Being a human is hard. Being an adult is even harder. Being a parent, on top of being an adult and a human is kind of the hardest thing ever. Not only are you responsible for yourself, but now you have spawn that is totally dependent on you too. Wait a sec, I can barely clean my own room – who the heck thought it was a good idea to add MORE responsibility to my plate? Oh yeah, me. Oops. But here’s the problem (deep breath) I’ve added ANOTHER spawn to my full day, and I am losing track of my day. But, Tall Dad and I came up with a great plan on how to keep track of it all…
But before we continue, let me just explain why I’m a crazy woman. Between my son, my new daughter, a burgeoning media company that Tall Dad and I created on the fly, keeping my house in order, maintaining a reasonable social life, and, oh, that small thing of being a good wife and having some time to myself – my day never stops.
You know what?
They were right.
Goodness, I think people my age are single handedly keeping the therapy business afloat.
Rather, the hardest subject has always been the daily tasks around the house.
I learned about this time management matrix in college (I think it’s called the
Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle), and I honestly think it’s saved my sanity more than once.
- First, you need to write down every item on your to-do list. The obvious, the overwhelming, and even those little annoying things that just need tackling.
- Now you should have a scary piece of paper, littered with different items which need to be done…but have no fear, the time management matrix will solve this!
- Grab a piece of plain paper, and you divide it into fourths. You label the quadrants as: Important and Urgent, Important but Not Urgent, Not Important but Urgent, or Not Important and Not Urgent.
- Now you will take the items your to-do list, and start putting them inside the appropriate quadrant. If something needs to be done within the next two days – then it is urgent. If it is something that has serious consequences if it isn’t done, then it is also important.
For example:
Bills that are close to being overdue – URGENT and IMPORTANT
Different tasks can belong in different quadrants for different people. For example, our cat litter completely ran out today. Normally picking up cat litter would be important but not urgent, but unless I want my kitties to leave treats for us around the house – I need to buy some quickly.
- We write these to do tasks in either a Red, Blue, and Black in utilizing the FriXion Erasable Pens (I found them at my local Target – and I love them because when you erase the ink there is NO MESS – unlike my old erasable pens from the ’90s! The FriXion Erasable Pens ink can even erase from fabric!!)
The red tasks are mine, and the blue are Tall Dad’s. When we complete the task, we just erase it!
Ta-Da!!
I keep our to-do list up on our fridge so we both see it each day, and make a new to-do list almost every week to make sure that our list is current with our needs.
PS – The brand Pilot, who makes the FriXion Erasable Pens, has partnered with STOMP Out Bullying – the leading national bullying and cyberbullying prevention organization, to help build awareness and fund educational programs designed to reduce and prevent bullying in schools across the country.
- With your purchase of Pilot’s FriXion Clicker erasable gel ink pens, you can help Pilot support & fund STOMP Out Bullying programs to ‘erase’ negative bullying behaviors and ‘rewrite’ positive, productive solutions.
- Pilot will be making a minimum of a $125,000 donation to STOMP Out Bullying, spanning 2015 and 2016. If annual sales goals are exceeded, additional funds will be donated. The additional funds, beyond the minimum $125,000 donation, will be determined based on sales performance & purchase quantities.
- Join Pilot’s efforts and let others know that their FriXion Clicker purchase can help erase bullying and back-to-school stress. With your support, together we can write a new chapter in U.S. schools
There’s a deal on the FriXion pens that I mentioned at Target– From 8/23 – 8/29 20% off: FriXion Clicker pen 3pk Assorted and FriXion Clicker pen 3pk Black
You sound a lot like me – There's always something to do, always items to prioritize, and I often feel overwhelmed by my To Do Lists. I like the idea of determining how urgent/important tasks are and then erasing each one as they are completed. #client