time management

maman

It's a good idea to separate the tasks into what you would like to do daily, weekly, monthly. So perhaps clearing round the kitchen/bathroom and general tidy up needs to be daily. For cleaning I'd do one room a week really properly (unless you live in a mansion:rotfl:) so all rooms are deep-cleaned regularly plus general vacuum and dust. For me, meal planning and associated shopping list is weekly too. Washing tends to be to suit the weather and ironing when it can't be avoided but they need fitting somewhere. Monthly would be things like sorting a cupboard or a drawer, cleaning windows or washing paintwork. Then there's ongoing projects like decorating or gardening.

Oh and delegate any jobs you can!!

P.S. There will be slippage but aim high!

beautiful_ravens

One day I wrote a list of things I had done AFTER Id done them. There was loads!! Its a neat way of seeing what you have done, without the list of things you havent done staring back at you.
Another day, I timed how long it took me to do certain jobs - tidy the living room, wash up etc. so Id know roughly what amount of time each job took..For example I didnt realise it only took me 15 minutes to do a basic tidy and hoover of my living room. That made it seem less of a big deal.
HTH

monnagran

Yep! me too. Constantly side-tracked and Queen Procrastinator.
The best thing for me is the timer. I use my kitchen timer, set it for 15 minutes and having equipped myself with a bin bag, a box for things that are not in their right place, a damp cloth and a feather duster I start in one corner of a room and see how far I can get tossing and dusting, before the timer goes off. It's amazing. Then I do something else for 10 or 15 minutes before going back to the original room and the place where I left off. In no time a sort of order is restored and a quick swoop round with the vacuum and there is one fairly presentable room. All you have to do then, if you can bear it, is to run round the house putting things from the box approximately where they belong.
I definitely think that short focussed bursts are more productive than the aimless drifting about that is my default method.

Paperwork can be dealt with in the same way. My brother taught me the 'one touch' way of dealing with things. If you pick something up, like a letter or form, you are not allowed to put it down until you have dealt with it and can either file it or toss it.

My biggest time-waster? Surfing these forums and giving people the dubious benefit of my experience. Not for nothing am I known as Boss Cat.

HelenYorkshire

I'm awful at the minute, but I find that how I start the day is the key. E.g. yesterday I was up early, got dressed straight away (bear with me ), brought radio into kitchen, finished some batch cooking in the kitchen, cleared space and froze said batch cooking, blitzed kitchen, scrubbed floor, hoovered rest of house (it's teeny, don't panic!), did 4 loads of laundry including rugs, cleared out/cleaned/re-set porch, pruned some garden plants.....
Today I was up early, hung around in pyjamas with a cup of tea and put the tv on "just for 10 minutes", switched laptop on......and on and off I've been reading online or watching 4od/iplayer.
Spot the difference

ETA - the 15 minute timer strategies don't work for me, once I've got momentum I enjoy cracking on and keeping going. It's all about the starting for me

Sambucus_Nigra

I use a white board for loads of things; menu planning, shopping lists [put it on as soon as you are getting short on things], and tasks to be done. Then you can cross them off and see plainly what has been done.

For me, getting dressed early and getting on with things is key.

Itsadogslife_2

I like lists I don't write unrealistic targets but even if it is just "empty dishwasher" when it is done and I cross it off, it makes me feel productive.

I could also do with a little help though, I manage to run the hoover round nearly daily and dust down the obvious surfaces but the ad hoc jobs just dont seem to get done - I look up and notice a cobweb and think I must get it, or wiping down the skirting boards, mopping the floors etc. is just an as and when I think about it (but could do with being done more often ).

zippychick

ive merged this with our time management thread

this thread should also be useful

Zip

LameWolf

I'm just poodling about the Forum while I wait for Mr LW to get home from work, so that he can give Sidney, our diabetic canine house-guest his insulin injection, and I came across this thread.

You know, one of the [STRIKE]best[/STRIKE] most useful books I ever read is "Time Management for System Administrators" by Thomas Limoncelli. Whilst a lot of it is aimed at time-strapped, disorganised techies, there's a whole lot of good stuff that us ordinary mortals can take on board; very useful for people like myself, who, though being disabled and dealing with chronic illness, have to pace themselves carefully.

Little things like: If you need to remember to take something with you when you go out, put it by the front door. But tell your partner, lest they mumble about you being a lazy/untidy wotnot and tidy it away.:D

I have all my tasks listed in my PDA - yes, literally everything, right down to "change the bedlinen". With brainfog, you can easily forget! I can set it to cheep at me if I want, and I can assign a priority to each job, and if it's a regular task, set it to repeat at the required intervals.

Only thing is, if a task you don't fancy is on today's list, you have to RESIST the temptation to change the date to tomorrow......:rotfl:

pavlovs_dog

6 years on from starting this thread, and I'm finally making progress on the organisation front. I'm still not where I'd like to be (and I'm not convinced there's enough hours in the day to be *THAT* organised ) but I'm much better than I was.

I still struggle with the routine of checking a diary daily, however lists have been the thing that's made the difference for me. I think I've also become a lot more realistic about how much I'm able/likely to achieve in a single day.

keep the faith old stylers, it can be done

Sambucus_Nigra

Have you thought about a pad diary - a weekly sheet that sits in front of or under your keyboard, with days on that you can write lists on and once the week is over, peel it off, start afresh and then just note down the tasks that are carried over that you NEED or WANT to do?