Slow Down

Posted on April 20, 2016 by simpleijustdo

Yesterday, I had a real-live (paid) day off. It was fantastic. After the boys left I went back to bed for about a half hour, not to sleep, but just because I could. Then I got up and got dressed and headed to Panera to work on my novel revisions. I bought a bagel with cream cheese and a hot tea, and went to work. At about eleven, The Man called because we needed to pick out fixtures for the showers at the new house. After that was done, I came back home to a silent house, cleared off the dining table, and went to work again. It was glorious. I’m sorry there was no post yesterday, but sometimes a woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do.

The reason I had the day off was because CPAs traditionally take the day after the tax deadline off. I didn’t know this until I started working there, but it’s much deserved. The past three weeks or so have been off-the-rails busy, and the CPAs work much harder and even longer hours than I do.

During that especially busy season, I have realized that I attempt to do almost everything fast. Every task is a hurried rush, I type fast, I drive (slower than I used to – it’s the South, but still) fast, and even at home, I eat too fast. And I believe this started when I was teaching school, where you literally only had an hour to do all of your planning and prep, and only 25 minutes for lunch. Then the awful job at the boat place reinforced that with answering as many calls as you could, doing way too many tasks simultaneously, and not even taking a lunch break.

These rushing behaviors are leftover, but ingrained. I have decided to consciously slow down. Even with the tax deadline looming, I knew everything would get done, and I down-shifted my speed to a more sane level. It will take some work, but I think it will be worth it in the end, if only for my health and well being.

My new mantra: “Be the sloth…”

pexels-photo-24380

Just Sitting

Posted on November 19, 2013 by simpleijustdo

I’m just sitting here in the relative silence, ignoring the thousands of random thoughts, to-do list items, and NaNoWriMo story ideas that are flitting above my head, begging to be caught and tagged. Most of them have probably been “tagged” (written down) anyway, but I’m just too tired to collect them.

It’s a busy week. I suddenly have two interviews, along with two new tutoring students, one who decided to be a beast today, and the other is just, well, adorable (in kindergarten with developmental delays and I LOVE HER). I have to try to bring The Boy back down to Earth to get final assignments in to his current school before the Big Switch on Monday, while also prepping him on two new pieces of band music for a concert with his new band class the week after next. I also have to see his new doctor about getting him out of his PE requirement so he can even have band, and darn it, I didn’t turn in that library book. What am I going to make with that chicken sitting in the sink defrosting? I haven’t written a thing today, meaning I’m exactly 1667 words behind, and now my projected end date will be past the November 30 deadline if I don’t do something about it. I have that registration paperwork to complete and get back to the new school, too, and when am I going to pick up the new tuba? I’ve committed to helping The Man paint at his current work site, but I think I can only work a half day tomorrow, and not at all on Thursday, due to interviews and other stuff. We really should get a new gas tank and hookup before cooking Thanksgiving dinner. And I have to wash these jeans – they can probably stand on their own by now. Speaking of washing, The Boy’s hair is way overdue…

Hm. How ’bout that? Got ’em tagged after all, didn’t I? I’m sure I missed some, floating up there…

Crazy Busy Week

Posted on February 26, 2013 by simpleijustdo

Don’t Worry – that’s not my hairy arm! (stress by bottled_void)

This week is one of those where I just know I’m going to be stressed out, and after the huge meltdown this weekend, and The Man leaving, I’m rather dreading it. I have an evaluation by my boss, multiple after school meetings that will last multiple hours, the landlord is due to come over to inspect the house to see what needed repairs there are, and I have an evening school event. I also have to be “on call” for a nonprofit board meeting, you know, one that I backed out of because I was so busy this week…

The bright spot is a Girls’ Night Out right in the middle of the week — I just hope I can enjoy it with the rest of this going on. And I hope the forecasted snowstorm doesn’t mess that up!

I also hope The Boy is OK with a babysitter for two nights in a row. Usually it isn’t a problem, but after this weekend, I’m a little skittish.

All I can do is take it day by day, hour by hour, and just try to stay as calm as possible. Oh, and remember to breathe. And maybe stop for some sweet tea on the way to work, or pick up a magazine to read for the evening…

Anyone else a little crazy this week?

Forethought

Posted on July 15, 2012 by simpleijustdo

Merriam-Webster defines forethought as: “1 : a thinking or planning out in advance 2 : consideration for the future”.

One of my favorite things to do is plan. Ask my boyfriend, Mr. We-don’t-need-a-reservation. I plan events at work, thinking through every detail about traffic flow, announcements, seating arrangements, and clean-up. And I love to plan vacations, although I now have to reign it in a bit, coming up with “possibilities” for us to do (and calendaring them all, just so we know where and when we could do them. If we wanted…).

It doesn’t ALWAYS work out so well, though. I’ve tried that plan for housecleaning, (you know the one) that entails doing a different chore everyday for a month. I like it in principal, but in my house, with one person doing all the cleaning… Let’s just say it got as far as the calendar, and then it was toast.

And what happens when the plan doesn’t work, or you just can’t get to it ahead of time? Consider being on the other end. How many times have I been in a staff meeting, or watched some new program being implemented, and thought, “Well, that could have gone better with a little forethought!” I’ve also been able to look back after a major meltdown and realize that it was ALL MY FAULT, because I didn’t think about what would happen if I forgot the wipes, if the ex bailed on his kid again, or if I got stuck at work .

I’m pointing my finger at myself as I write this: MAYBE, if I don’t have time to put forethought into it, MAYBE I shouldn’t do it. Maybe I need to create some time in my schedule to think about stuff before it happens, so I can envision all outcomes, and be better prepared. And if I can’t find time to do that, maybe I’m too busy, and some things on my agenda need to be delegated, shelved, or deleted.

I know I need to do this more. I know that my son and I can preempt some meltdowns this way.

How about you?