A testing day ahead

I think today will be a test.

I've never been particularly good at time management, basically because I'm easily distracted. I'll start working on something, get my attention drawn to something else, and before I know it the day has gotten away from me. This particular trait creates a number of problems, the most significant one being that I never seem to get anything done.

I've know for years that I work best when I work with a schedule. A to-do list is good, but I find that I often wander from item to item without completely finishing what I set out to do. However, if I set aside a specific amount of time to do a project, I'll usually get it done. That's all well and good. Unfortunately, another of my traits is an occasional lack of self-discipline, which usually results in two or three days of good scheduling and productivity before I subconsciously decide it's too much work and start to let it slide. Before you can say "Day-Timer", I'm back in a morass of unfinished work and piles of dirty dishes.

When I was single, letting stuff slide wasn't that big of a deal. But now, with so much going on -- not only in my own life, but also in the shared life I live with Jean -- I can't afford to get behind. There is simply too much I want to do!

So I started making some changes. On June 12, I began making a daily schedule based on a weekly one that was broken down into time slots for a number of different items. There's time for general housekeeping, writing, projects and so on. And it's working. The house is looking great, I'm more productive, I feel more creative, progress is creeping along with the Benz, etc. Things couldn't be much better.

But now this week comes along. This is the week I work on the newsletter for the Blues Society, which usually means that I don't sleep much and get pretty aggravated about anything and everything. I'm also striving very hard to get back on the weekly publication schedule for new episodes of Committed, which isn't as easy as it might sound. It's hard to fit in writing time for a 2,500-word piece of fiction every seven days, especially with a full-time job and a number of other projects competing for my time. And, of course, we're continuing to Deluxify the house. It's a fun project, but it is a lot of hard work as well.

So I have a big week in front of me. This morning, I woke up thinking about all that needs to be done, and I started feeling panicky -- and almost overwhelmed. But I'm not going to let it get to me. I've got a schedule, and I'm sticking to it. Nose to the grindstone and all that.

Yeah, I've got a lot to do. But I think I'm figuring out how to get it all done.