Resisting a nap.... 2-8-14

I woke up a little before 7:30 without an alarm and was contemplating going back to sleep when the 7:30 weekend alarm rang.  So now it is 10:30 am and I am organized and once I get a shower am ready for the day.

I was laying on the bed reading comics and was so overwhelmed by the desire for a nap.  I have been working hard at home and at school and am tired.  At the same time, thinking about all I'd like to do and the joy of getting the house organized is giving me the motivation I need.  I will try and persevere.  Listening to an audible book helps keep the sleepiness away.

It has been so nice waking with time to eat, read comics, make lunch (and often a protein snack or dinner) and get organized for the day!  The first floor is almost completely organized and it is so wonderful to go downstairs each morning and have the first floor orderly.  I don't always get the dishes done, but I only need 10 minutes or so to empty dishwasher and put dirty dishes in.

Yesterday evening I cleaned off the bookshelf at school.  It was so unorderly that we had it covered with a large piece of material.  Not only did I clean it off, but I found a place or tossed all that was there.  I didn't just put it somewhere else.  My desktop is about 75% cleared.  I ran out of time and had to bring those papers/materials home to sort.

I am still a little bit awed by the changes taking place.  I have had the desire to get organized for soooooooooo long, but haven't had the energy and motivation simultaneously.  Now I do!!!!

The little changes add up.  I located the crock pot.  It was in a box in the bedroom closet all this time. I didn't think I had put it in the basement.  Now I can make one of my favorite recipes - Moroccan Chicken!  My cookbooks are now on the bookshelf!!!

Now that I have gotten started on the teacher bookshelf across from my desk at school, next week I hope to start with the filing cabinet drawers.  At a minimum I will do at least 1 drawer.  I really think that a huge impediment was view of looking at the project of organizing my desk as one large project, and wasn't able to break it into pieces.  The progress at home has definitely made the possibility of doing this at school real!!!

I am feeling more awake and have resisted a nap!  I was hoping I could.  I got at least 7.5 - 9 hours (I can't remember what time I went to sleep) asleep so I didn't think I needed one yet.  At the same time,  a nap is on today's schedule:)

An organized first floor!!! 2-6-14

I am quite certain I have never had the first floor this organized.  The only cabinets left to do are the dishes, pots and pans and baking/spices/tea cabinets.  Those are all functional, but will be even better once I get to them.  I am experiencing a little bit of disbelief...I can't remember the last time I so enjoyed "getting my house in order".  I am following the adage, "a place for everything and everything in it's place".  My challenge prior to now is that I hadn't established "places", so many things were placed randomly or where there was room.  It feels soooooo good!  I am so loving this.  I have made some progress at school.  At school it is harder because when I am there before school/after school there is planning and grading to do.  I will endeavor to set aside 15-30 every day to get my desk looking beautiful.

Actually, thinking about it, if I can do it at home then I can do it at school.  The primary challenge is I can't do it on the weekend when I am well rested.   So.....I will need to do it in the am.  Now that I am getting up early, I can!  There is light at the end of the tunnel!

The beauty of getting things in order is that it is easy to maintain.  Granted some nights I am exhausted and don't want to empty the dishwasher before I go to sleep; but I am much more prone to do it now than I would have a month ago.  I am no longer overwhelmed when it comes to caring for my house.  In my life, this has been the only area where I feel I haven't been able to overcome obstacles.  This represents amazing progress and increased potential to thrive in other areas of my life.  Being more organized at home translates into increased calm and more time and energy to put towards other endeavors and activities!!!!!!

Day and Night

My theme this week has become SLEEP.  On Monday night, it seems I fell asleep putting Russell to bed.  I awoke feeling unsurprisingly refreshed at 7:15 AM.   My pajamas?  No need!  Those work clothes, complete with badge attached to hip, were comfortable enough for a good slumber.  And dinner in the kitchen?  Still there, waiting patiently to be cleaned and stored.

But I sure felt great all day! 

My next steps are to make a poster list of "How to become a morning person" and follow the steps every day.  I started today with a big glass of water and protein for breakfast, per your article suggestion.  The exercise bit is a puzzler because my exercise is walking/running, habitually.  Maybe I should plan to run my own stairs for ten minutes?  Wait, that's overzealous.  How about walking those stairs for ten minutes?  That's more like it.

Another aspect of this transformation is light.  I plugged the "Biobrite" back in and it definitely helps with the waking process.  These really work, so you may want to add this to your wish list.  There are several competitor products at a lower price point.  And in the summer, the sunshine is free.  :)

Cheerio!

Survival vs. Thrival

Survive.  It was the best I could come up with as my "word of the year" for 2014.  This is because I felt pretty beat up at work for not learning a complex process which reportedly takes years.  But, as the "Tepper MBA" it seems there is an assumed competence level.  That was and is absent.  For many, it takes one year or cycle to become competent and four or five years to grasp the whole picture.  Okay, I really need to NOT internalize negative feedback so much.  Point taken.

Thrive.  Tia Laura is a gifted perspectivist who finds the more optimistic view of situations.  She listened to my concern.  And she read my concerns and resulting "word of the year" in a different way, suggesting that my goal be to thrive in 2014.  Thrive.  So instead of rubbing salt into my wound by focusing on "survival" throughout the year, my goal will be to thrive in my new life in 2014.

Coincidentally, there is a book being released in March called Thrive:  Redefining Success, Creating a Life of Wellbeing, Wisdom, and Wonder.  I've pre-ordered it on audible and hope it will resonate with me once I get my ears and brain around it.

http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Redefining-Success-Creating-Well-Being/dp/0804140847/ref=pd_sim_b_3

4:45 am!!!!

I woke up at 4:45 am and it wasn't such a struggle!  I filled out the Mindtools activity log yesterday while I was doing things around the house.  It was interesting and gave me some important insight.  More later:)

A recent success has been making a schedule of what I'd like to get accomplished and then using the activity log to track what I get done.  I realize that my biggest problem is that I don't allow enough time to complete tasks.  By using the activity tracker, I am getting a better idea of how much time different activities take, and how some activities easily veer off in another direction and sometimes it's good to merge them.

It is wonderful how productive I have been!  More later:)

granular checklists:)

We all have different ways of keeping track of our progress/showing advancement toward our goals.  I have trouble with the granular actions also.

Maybe you could take a look at someone else's list of granular actions and apply it to one of your projects?

Have a terrific Tuesday!  I have been posting to the blog:)

On Monday, January 20, 2014, Sunday Tollefson <sundaybizwiz@yahoo.com> wrote:

Need to improve on creating tactical plans that are granular actions so there is some idea of what is happening moving forward and can check boxes.  My team is obsessed with checking boxes off every Monday morning. 

Monday, 1-20-14

I just realized another plus of the blog!  I can write to you and know that "sending it" won't make your phone bing and potentially wake you up!

I woke up at 6:45 am.  We are off today and I was so tempted to sleep in, but I am up.  I overcame the urge to take a nap yesterday evening!  It's progress!

Session #2

Hey Sunday, we just finished our 2nd session!!  I started our blog.  I named it Adelita.  I'll explain more later.  I see an option to post links, but I don't know if it is the same as in a google group where you have one set area for articles or readings.  We'll see as we go.  If this doesn't work, we can always find another option for the blog.

More later, xxoo Laura