Sometimes I sit back at the end of a long hard day and think to myself, "Today was a productive day." Then sometimes I sit back and wonder what exactly happened. I had hours to get things accomplished and I achieved absolutely nothing. And then, there are days like today. A delightful mix of both. A day when at the end, absolutely no goals were met but where so many productive things were accomplished.
My parents are coming for a visit in about three weeks. I've made great strides in making sure my home looked more homey than the last time they were here. Unfortunately, I still have strides to make. After putting in my time at school, I come home and I'm ready to sit down and relax in the easy chair and spend quality time with my tv. Weekends are reserved for the heavy lifting and house fixing. The few of you who have been around from the beginning know about and roll your eyes at my love affair with making lists. Every Friday afternoon I make the weekend to do list. This weekend's list was long with no room for getting off track.
- Sort laundry
- Do laundry
- Put up dishes off of drainboard
- Vacuum
- Clean bathroom
- Fix two meals for leftovers during the week
- Unpack kitchen box
- Hang up pictures and shelves in bedroom
- Organize school crate to take back to school
- Organize spare bedroom
- Iron wrinkled clothes
- Finish open scrapbook projects
As you can see, and I am now reminded of, I had a busy weekend planned. Yep...that verb was had. Somewhere between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning my plans went completely off track. This is what did happen:
- Slept late and then read in bed for an hour
- Agreed to a spur of the moment shopping spree with a friend that needed a little company
- Waited a ridiculously long amount of time in line for my tall shot of heaven from Starbucks
- Looked at five apartment complexes with said friend who is in the process of making a major life change and moving out on her own
- Bought four pairs of shoes, a new handbag, and spent less than $85
- Found an absolutely adorable shower gift
- Picked up the last case of "summer" water in my favorite flavor (spearmint)
- Decided to have a Halloween party
- Learned a new recipe that I can't wait to try out
- Brought some comfort to a lady from work who is going through something horrible right now
- Managed to spend less than $100 at Walmart
- Watched one of my all time favorite movies (Beaches) and cried at all the right parts
As I crawled into bed at midnight I thought back over my day. There were things I needed to do that I'll attack with my very Scarlet-esc attitude of "that's another day" tomorrow. Oh, the average Joe that wonders by might argue that I accomplished nothing that I set out to accomplish and therefore today was a very unproductive day. But I'm discovering that there are a lot of degrees of productivity.
And for me...today...was a very productive day.
6 comments:
Steff,
What a great post, and I could relate all the way through, well except for the shot of Heaven at Starbucks. That part just made me glazey eyed with jealousy!
It sounds like you are doing a fantastic job on your own. I am really proud of you honestly. That is a huge accomplishment for anyone.
I know how you feel steff. I got up yesterday, made some instant oatmeal, then didn't do anything for a hour. Guess I could have made the real stuff.
I don't make lists, to fussy. I just keep it in my head. I have tons to do yet still always manage to get it all done.
Well back to my personal jurisdiction flow chart.
My downfall is procrastination. It leads to an unproductive day. If I stop midday to do something, my whole entire day is off---completely! And since I work from home, I have to be more disciplined.
But damn girl, you sound BUSY!
This sounds distressingly familiar.
Fin
You know damned well that I,too, am a list-maker. I make exhautive lists just the way you do... leaving no room for spontaneous episodes or sit-down time.
We are sick people, steff.
Luckily, I'm older and can impart some wisdom. Lists are like math. When there is too much in column,it makes perfect sense to "carry the one" into the next column. This is the beauty of math, and the beauty of tomorrows.
I believe productivity is in the eye of the beholder. Not many women can say they went into Walmart and spent under $100.00 that shows me that he have mastered the task of self restraint. Then look at the bargains you found with the shoes and hand bags. You can check of the life skill of bargain hunting. (something that is on every womens to do list). The fact that you made a list is more than I can say for myself. Enjoy the day and know that the list will be there in the morning for you to embark upon. Happy list making and don't forget to add relax on those yucky to do list.
Post a Comment