. So I categorized the main things I have to do, originally into Money, House, Self, and Others. I've subdivided that over the years, so that Others includes Community and Money includes Job hunting. I listed all the main things I have to do, categorized them, figured out how much time I'd like to work on them each week (in an ideal world), and then assigned them to days of the week (with some tasks assigned to every day). On a given day, I choose 3 to 6 items to work on. I'd love to clean my refrigerator completely at least once a week, but other items take priority, so maybe I get it thoroughly cleaned once a month. It's way too hard to get everything done when you're working, but part of that might be because some tasks take longer than others. If I'm avoiding something (or everything), I set a timer and spend just 2 minutes on it. That's 2 minutes more than I would have spent. In other words, don't panic. Of course, you can't get it all done. That's impossible. But something is better than nothing.

Posted 5 months ago #
Ella
Member

luxcat: I don't know if this addresses your situation but here's something new I'm doing...

Since last week I've been test-driving a new daily schedule - I loosely call it a schedule, but it's more a list of daily to-do's loosely fitted into morning, afternoon, and evening. I have 3 categories - health/beauty, home, papers/work - and because I'm studying Italian, I've titled them Bella Figura, Bella Casa, and Bella Carta :)
I've selected the 9 most important little things to do each day within each of those
3 categories. (The idea is inspired by ATAD actually, but applied to daily tasks.) Doing all 27 things each day would make the rest of my life run more smoothly (but even doing most of them on most days helps immensely).

I've drawn up charts for each category and posted them - one in my bathroom, one in the kitchen, and one by my computer. I give myself a star for accomplishing each thing. Today I'm reviewing last week's charts... hey, I did pretty well! Proud of myself for every star! I only got a perfect score on one day, but overall I did well for the first week. Now I'm tweaking the charts for this week. I firmly believe that these small things will smooth out the rest of my day so I can accomplish the bigger duties and life goals without the niggling stress of other things left undone.

For want of a nail...

Posted 5 months ago #
Another Deb
Member

I just went to a time management workshop through some professional development training opportunities in my school district. The facilitator had some very interesting research data:

15 minutes of planning saves one entire day of work.
Making your list of things to do should be done the night before. Your brain processes this as you sleep.
Multitasking is inefficient.

Just a few of the ideas I am processing today as I snooze through a rainy Saturday not achieving anything!

Posted 5 months ago #
ninakk
Member

Actually there is no such thing as multitasking. The brain can do only one process at a time and the more processes we force it to try to do simultaneously the more time we "lose"; it takes precious moments to jump back and forth while constanly rewiring it, or something like this.

I am also no fan of the expression "time management". Time is what it is and none of us can manage it; pause or stop it let alone go backwards or forwards in it. How we choose to take care of tasks, spread them out over a span of time is another thing. I was surprised to read David Allen's email where he said exactly this, there is no time management. Glad David Allen is on the same page as I :D

Posted 5 months ago #
Letgoodtimesroll
Member

For those who like charts for tracking progress, I suggest you check out the Happiness Project Tool Box. You'll find it on this web site - http://www.happiness-project.com/

I used it for a while, but I'm rarely good about sticking with any plan to get myself organized. DH and I are expert procrastinators and highly skilled at ignoring clutter of all kinds. That's why I love Unclutterer - it's really helping me feel like you all are holding me accountable. So far the End of Year ATAD has kept me doing something - however little - every day.

Posted 5 months ago #
Zora
Member

If finances permit, can you pay people to do some of the things that aren't getting done? A weekly cleaner? A laundry? Grocery delivery service?

Posted 5 months ago #
luxcat
Member

Thanks so much for your feedback everyone

I wrote this huge long post in reply and then deleted it after I read it over.

Truth is, I have time to get things done and I am a very organized person with lots of resources at my disposal.

The real issue is my get up and go has got up and left.

Sigh.

Posted 5 months ago #
ninakk
Member

What would happen if you would take two to four weeks off from household chores? I have sometimes entertained this idea and realized I would have to have clean undies and food cooked but other than that I would survive facing a bombed flat.

