Wow! Check it out, I'm blogging!
So, I'm a working mom of 2 boys. I have a 5 year old and an almost 1 year old. I work a full time job and in my "free time" I try to help my husband run his kung fu studio...and I periodically actually take classes. That alone, I'm sure you would agree would fill up my day. But there are LOTS of other things I KNOW I do, but some days I get to around 9:00 at night and my boys are put to bed and I look around the house at all the stuff that I NEED to do and I wonder "What the hell did I do today?"
I'm sure I'm not alone in this thought.
To add to my own wonderings, I have to often answer that same question by other people in my life: my boss and coworkers when they need something from me or for some reason think I'm slacking. My husband when he comes home and notices some chores and such not done. My dad...oh, he just asks that question all the time (you have to know my dad). And an assortment of others I may have some responsiblity to at one time or another.
Now, they don't actually PHRASE the question the way I stated it "What the hell...", but often that is how I hear it. And once the the question is proposed, I sometimes scramble to answer it, and then start thinking "what DID I do? I know I did something. I know I did LOTS of somethings."
A couple of days ago I was at a Staff Retreat and my boss brought up this exact subject. Often his employees ask the same question of him, so to start off the retreat he gave us a very itemized list of all the things he did the day before. The list felt almost endless, and in a way, it was. And that got my mind going....my list is endless too! And I'm sure others are as well.
I decided that it might be interesting and informative to keep a running list of EVERYTHING I do each day. I thought it would even be fun to make it into a blog, because I thought "others can probably relate to this." Part of me even thought it would be interesting if lots of people in my life did this, so we could compare day's activities, but that would most likely result in me getting NOTHING done. My list would consist of "Read up on what all my friends, family, and coworkers did today". It sure WOULD make my life easier, but I definitely wouldn't get much accomplished ;)
For many, many years I've been trying to create habits to help me be better organized. I've read lots of books, blogs, and websites on "organization". I've even taken seminars. One of the first things any of these things tell you is that you should track what you do each day and then go back and see how you can improve and streamline. Maybe by keeping this list for a couple of weeks, I can look back and see ways where I can streamline what I'm doing and make better use of my time.
I don't know how long I'll be able to keep these lists going...because YEAH, it's one more thing on my list, and it DOES take up TIME. But though the lists are very looooooong, I try not to put much time into them. I keep a little "post-it note" on my computer desktop and whenever I have a moment, I type up the last few things I did. You'll probably notice LOTS of misspellings (I'm a horrible speller) and some comments may not make any sense at all. That's pretty much because I'm just typing things quickly and I'm not really going back to re-read them for editing.
I don't expect that many will actually read every word of any of my lists, but maybe something will catch your eye and you'll say "hey, I did that today too" or "oh yeah, I can relate." And maybe some people can actually give me some tips on how to organize my day better or how to handle some of the many things I do each day in a more efficient way.
I've been keeping lists for the past few days, so I have some catching up to do (I had trouble finding time to START the blog and when I did earlier in the week, I got some weird error message). This weekend I'll be posting a couple of days' lists in one day. Once I get everything updated, then I'll just post "What the hell I did -- TODAY."
I hope some people get a little bit of enjoyment out of my lists. Maybe even get some enlightenment. And please share some recommendations if you have any.
THANKS!
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I'm looking forward to the lists. I often wonder what people do. As for myself I don't do much of anything that I can think of that would be of interest to anyone LOL.
ReplyDeleteHey J - I believe you have a little guy that you help take care of each and every day. That's a BIG thing to do!
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed keeping a blog - it's neat to look back years later at what you were doing.
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog. It's fun and well written. I can relate to your attempts at organization. I live alone, but still feel disorganized.
ReplyDeleteStarting my own business is a huge exercise in being organized. My business partners and clients rely on me to be organized and I have to juggle all sorts of new learning experiences. I found this little notebook that has three "pad" - task, errands, contact. It's my newest attempt at "seeing" what needs to be done.
I am the voice in my own head that asks - what HAVE you done all day? For example, it is already 1:05 today and I have made no big accomplishments. I have a friend who lists only 3 things everyday that she has to accomplish. She understands she will feel successful if she can get 3 things done. Since I try for 50, 3 seems easy, but I can't even identify just 3 priorities.
I think the accomplishments of the day are overrated. Why do we measure ourselves by how much we do? I am sure the highlights of your day are the intangibles. You made your kids laugh; you fed your children; you taught them something new; you brought joy to your co-workers and you gave your husband love and support. See you DID do a HELL of a lot today.
Jan, thanks so much for your feedback! I can totally relate to your struggles and thoughts. I think I even have that same pad that you have...problem is, you have to remember where you put it while you're jumping around from task to task each day - LOL!
ReplyDeleteI like your friend's suggestion of only writing down 3 things each day. Seems like it WOULD be easier to only get 3 things done rather than 50, but like you, I also would have a hard time prioritizing what those 3 things should be. Also, when it comes to my work day, I have "outside" sources adding MORE things to that list. Others who believe I should really be able to accomplish 8 things rather than 3.
Two weeks ago I went to a Design & Management conference in DC. It was filled with conference sessions on "how to keep your creative team creative", how to stay "inspired" in a corporate world, and how to track and prioritize your time. But the session that ended up being the MOST enlightening to me was one about people's behaviors. I took a survey before the session and was given a report on "what kind of person I am." The report didn't really tell me anything I didn't know, but during the next 3 hours we discussed how 'So this is you, but those around you aren't the same you, so how do we all get along and figure out how best to work with each other.'
Of course I know everyone around me isn't like me, but having this discussion and learning about people's different needs and motivators opened my eyes and made me realize that "understanding one another" really goes a loooong way into being able to "live with each other."
Since that conference I've been doing alot of thinking and talking about "who I am and who others are" and how can we all get along. Some of my talks have been successful, some well...
This blog/list is partially an attempt to helping others understand ME and what challenges I face each day. I also hope, I will be able to look back at my life and understand MYSELF alot better. And of course, I'm hoping to get some valuable insight and suggestions from people like you, which I think will also help me better understand myself and OTHERS.
Thank you for your reminder of what is important. I think most of us really do know that it isn't those "tangible" things like finishing a project or doing the laundry. Though "work" gives us the money that we need to house, cloth, and feed ourselves, our "tangible" accomplishments aren't what we will truly carry with us through our lives. It's the relationships we create, the memories we leave, and the experiences we may pass on to others. Those things are actually things that will follow us into the "afterlife" as they will live on in those we interact with after we are gone.
Thank you, Jan. THANK YOU!
You just hit on exactly what I am struggling with at this point in time - understanding my company partners and having them understand me. I wish I could have been at that conference.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot about managing creative people and have always loved doing it. By the way, it is a process that takes experimentation and time. I was always lucky to have the same people to manage for years and years so I could see the fruits of my efforts over a long span of time.
Now I am in a slightly different position. I am running a company with partners not employees. The trick here is they don't know how to interpret my business approach and are somehow finding looking for work scary rather than a logical necessity. It's not the outcome of being a successful business that drives them, it's the creative opportunities that new projects give them. I'm left wondering if I'm the only one who cares about the business.
It's a huge gap in comprehension of what it means to be in business. My efforts to motivate the creative team to be business people is being miss-understood as some kind of frantic effort to support myself when I see myself as trying to make a viable and successful business for all. Even though my partners share in any profit, that doesn't seem to be a motivator.
As I am writing this I am thinking the key is to explain things in terms of what motivates the people you manage not what motivates you. Aha!
If anyone out there has any insights, I would love to hear them.