PiCKLEBERRYPOP

I get asked a LOT (especially by the design team members, lol) how I manage to do all I do – not just for my shop, but for the site as a whole, my home, my family, my schoolwork, etc. I actually stopped to think about that this month, and could only come up with one real reason that I can git-er-done… and I’m sharing that with you today.

First, let me start by saying that I don’t have to leave the house to go to a real world job. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to stay home for the last 18 years. I know that’s not the case with most people nowadays. No, I don’t sit and eat bonbons all day binge watching Netflix. I’m still the one running all the errands, making all the meals, and taking care of the house. My kids have been self-sufficient (mostly) for the past year. The youngest, who turns 17 next week, is really the only one that needs anything from me or his father at any given time, and only because he doesn’t have a car or a job yet, lol. We want him to concentrate on school instead of trying to juggle school, ROTC and a job all at the same time. I started back to school last fall and am taking 6 classes per semester – online classes, which require an investment of triple the time I would spend in actual classrooms.

Before you do anything, find out what time of the day are you most productive.

For a lot of people, tackling to-dos is best done in the morning when they first get up. Not me. Nope. I am NOT a morning person. I’m not even an afternoon person. I discovered I work best during the evening hours than I do at any other time during the day. It takes me forever to get up and moving, but when 7pm rolls around, I’m ready to tackle anything and everything. So, whenever your best time of the day is, use that time for the bulk of your productivity.

I gave up social media.

Most of it anyway, and honestly, I don’t miss it all! I still share pics on Instagram, which auto-post to facebook for my family, but other than that, I’ve gone native 😛 Facebook and Pinterest were HUGE time suckers. YouTube, too. And for what? Nothing productive, that’s for sure, lol.

To-Do lists have been the key.

Ask anyone that knows me – I love sticky notes. My problem had been actually looking at them, until recently. I keep several to-do lists going daily – and I now have a calendar, too, and the things I need to schedule go on that. My husband bought me a subscription to Cloth & Paper (the second best thing he’s ever gotten me – ever!), and the November box had a brand spankin’ new 2020 calendar in it, woot! Before I go to bed every night, I make a list of things that need to be done the next day. And I mean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. Dishes, laundry, groceries, reading assignments, homework, appointments, appointments that need to be made, what needs to be cleaned, looking for color swatches, challenges, blog posts that need to be written, newsletters that need to be written, things I need to check on, things I need to keep up with… everything! Then I split the list into home (“piddling”), work (designing & helping Faye), school work, and I keep a separate one for want-to-dos … things that I just want to do/learn if I have leftover time during the day. When I get up the next day, I start tackling the smaller things on the list and cross them off as they get done. After dinner I start tackling the bigger items on the lists, because that’s my most productive time period.

Crossing things off the lists is SO satisfying! It makes me feel accomplished – which is my word of the year 🙂

Whatever doesn’t get crossed off the list, gets carried over to the next day. I have found, though, that I get most of the things done that I need to get done. My want-to-do list sometimes doesn’t get touched, but that’s ok. There are days that I don’t have a lot of “piddle” stuff to do, so I can fit them in on those days.

To-do lists have helped me get things done quickly and efficiently, and have also allowed me to spend more time with my family. No really! After spending the day crossing the smaller things off my lists, and everyone is home from work/school, I can spend several hours with them before they all hit the pillows. It’s been a win-win!

Really, that’s been it. To-do lists, and not forcing myself to try and tackle the bigger projects when I don’t feel like doing them. There. My secret is out. LOL! Do with it what you will!