How to be more organized WITHOUT being more cranky

[deleted] · 2016-05-27T17:58:10+00:00

My only advice!

Come to IRC and chat with me and /u/Camille11325 about planners!! :D

SuperSlavisWife · 2016-05-27T15:05:33+00:00

Married, running 5 different work projects @20h/week, full time and largely sole housekeeper, growing our own food, dog and a cat. (PS: Bipolar, woo! So whatever I do I get the boom and bust cycle you describe, which sucks, but my schedule is actually designed to minimize the crash and make the most of the mania, so maybe it will help.] So I have a lot on my plate, but it may not be applicable to your situation.

Anyways, my tricks for staying on schedule:

1: Make a list of tasks that need to be done daily.

Every morning when the basics are done (more on that below], sit down over a cup of coffee and write a daily list. Just jot down everything you absolutely need to do today.

My example:

hoover

mop

bleach patio

dust

feed pets breakfast and dinner

run the dog at least twice

do the dishes

iron two shirts

finish writing 7k words

shower

5h of lessons

go down to Jon's grandmother's house in time for tea

cook a stew

2: Divide them by the time of day.

Don't give yourself a set time for them. Just divide them into morning, afternoon and evening jobs. Or split them with breaks to play with the kids. Or split them with meditation sessions. Just create three to five times of day and sort your tasks into the best time slots. Mine are divided into lumps of paid work and of house things.

My example:

Slot one: 4.30-8.00: get up, sort emails, finish the writing, get up and dressed

Slot two: 8.00-11.00: feed the animals, run the dog, do the dusting, prepare the stew, do the dishes, eat, take my supplements

Slot three: 11.00-13.30: two lessons

Slot four: 13.30-15.00: iron, hoover, mop, bleach the patio

Slot five: 15.00-17.30: lessons and study support

Slot six: 17.30-19.00: shower, walk the dog to Jon's grandmother's house, feed the animals when back

3: Work through them piecemeal.

Don't rush yourself or time yourself, just make sure the morning tasks are done by the afternoon, the afternoon ones by the evening and the evening ones before you go to bed. So far I am on track. Some days I need to carry chores over. It happens.

4: Write up a morning and evening routine you can stick to.

Again, if there are a few things you need to do every morning then you may as well write up a morning routine and give yourself 30-90 minutes to get it done. Same for a bedtime routine. These are great for setting the pace for your day and keeping you on track.

My example:

Morning routine: get up, washed, dressed, feed animals, wash the dishes, clean the patio down, have food and supplements, quick tidy round, check my emails. 60 minutes most days.

Evening routine: get Jon's food ready for next day, feed animals, quick tidy round, shower, pajamas. 35 minutes most days.

5: Write up a weekly schedule.

Some things don't fit into daily routine, but are routine tasks. Some things are best done daily, but are OK if you can only do them a couple of days a week. Establish one day for everything, based on your own needs, so that even if you forget to do a job one day you will still have the set day to fall back on.

My example:

Monday: top up laundry, pet laundry, bedding

Tuesday: clearing my writing down, clean the bathroom, bleach tea-stained things

Wednesday: sort eBay, tidy garden

Thursday: main laundry, ironing

Friday: mop, hoover, bleach patio, dust, tidy

Saturday: plan blog posts, DIY

Sunday: baking day, clean kitchen top to bottom

6: Plan breaks.

Breaks don't always fit in just right. If you don't use breaks to split up your day, then at least write a break into each section.

If you want me to design you a schedule spreadsheet like the one I use, then just PM me and I can help you out a bit.

BeautifulSpaceCadet · 2016-05-27T13:54:27+00:00

Disclaimer: unmarried and unmothered and a total stress ball so...take with grain of salt.

Honestly I don't have a great suggestion other than I know that I have the same tendencies. Right now I keep snapping in the same way because my SO is so. damn. busy. He does contract work and there is an end in site (when they expire), but it gets to be measurably more and more busy every single day until they end..and that's not a figure of speech, that's how it works. Right now he is working 6am-12pm, he's far away from me so I can barely help, and I hardly hear from him other than a quick phone call here and there.

I don't know how to really constructively cope with it per se, but I've gotten a lot better at just letting it roll off my back. I'm not sure "eh, just stop giving a shit" is really the best advice tbh...but I don't think it's super harmful if the situation is temporary. My mantra right now is seriously "it doesn't matter". If I get upset I've barely spoken to him then I remind myself it doesn't matter, it's just temporary. If I get overwhelmed by how much I have to do helping his business and tending to my own job...then I remind myself it doesn't matter and it's just temporary.

It was kind of hard to do at first and I kept having the same attitude breakdowns you're describing every few days...but they've grown much farther apart. I was actually just patting myself on the back yesterday because I realized I've felt pretty baseline neutral for the last 7-10 days which is really good for me. Just reminding myself it's all just temporary bullshit and pushing it out of my brain has been my answer. I wouldn't suggest that as a long-term solution since it's utterly unconstructive...but if it gets me through the day right now in the short-term then there's some value to "by whatever means necessary".

PixieDelights · 2016-05-27T14:53:18+00:00

Are you scheduling some "me time"? My husband is a stay at home dad right now, but for the 8 years before that we both worked from home. When our daughter was first born I let her set her schedule and then about 6 months in I realized I had to get her in bed at a decent time, and now years later I realize how important those 3-4 or so hours after she goes to bed at 7:30 are to me. Generally the first hour is all me, and my husband let's me have it to do whatever I want. Then there is some bonding time, and then maybe 30 minutes or more before I go to bed.

Sometimes I use that free time to catch up on work, but most of the time I read or work on a craft or just zone out and browse the internet. Either way, it is my time and I find that if I don't get it several days in a row that I can start getting cranky.

sariaru · 2016-05-27T15:44:37+00:00

So this totally isn't helpful advice at all, but this entire post made me think of this hilarious blog post.

I'm also a SAHM to almost two kids (#2's due any day ~~last week~~ now), so I feel the struggle, both with keeping on top of things and not being a cranky bitch to my husband if I'm underperforming.

[deleted] · 2016-06-03T15:33:00+00:00

I get along fine for a few days, proudly accomplishing things, even making time to meditate or write...and then suddenly I completely run out of steam.

Not a regular here, but in GTD, there's a big focus on staying organized enough for things to run smoothly while avoiding being too organized to the point that you're wasting energy, which will inevitably lead to burnout. That might be a concept worth considering. gl

Title	How to be more organized WITHOUT being more cranky
Author	Eterfinifrete
Upvotes	11
Comments	14
Date	May 27, 2016 1:41 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RedPillWives
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RedPillWives/comments/4laru4/how_to_be_more_organized_without_being_more_cranky/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RedPillWives/how-to-be-more-organized-without-being-more-cranky.209951 https://theredarchive.com/post/209951

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