3 Keys Thursday: Key Priorities

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Since last Saturday, I've graded 60 psychology papers, 24 projects and 26 take-home responses. This morning, as I thought about this blog, I determined that my three keys for today would be:

• Listening to eight group presentations (before noon) and jotting comments (which will need to be translated into grades).
• Listening to 23 presentations from my freshmen, linking success with course readings.
• Going to Connecticut to pick up my daughter from college.

Most of the time, the three keys I write about  are much less specific (and personal) and have much more to do with organization or time management than today's do. But, sometimes the keys to a having a good day lie in setting priorities. 

Some days, we can set our own priorities; other days, they're set for us. Today, my two final exam periods, scheduled by the college, defined the outline of my day. Key #1 needed to be checked off before I could move on to keys 2 and 3. Setting a long list of other things to do when my day had already been prioritized would be not only foolish, but frustrating and futile as well.

And, when you think about it, the key to success in anything is knowing where you're going and what's most important, making priority-setting perhaps the most important organizational tool of all.

Reading Day

Photo: Strecosa via Pixabay

Today is Reading Day -- that cushion day tucked between the last day of classes and the first day of final exams designed to provide preparation time. I still have plenty of things to grade, and will be getting to them...soon...but I promised myself that today would also include taking care of some of the things that have been neglected in the past two weeks. Fun things on my list include clearing off my dining room table -- which has been emptied of the first wave of student papers and is awaiting the influx of the next -- doing laundry, and putting up a few more Christmas decorations. I'd like to include wrapping presents on the list, but even Reading Day has only twenty-four hours.

In a season where "overwhelmed" describes the emotional tone of nearly every day, Reading Day is a lovely luxury. Sure, there's a lot to do, and sure, final exams and projects -- not to mention Christmas -- await, but today is a day to catch up. Even the name sounds peaceful -- a day to read, to prepare, to make progress. A day at my disposal, without a set schedule. Sure, it's up to me to use the time wisely, but honestly, that's true any day.

So far today, I've caught up on some work emails, purged some junk from my inbox, written a blog and half and had some lovely conversations. I'm in comfy clothes at Starbucks, preparing to do a writing sprint as soon as this is posted. Later today, I have exam questions to grade and packing to do.

Reading Day is one of those lovely things available to college students, most of whom don't realize how lucky they are to have such a day at their disposal. But, who says Reading Day should be limited to college kids? This just might be the time of year when all of us need a "Reading Day."

So, why not schedule one? Keep in mind that, with a name like "Reading Day," some sort of leisure activity is almost required -- a little down time in the midst of the preparation.

Why not give yourself a Reading Day? Or maybe put one on your Christmas list. After all, 'tis the season to be jolly, and, for many of us, a Reading Day makes that possible.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys for Making Things Just a Little Bit Better

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Yesterday, I wrote about making things "just a little bit better" around my house. By taking baby steps and being content with slow, but steady progress (for the time being, anyway), I can chip away at everything that has to be done and get a sense of accomplishment even when there's still a lot to accomplish.

I've written before about some of these baby steps, but, since we're on the subject, I thought I'd share them again today.

Strategic list-making. Yesterday, I talked about making sure my lists had a mix of short-term and long-term items on them. While this is a good strategy at any time of year, it's essential as the holidays approach. If we're not making at least small progress on our holiday preparations, we can lose the joy of the season in the last-minute mad dash that results from letting the day-to-day task overwhelm the preparations for the not-so-distant future.

Give it five. As Christmas approaches, the clutter at my house can grow exponentially. Gifts to be wrapped and decorations to be put up (among other things) begin to encroach on living space. 'Tis the season to employ Give it Five! not just for quick pick-ups, but for decking the halls as well. Rather than dragging out a huge bin full of decorations, why not open the container and select only a few decorations (one five minute session)? Then, put those up before taking out anything else out. The house gets decorated more slowly, but grows more festive as the holidays approach.

The number game. Don't have time to clear the decks? Pick a number and pick up that number of items and put them away. My number varies based on the size of the pile and the time I have available, but shrinking piles and clear space are great motivators. Once you get started, you might just keep going.

Or, you might step back, enjoy the improvement, and take a break. After all, you need to conserve your energy if you're going to celebrate the season.

Just a Little Bit Better

Wednesday is my two-post day -- the day I post both here and at the Porch Swing Chronicles. Technically, it's a three-post day, if you count my STYLE Savvy post at CatholicMom.com, but, since that post has an earlier deadline, I'm less likely to feel the posting crunch there. 

Some Wednesdays, I get one--or both--posts done ahead of time. Through a wonderful confluence of time and creativity, I not only figure out what I want to write about before Wednesday rolls around, but I manage to write the post and set it to publish automatically.

Today is not one of those Wednesdays. Today, I'm writing both posts from scratch on Wednesday, grateful that I'm tackling them while it's still morning. And, as I was thinking through the possibilities, another sort of confluence occurred.

A theme. 

So today, I thought it might be fun to try something. Although my post here and my post over at the Porch Swing Chronicles have different content, they have the same title. I hope, if you have a minute, you'll take the time to read both of them.

