Busy much?
Tired? Always manic?
A constant chaos of activity, deadlines, appointments –
things to remember and organise…
Book Day costume, something out of the freezer for dinner….
..it’s not rained for a couple of days so maybe I should start up
the mower and tackle the garden wilderness?
Or the ironing?
(Shudder.)
And those Winter legs are going to need their own mow..
Might need professional help for that one 😉
A kick-ass podcast that I’ve got almost unhealthily addicted to,
was in my ears last night was asking me –
whether this busy-busy-ness was getting anywhere.
Or is it just just a lot of burnt energy with no particular direction?
Running fast to stay still?
Going backwards even…?
Spaghetti and Spider-webs.
By their nature – womens lives are more often like a chaotic,
tangled Spaghetti bowl of stuff to do
than a smooth efficient single silken thread strategically
linked to the next.
So to get stuff done and be purposeful and organised you need a list,
right?
Right???
Umm. Yep probably.
But not any old list.
It has to be one that you have a hope in hell’s chance
of actually working your way through.
Has to be YOUR kind of list.
Or plan.
Tanya has just made the mother of all lists!
With ‘The Project’ activities in full swing this list occupies an
ENTIRE WALL of the kitchen.
And it’s a pretty big kitchen..
It is a giant, in your face, record of where we are
and where we’re going.
(List making is not the way she would behave in the wild…)
So this one is typically non-conformist,
with sub boxes and doodles and a rather
non-linear vibe to the thing.
Things are connected to other things, and spawn little other things
And joined together like little webs.
Oh and there’s the obligatory cock and balls doodle..
Sigh.
I like a list, me..
I favour the old-school linear list.
It works for me.
It makes me feel safe.
I know I can’t forget anything if it’s ON THE LIST
Even if sometimes ‘a thing ‘takes up semi-permanent residence’ on my lists,
and doesn’t actually graduate to ‘done’ status..
I treat lists as a kind of holding pen for all the things
I have decided need doing at some point.
And that’s the thing,
Different things have different deadlines.
My day is a mixture of stuff that just CAN’T wait
Stuff that needs to be done every day
By the end of the week
…and stuff that I will get round to sometime in the next few years.
Yep, empty out the loft is so on the list,
but it has been there in intention only for two years!!
It will get done
Just not yet.
So if you wrote down your day, from start to finish,
from the moment you open your eyes and …
….open your eyes
Reach for phone to check time
quick check of FB!!
make tea,
wake up kids,
make breakfast,
remind the kids to get dressed,
remember school letters to send back,
letter to post later,
clean teeth,
remind kids again to get dressed…….
work
shopping
housework
admin…
and on and on until one last nose on FB before closing eyes again.
And then your week.
And your month.
And your life plan…?
Daunting.
So for more actual Webs – and less Spaghetti?
Where to start?
Well the lists are cool, they can stay.
But how to create a spider web; purposeful, well designed,
organised, all connected up to achieve everything you need
and stop the panic
and the tiredness.
And make you feel in charge???
That’s the actual question.
You could look at each thing on your list.
- Why is it there?
- Does it really NEED to be there?
(when time is precious or life has lobbed you a curve ball
– are there things you can ditch?)
- Can someone else do it?
- Kids can clear the table and make their beds,
- husbands can put children to bed and operate hoovers
- and all sorts of household appliances, folklore tells us.
What HAS to be done today?
(so no-one dies and you don’t have to call an emergency service?)
n.b. Missing breakfast does not save time.
It adds in tiredness and weight gain.
- What is the priority?
- What is the best use of now?
- Where do you want to be
- …and does every single list serve to get you there?
- What are you avoiding off the list?
- Do you eat all the best bits of your dinner first or do you
- ….get the sprouts over and done with first?
- Do you eat the frog? Or warm up gently?
- Mindfulness gives you the clarity to discern what you do and when.
- Helps you to slow down when you are busy but helps you get more done.
Lists are the start point.
Like a life brainstorm.
But lists aren’t plans.
They are the building blocks of one.
Lists are cool but they are only the things you have thought
of in the order that you wrote them down
(so not a legally binding document)…
In our upcoming project we have a look in detail about how
to use lists and priorities to build a bespoke, organic personal plan.
Where to delegate, and how to streamline – EFFORTLESSLY
Like having your own P.A. but without the price tag
With science, life coach expertise and even neuroscience hacks
and secrets.
But for today…if you are feeling inspired…
Here’s a simple way to get started.
Click that, print that off, fill it in –
and you’ll see what tomorrows list is going to look like.
It’s a damned fine start.
Happy Streamlining