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| Image courtesy of Pinterst |
For as long as I can remember I have been obsessed with
perfection, planning, and organizing. I love to alphabetize, color code, FIFO
(first in, first out) and purge things. As a child I would spend hours working
on organizing my pogs.
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| Image courtesy of Pinterest |
Then as I got a little older collectors cards.
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| Image courtesy of ChristopherWink.com |
As
an adult my office/stores at work.
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| Image courtesy of Pinterest |
It’s an obsession that calms me and brings
me more happiness than red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.
That said, it should come as no surprise that I also
thoroughly enjoy routines, schedule, and structure. In the past few years I’m
found myself in a situation very new and different. I quit work to go back to
school full time about a year ago and since then have been struggling to find a
routine that works for me. School is not like my former job. I don’t have an
office that’s just for me with office hours, a big oak desk, a comfy chair, and
a fairly consistent to-do list and rotation of meetings. Instead, I have what I
view as chaos. Sometimes I have to go to campus, sometimes I don’t. When I go,
sometimes I have to be there from 1-3, sometimes from 8-11, sometimes from 9-10
and again from 6-9. Sometimes I have to write a 67-page paper, sometimes I have
to read 30 articles, sometimes I have to jot down 30 words of my own opinion to
share with the rest of the class. Sometimes I want to break down and scream,
sometimes I want to cry, sometimes I feel worthless and out of sorts.
I spent my first semester complaining about everything, my
second trying to just power through, and my third kind of moping. At the end of
the day, it doesn’t matter how I feel about it, when classes are or what the
assignments entail, I MUST get through it. So, I’ve come to the conclusion that
the best thing I can do for my family (who listens to my bitching) and myself,
is to figure out how to be happy in a situation I cannot change. My working
solution is to create a list of the things I would like to do each day in the
order I would like to do them and simply work down that list each day. What I
get done I get done, what I cannot get done, I simply cannot get done. There
shall be no more obsessing about this that and the other, no more feeling bad
about not being able to complete x, y, or z.
I will just work on what I can, when I can and practice the complicated
art of appreciation, gratitude and satisfaction at the end of each day. I will
make sure I’m focusing on priorities so if I have 10 hours of school work on
one day, I can make the best use of the rest of my time. My list is as follows
with the bold items as priorities:
1.
Wake
up at 7 am
2.
Complete Sun Salutation
3.
Drink 8 ounces of warm water with the juice of
half a lemon and a pinch of cayenne pepper
4.
Spend 15 minutes of quality time with Opal
(training, snuggling…)
5.
Enjoy
a fresh green juice or smoothie
6.
Exercise
for at least 30 minutes or 500 calories burned, whichever comes first with
stretching to start and to finish
7.
Meditation and gratitude practice
8.
Have a protein filled snack
9.
Complete
my morning routine
a.
Dry Brush
b.
Shower
c.
Neti
10. Read
Feedly feed with coffee
11.
Complete
homework as needed
12.
Complete
Chores
a.
Make Bed
b.
Clean kitchen
c.
Wipe down bathroom counters
d.
Complete weekly chore (such as mopping)
e.
Complete monthly chore (such as vacuum curtains)
13. Blog
for 1 hour
14. Work
on planners for Etsy for 1 hour
15.
Spend
15 minutes of quality time with Opal (training, snuggling…)
16. Have
a protein and fiber filled lunch
17. Work
on creative project for 1 hour
18. Spend
quality time with family for at least 2 hours
19. Have
a low calorie snack
20. Have
a protein and fiber filled lunch
21. Complete
PM Routine:
a.
Food prep for next day
b.
Wash face
c.
Moisturize
d.
Weekly self-care (such as pedicure)
e.
Evening yoga sequence
22. Read
for pleasure for 1 hour
23.
Bed
by 11 pm
Wish me luck!