'Tis the season for piles -- at least at my house. Some piles are good (piles of presents), some not so good (piles of papers to grade). Augmented by the duties of the season, my lists are longer and more diverse than usual, too. The day-to-day responsibilities haven't decreased, but the duties of the season keep piling up, giving me the feeling I'm on a treadmill of productivity: always moving but going nowhere fast.

It's easy to get overwhelmed and self-critical. 

While I have no magical solution to a quick dispensation of the pile-up, I do have one strategy that helps me keep my sanity.

Each day, I try to make things just a little bit better. 

It's not a good short-term strategy, in that the piles diminish slowly, and some stacks overstay their welcome by days, or even weeks. But, then again, losing my mind over a little clutter isn't a good strategy either. 

Each day's list contains two kinds of items: time sensitive tasks and preparations for the season. Intermediate deadlines are sprinkled in, too, as the day's schedule permits, so I can tackle them before they become time sensitive. 

Photo ivoxis via Pixabay

In some ways, this is akin to burning the candle at both ends; on one end, I have the "do it now" things and on the other the end the planning pieces that will make Christmas special and fun, or, perhaps, set up my break between semesters to be both productive and relaxing. Some days, I feel as though I'm standing in the middle of the candle, trying to avoid the flames closing in from both sides, but most days, tackling both kinds of tasks minimizes the panic of the lengthy holiday to do list and gives me a sense of accomplishment as I check a variety of tasks off my list. 

Would I love to see my house pile-free? Absolutely. But, unless a magic wand materializes, I'm going to have to settle for baby steps, reminding myself of what I say here so often.

It's a process. 

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys for Decorating for the Holidays

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Last weekend, before my daughter went back to school after Thanksgiving break, we put up our Christmas tree.

It's the only thing I've done ahead of schedule all month.

It got me started on holiday decorating, though, along with inspiring some thoughts on what holiday decorating ought to be.

Fun. Although I had no desire to put up a Christmas tree in November, it wouldn't have been any fun putting it up without my daughter, and we didn't want to wait until the very hectic week before Christmas. While decorating can't always be fun, deciding when and how you want to approach the task, whether all at once or a little at a time so that things come together slowly and peak at Christmas, can make a difference.

Peaceful. While this may be too much to hope for in the actual process, it's not too much to expect from the end product. Decorating, whether for every day or for the holidays, should enhance your home. I love coming home late in the afternoon and switching on the tree, candles and white lights that are part of the decor. It almost makes up for daylight savings time.

Meaningful. Our Christmas tree might have gone up first, but a key feature in our Christmas decorating is the nativity scene. Making sure there's a reminder of the reason for the season is an important part of getting ready for the holidays.

Whenever and how ever you decide to do it, may all of your decorating be merry and bright.

And STYLE-ish, of course.

List-less

Pixabay

Are you a list-maker or a list-hater?

Usually, I'm the former, but I also believe that some days, you need to ditch the list and just go with the flow. Usually, I feel guilty when I do this, but that's actually rather silly. I mean, it's not as though I'm ever truly without a list. Even if I don't write one down today, I have the one I wrote yesterday and the day before, and even on good days, those lists have items that have been left undone.

Then there are the lists that run through my head. Whether or not I write them down, those items still exist. And, when I do write them down (as I do most of the time), I end up with a master list -- a place where I collect my thoughts, which serves as the impetus for my daily lists.

Finally, there are the physical reminders of things to do. The pile that needs to be sorted and put away. The mere existence of kitchen appliances that remind me that meal planning is inevitable, even if only to say, "Nah," and order a pizza.

So, it could be argued that I don't actually need a daily list. That it's overkill.

But daily lists give us focus, which is key when things are time-sensitive. Due dates to meet, meetings to attend and appointments that await us form lists of their own on the calendar page, giving our day a structure into which we fit all the other odds and ends we must complete.

And so, on those days when we don't have that structure -- when we have nowhere to be and nothing time sensitive to do, sometimes it pays to putter. To move from one thing that needs to be done to the next without actually deciding on an agenda.

Or maybe the opposite is true. Maybe we hit a day that's already so structured that adding a list to it is overkill. Going to our appointments and meeting our deadlines is our list. Those are the things we check off at the end of the day and anything else is icing on the cake.

Some days, we ditch the list, and other days, we live by it. Some days we need to let go, and other days we need to take charge.

Today, I'm back at work, getting ready to start the month which brings finals to create and grade, and the end of fall semester. In a few weeks, those finals will be over (and graded), and some days (after Christmas!), I'll enjoy the feeling of being list-less.

How about you? Will you join me in ditching the list?

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Things I'll Be Gathering this Weekend

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Part of organizing is achieving balance -- the balance between space and stuff, work time and down time and busyness and relaxation. This Thanksgiving break, thankful for a few days of down time (among other things), I'm planning to work on that balance by gathering a few important things.

My family. My daughter has been home for five days, and today, we'll head to New Jersey to spend the day with my parents. Gathering my family together is one of the best parts of any holiday.

My thoughts. Busy daily schedules often leave little time for simply being alone with our thoughts, and vacations are a great time for contemplation. Far from being a waste of time, letting our minds wander can actually lead us to solutions that were previously elusive.

My stuff. Several spots in my house provide clear evidence of my I need to see it/drop and run styles. This break will, I hope, afford me some time to reclaim those spaces and restore order.

Whatever you're gathering this weekend, I hope your Thanksgiving is a happy one.