i often feel like every surface of my brain is covered with things to remember: bills to be paid, book lists, vacation ideas, homeschool resources, menu plans, and even the odd line of poetry! the problem is that some of these things need to be taken care of right away (the poem + the bill), but i’m not really going to do much with others (vacation plans). on Friday i mentioned the free email course that Mystie at Simplified Organization is offering called Declutter Your Mind. this course offered me something to do with all these lists, a *place* to put all the stray bits that make it hard to focus on the task at hand.
i really love the email format of the class. Mystie sends an email every few days so that you have time to actually begin the steps she describes. i love the forward momentum that this created for me. some days i had quickly finished my tasks and was eagerly waiting for the next email. on others i procrastinated, but then the next email showed up and made me get busy!
one of the biggest helps for me was really clearing out my to-do list by moving items to the someday list instead of the immediate next action list. i was feeling weighed down by my list because it was populated with things that weren’t going to happen for a long time. it’s hard to feel like you’re getting things done when the long list lingers. it was also something of a revelation to distinguish tasks from projects. a project sounds like something big + official + important. but really they’re anything on your to-do list that has more than one step. laundry has many, many steps: carry the heavy basket down to the basement, start the load, put the wet clothes in the dryer, remove, fold, and put away. my list said “laundry” but that was really many distinct jobs. by making sure that there is space in my day for all the distinct tasks of a project (or changing the boundaries–maybe laundry is done when it’s clean + dry + piled in a basket) my to-do list became a lot more useful.
Mystie’s course Declutter Your Mind will certainly make your homeschool happier!
Yes, yes, yes! Between Mystie’s organization posts and adopting a bullet journal, I feel like my brain has room to breathe again! There’s a lot of stress in my life right now, but I find that it helps to list every little task of the bigger projects of both food and laundry. For instance, I write “unload dishwasher,” “breakfast,” and “clear & wipe table” instead of just “breakfast.” It sounds a little crazy, but with 4 kids 6 and under, it’s very easy for me to get sidetracked and forget what I’m doing OR to feel like I’ve only accomplished one thing instead of several important tasks. I also really like her Simplified Dinners ebook.
i haven’t used her dinners book, but am tempted because it’s another sticky place for me! i’ve been working with a bullet journal too…and loving it. glad that it’s giving you breathing room even in the midst of stress.
peace keep you.