My life, for the past six months, has been busy, and there is no sign of slowing on the horizon. This gives me mixed emotions. I feel grateful that I am not the person I was a year ago, reclusive, overweight and tired, wearing my resignation on the outside. I feel proud of myself for accepting new challenges and accomplishing goals. And sometimes, I feel like a waiter balancing a huge tray of full glasses over my head, scared as hell it will all come crashing down at any moment. I am growing and challenging myself, seeming to manage it all, but will I be able to keep it up? How do we make big life changes sustainable?
I still fight with the desire to do it all well, well, all the time. But I’m trying to be realistic, and kind to myself. So while trying to mentally build my schedule for the upcoming week, similar to playing a game of Tetris and make all the blocks fit, I found I was getting increasingly anxious. How can I fit in 40 hours of work, commuting, being there for my daughter who is now doing competitive gymnastics and girls’ basketball, have quality time, or something resembling it, with my husband, keep up with household chores, fix healthy dinners for my hungry family and have time to workout five days a week? Two options came to mind: become more organized with the time I have, or bury my head under the covers and wave the white flag.
After a moment’s hesitation, I chose the first option. I wished for my own personal assistant, then I found the next best thing. A calendar planner app that helps you organize your day, called Structured. This app really “checks all the boxes” for me, as it allows me to schedule tasks (in different colors according to their category), get reminders of upcoming events, and best of all, I get to cross it off my list once the task is complete (hugely satisfying because you have a visual of all that your are accomplishing). For those who are curious, I paid for the upgrade for more features, which was a very reasonable $9.99 per year.
I’ve been using it for a week now, and it gives me a sense of organization and productivity. However it brings up the larger question of how structured do I want my life to be? I know there is a certain appeal to having an open day, full of possibilities (even if you know the chores won’t do themselves. But when you lead a busy life and are trying to set boundaries so that you have time for what’s important, it is important to map out your day. Still, I find that I can get a little neurotic about it, scheduling every little task (do I need to be reminded to brush my teeth or feed the dogs?)
So, like most things, I’m still trying to figure it out. To find the sweet spot between getting through a day full of scheduled tasks and scheduling tasks to help me get through my full day. I’m glad I found this organizational tool though and think it will be a great help. For anyone reading this though, I’m curious to know your thoughts on how structured is too structured?
Have a productive week, my friends.
I remember those days of my girls being in sports and extracurricular activities! I had a huge desk calendar with everything written on it for everyone to see and also a dry erase board on my fridge that went weekly.
Now that my girls are in college I do still use both but the dry erase board is now where I put groceries I will need to purchase.
I still live a fast paced life and everything is written down but I’ve always been able to ( for the most part ) section out a part of my Sunday that was for me. I may have skipped some when the girls were here if it was super crazy busy ( basketball season never stops! 😆 ) however it was a goal of mine. Yesterday I made strong gains on a hard puzzle, felt so good!
Good luck as I remember the balancing act was “a lot” at times however, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks, Jackie. I do have to remember that so much of this is the phase of life we are in. I know I’ll miss the action someday. ❤️
For me, I’ve gone overboard with structure when life stops being fun. Good to see you here lovely.
Good to be here, friend. Yes one can definitely take it too far.
well, again..life is never truly “balanced’ and once accepting that things get a bit less stressful. If anything, my suggestion would be to “go with it” as long as it’s working for you, but let it slide when it becomes too restrictive or overwhelming..there is zero shame in that. I know i have similar issues with trying to do it all, manage my time efficiently, and still have time for self care..the first to go is always the self care/ For instance, i’ve had “re paint toenails” on my list for over 2 weeks..they look awful and the old polish has been on for over a month..I try every day and seem to get distracted or run out of time, even for something that simple. It doesn’t mean i am not living my best life or am not being my best person:)
Yes, something feels wrong with scheduling in time for self-care tasks… but maybe that’s what it takes for me to actually do them!
sometimes i have to divide them up..like, one night i take off the polish, another night i trim and file, another night i paint them. My ‘self care is way down the past few months, but at least i still get to a salon for hair coloring/trim every 6-8 weeks..lol
I find when I get too structured, it puts way too much pressure on me. When I fall behind then I start to get really negative on myself. For me having unplanned days are so important but those are becoming harder to do. ❤️
I’m with Gary, I find I can structure everything and that becomes procrastination in itself! Then I beat myself up with not achieving anything .. I almost go into ‘freeze’ mode. Life is about balance, I just find that so hard to achieve x
So hard to achieve. I’ve now ditched the Structured app because I’m just not that structured of a person. I’m still dropping the ball and scrambling to keep track of it all. I hope you are doing well, friend. Thinking of you.