Staying Organized

Getting It All Done
Life is so busy right now. I could list it all but people would think I'm either a "look at me" kind of girl or think I do crack to keep up. I'm neither so just take my word for it; I keep it rocking from the moment my feet hit the ground until my head hits the pillow.

What makes it doable? This is what you want to know, not the what I do. Organizing myself and using time wisely. Here's a random list of stuff I do around the house and in life that keeps me from wasting time I simply don't have.

• I don't watch TV unless I'm doing cardio or cooking dinner. So what if I don't know who did what on said show? I also don't wake up each day trying to find a pair of pants that don't make butt look big.
  
• I make a list of to do's before bed to clear my mind before sleeping.
  
• Food prep, food prep, food prep. I try to prep up stuff as much as possible so that food is grab and go for me. When you spend as much time as I do driving you must have food with you to eat in the car. BTW, I haven't ate a protein bar in weeks. You see me eating cukes and chicken *** all the time riding down the road.
  
• Run your dishwasher while you sleep. Unload the dishwasher while you cook breakfast in the morning. Yes, I cook a fifties style breakfast each morning for my son and we eat together. Daddy is joining us soon, too! If they can do it back then surely we can do it now with our modern conveniences. Of course, I can't use a microwave or teflon with Logan's food, but I manage because he has to have fresh and hearty foods.
  
• Now that the dishwasher is unloaded, load it all day rather than piling dishes in the sink. I just rinse and put right in there so that it's ready to run at night.
  
• Sort your clothes when you take them off. I have two-three compartment sorters in the bedroom. Laundry is so much easier this way. I also drop a load off on the way out to preschool and throw it in the dryer when I get home. I fold while rice or something is cooking.
  
• Pack your workout clothes or lay them out the night before and know when you are going the next day. I never wake up thinking when am I going to workout? I plan those into my week ahead of time and then I know when to be ready. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to workout when "I" want to but most of the time I workout when "I" have to. That's fine because I'm doing it.
  
• I make phone calls to friends while waiting places. I often find myself waiting in an office and that's when I try to talk on the phone. I also bought a phone with email on it to stay on top of the website. Even if I can't respond I can at least keep the inbox clean by deleting off stuff I don't need to attend to. BTW...I get 300-600 emails a day depending on which day of the week it is.
  
• Ask for help! Sometimes I just have too much to do. I ask someone like my husband to pick up something, my mom to help out, or a friend to research something for me I don't have time to look up. It can be little things but it's those things that drag you down.
  
• I like a written calendar. I have an old school planner that I use to keep record of Logan's and my stuff. I write my personal things in red, Logan's stuff in blue, and "fun stuff" in green. Fun stuff is things I would like to do but don't have to do like support groups, sales, etc.
  
• Buy your foods in bulk. I've been catching a lot of meat and stuff on sale and freezing. This is saving me from going to the grocery store for an hour plus. I always take a list but if I catch a good sale on things we always use I buy up so that we save money AND don't have to remember to get each week.
  
• Don't be afraid to tell people you can't talk to them or need to call them back. I often tell people I have to call them back and I use that precious time when I'm sitting and waiting.
  
• Keep the things you use most frequently in the kitchen on the counter and store everything else.
  
• When you get gas clean out your car. I always have trash in the car that needs to be tossed.
  
• If you haven't worn it in a year, give it to someone who will. I keep a donate pile in the closet and when it gets big I throw it in bags and drop off at Goodwill. No sense looking and digging through stuff you ain't going to wear.

The reason I write this is because so many people use the excuse I don't have time to eat right and exercise. That's CRAP! Most of us actually have too much time on our hands and so we waste it. Start today and get your booty moving, your foods right, and your mind around the fact that you are destined to succeed with a little planning and sacrifice.

Also, I'd love any time saving tips you have because I'm always looking for ways to do it better than I did it today.