Getting organized
These days I tend to feel like there are not enough hours in a day to do all the things I need to do. It’s crazy, but when I was younger (much younger), I felt like I could do everything and still find time to hang out with friends, watch my shows on TV, and get enough sleep to feel rested and well energized the next day. That is no longer the case. Perhaps it’s because I am older, or perhaps it is because I am busier. Whatever the case may be, these days I sometimes find myself feeling like a headless chicken chasing my tail and wondering how I’ll ever catch up.
It’s not because I am not organized. I think I am pretty organized as far being organized is concerned. I make long detailed lists of what I have to do and my time frame for accomplishing each task as well as who I have to call, places I have to go. I hardly ever lose track of what is important, but at the same time I can never seem to find enough time in the day to actually accomplish all I have to do to my satisfaction. I don’t want to produce half-baked work and I like to dedicate enough time to each project I have on my plate to make it turn out good.
On top of that, I also have been trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I have changed my eating habits, consuming more healthy and calorie-friendly food such as fish, vegetables, granola, oatmeal and fruits. It’s been making me feel better, but at the same time I am also feeling weak from cutting down on my regular intake (which was long overdue since I desperately want to shed some pounds). So, in order to combat the weakness that comes with it, I have started going to gym more often in the hopes of raising my serotonin and endorphin levels and getting my energy back up. Unfortunately that also takes up at least an hour and a half if not more of my time. I try to get up earlier to get the gym out of the way in the morning, but it’s usually difficult because I sleep late finishing all the other things I have to do.
It’s an endless cycle and every day that passes, I tend to get more and more frustrated. I feel like the lists I make just get carried over to the next day and it turns into a never-ending list with little hope of ever getting shorter. At the start of the day I always wake up positive and tell myself I will finish everything today. Then something gets in the way — a rush piece of work, traffic, or a home issue. Either way, some things always get pushed back and I get frustrated thinking tomorrow will be the day and so on and so on.
At the same time though, don’t get me wrong: I am so grateful for being busy and having lots of work on my plate. In our current economy I am never one to say no to work and I love being busy and having things to do. It’s a crazy cycle of loving what I do and freaking out because I need more time to finish everything, which I am trying to break.
Another reason I feel more harassed may also be because I am older now and tend to need more rest than I did when I was in college and could write a term paper overnight, rush to school without any sleep, and be fine all day. I did something similar for work once recently and was nodding off by lunchtime. Plus, coffee doesn’t hit me anymore the way that it used to.
So what is the solution to this ongoing pattern? Well, as clichéd as it sounds, time management is really the key to getting every thing done. I have to be more forgiving of myself and just continue to do the best I can every day. I have to make my lists not only in terms of what I have to finish but the order of importance in which they have to get done. That way, at least if I can only tick off five items from a 10-item list, they were the five most important. Likewise, sleeping early will also allow me to wake up earlier and have more time during the day. (Ironically I am writing these words at almost 2 a.m. I plan to start the sleeping early tomorrow.) And making time to work out regularly I am sure will help me maintain my energy.
With all of that in mind, I am very positive that these last few months in the year are going to be very productive. I have such high hopes and plans for the latter part of the year I can barely sit still thinking of them and this time, instead of getting frustrated and annoyed I am not at the finish line yet, I will remind myself to enjoy the race more. Perhaps in that way I can actually reach the finish line without even knowing it!