Posted 5 months ago #
bandicoot
Member

luxcat, you and your husband sound like very busy professional people.
i will assume that that comes with some commensurate paychecks.
to me, the way ahead is clear.....you are in a position to buy back your time by hiring someone to do your household stuff.
i can blithely suggest this, because it is exactly what we have done.
our cleaners and gardener save us two hours of labour daily, at least.
our evenings and weekends are filled with free time.
it is totally worth it.
we both work hard and happily, and we both have plenty of time off, and it is a great arrangement for us.
i believe in lots of balance.
if your work is sucking all of your time, then it had better be paying you so fabulously that you can hire someone to do the chores at home.
i don't know much, but i know that life isn't about working all day long.
also, i am very much into the idea that money needs to circulate....so by buying services, i am helping three small local businesses stay in business and everybody benefits from that.

Posted 5 months ago #
luxcat
Member

housekeeper, check (she's marvelous and comes every two weeks and does all the heavy cleaning as well as things like wipe out the fridge and wash sheets and towels)

gardener, check (included in HOA fees since we live in a condo building)

what gets me is the stuff I cannot delegate. I am a big fan of delegation in general :)

Posted 5 months ago #
Conny
Member

I have regressed to use star stickers on my calendar for every day that i actually did what i had planned to do that day.
More specifically, as examples: for every day i went walking for at least 20 minutes, i reward myself with a silver sticker, for every day i tidied up one of our rooms i draw myself a red star.
For every day that i found something to donate, i paint a purple star.
Other goals have other colours.

It is a visual cue and a re-enforcer to try and fill the month with stars. Some months have been dominated by one colour, others are mixed.

To motivate myself to start on something, i use a timer. ( a la Flylady) For example, knowing that i will be rewarding myself 15 minutes computer time for every 20 minutes i worked on a task.

Childish perhaps, but that is how i do it.

Posted 5 months ago #
Ella
Member

luxcat: I know all about the get-up-and-go that got up and went. I'm constantly having to figure out new ways to kick my own butt into gear. Currently it's the star reward chart system, same as my mom used for motivating me to do my chores when I was a kid. Next week it might be something else... the One-Thing to-do list, setting the timer, unplugging for a day... ad infinitum, ad nauseam...

Posted 5 months ago #
bandicoot
Member

luxcat....you need a part time personal assistant!
or to expand your housekeeper's duties.
and i hope your banking is happening online, not in an actual bank.
as for your get up and go...i'd say you have huge quantities of that, but you sound a bit flat and tired, and who wouldn't be?

obviously, all of us here are very interested in improving our lives....but i don't see exhaustion or feeling rushed or overwhelmed or feeling as though you are failing to meet goals, as being any sort of improvement.
we can't possibly do it all, nobody can, so cut yourself some slack.
be kind to yourself.
it is totally ok to say no to things ( i am now the queen of that) and reclaim your time.

and i love the idea of stars on calendars, but i also say no to buying a paper calender, lol.

Posted 5 months ago #
ninakk
Member

bandicoot, my checkboxes in Bento are like stars. I feel so good when I tick the last box "All areas done" of a particular day!

Posted 5 months ago #
bandicoot
Member

nina, your bento sounds like a dream of organisation. srsly!
i have looked at it, after your reports....but my life is so uncomplicated that i manage to get there with evernote, teuxdeux, and a standard osx contacts/calender.

Posted 5 months ago #
susanintexas
Member

What seems to be working well for me now is to set a time -- say a half hour a day -- for household cleaning/chores. When the time is up, it's over, unless I'm on a roll and choose to extend it. If I miss a day, so be it. If something doesn't get done, it will eventually.

Laying out a rough work plan the night before works for me. I can usually predict that far in advance :)

For me, getting housekeeping chores done early in the morning seems to be fitting in best with my energy rhythms. My brain is still groggy but I have plenty of energy for repetitive boring tasks. In the late afternoon my physical energy is at its lowest, and vacuuming isn't exactly something to look forward to at the end of a long day. Have you tried just shifting the time? I've been getting up a little earlier to do this.

I've also found that a rigid schedule works when it works but the minute it falls apart it is totally gone. Looser weekly goals have been working better.

Posted 5 months ago #
ninakk
Member

I have to agree with Susan; I empty the dish cupboard of clean dishes while the Moccamaster takes its seven minutes to brew a full pot. Or I might fold laundry if it is dry. If there are unwashed dishes from the day before I usually also fill the sink and start a load while waiting.

Sometimes when I have many errands I may make a numbered list and keep track while on the road; good planning has made me go through ten complicated errands in one smooth go because it is fully optimized and nothing forgotten, all physical steps conserved in energy too. Something I learned partly during my time as a research assistant over a few years - mise en place, as few steps as possible.

Posted 5 months ago #

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