I often see comments here and in other places I am about how much I get done. Like most things you see online (or even in the real world) your view is, of course, skewed. You see what I do get done, but you don’t see what I don’t get done. You don’t see the millions of little choices I am making or sacrifices to make sure I carve the time to do the things I want to do. I have written about this before, but I don’t think we can ever be reminded enough. My life is far from perfect. I yell at my kids. I fight with my husband. I fail. I get rejected. I cry. I worry. I hover. I annoy. etc etc. I’m human after all. I think I am pretty good about being honest (and not too whiny) here but feel free to tell me if I am not. Not even for a moment would I want you to think I’m anything other than a flawed person struggling and trying to do her best each day.

I am also very lucky in that I have a patient husband who forgives me regularly and with whom I’ve already shared 17 years of my life. So he’s patient and kind with me. So are my kids. They play a lot on their own. They listen to my requests. They are easy going and kind. They forgive me when I mess up. They also don’t have a lot of activities or playdates so I am not carting them around all day. I have a full time job so I work a lot and while my job is flexible and wonderful, it supports our family and I prioritize it over activities and playdates during the week. I don’t cook. I don’t clean. I tidy up, run dishwasher and laundry etc but those do not take the same amount of time of course. I have no idea where my iron is and I haven’t vacuumed once since we moved here two years ago. I have a wonderful cleaning lady who comes every other week and I am deeply grateful for her and the time that grants me. I rarely talk on the phone and rarely do one thing at a time.

So all this is to say that I do a lot and I don’t do a lot of other things. It’s all about prioritizing. Having said that, I’ve recently had some major revelations about what helps me get things done. I’ve also realized getting things done is a really really big part of me. Something that makes me happy. Some people get stressed with deadlines and long todo lists. I am the opposite. I thrive on deadlines and get frustrated when I don’t have a lot to do. So I have found ways that help me get things done and I wanted to share with you in case any of you are like me. Here’s some of what works for me (these are not in order):

Schedule I am a strong believer of schedules. That’s why I have one here on the blog. I schedule my posts for specific days. It keeps me honest and it helps me schedule my tasks. I have daily, weekly and monthly schedules for things. For example, I weigh myself every Wednesday. Or I take family photos right after I exercise each weekend day etc. I find that scheduling a task makes it more real. It’s like a meeting. If it’s on my calendar, I show up and do it.

Organize Similarly, I make lists and organize myself daily. For the last two weeks, I’ve been writing a personal and a work todo list every night before I go to bed. This way, before I wake up and face that day’s disasters, I already know what needs to get done and I can get up and get one thing done before I check my mail or do anything else. During the day, I check off items and anything that didn’t get done moves to the next day’s list. (if it still needs to get done. sometimes they are moot by then.) I write my lists by hand but that’s cause i like to. I used to do them on the computer. I like the feeling of pen.

Do Anyway I wrote about this in the newsletter. I learned not to wait for inspiration to strike. If I scheduled something or if it’s on my list. I do it. I don’t wait to feel like it. I just sit and do it. Almost always a few minutes into it, I feel like doing it. So now, I just do it. No matter what.

Figure out the Frog I figure out the one thing that has to get done. If I did only one single thing on each list, which would it be? And then I do that first. For personal, it’s always exercise. If my exercise is done for the day and I dropped the ball on everything else, it was still a great day. The other thing about eating the frog first is that it puts you on a roll. It gives you a push and an adrenaline. So then you’re pumped and ready to get more done. So when I make my lists, I always identify the frog and underline it.

Choose Wisely Time is a limited asset. Not everything is going to get done. So I prioritize my life according to my personal goals. I don’t cook because I don’t like doing it and I don’t want to spend my precious time on it. I feel like as long as I give my family a nutritious meal, it doesn’t matter if I cooked it. I use that time to do art, to read to my son, etc. It’s personal to me. Some people love to cook. It calms them, it’s bonding time, etc. That’s great. I don’t judge at all. I just think you should spend your time on your own choices. Not what you think you should do or what you feel guilty about etc. We all have things we have to do but we also get a lot more choice time each day than we’d like to admit. Choose wisely.

Discipline This is one of my strongest assets. I am very disciplined. Sometimes I want to read longer but I remind myself that it’s time to move on to something else on my list. It feels hard to tear away from the book, TV, game, whatever but everything on my list is something I cherish so once I start the next thing I am always happy. I just need to keep myself disciplined. I also work before I play. So I exercise first thing. Then I can relax and have my coffee. I read to my son before I read for myself. Etc. I try to stay very disciplined and focused.

Hold Yourself Liable And probably the most important one is that I hold myself liable. I value my tasks and make sure I do them. I look at my scrapping, reading, exercising, etc the way I look at my tasks at work. I would work hard not to disappoint my boss and I work hard not to disappoint myself. I set my goals and then try to have high integrity, even if just to myself. No one will care if I stopped doing my art journal. But I will and I value that as much as I would if it were someone else. If a task is becoming cumbersome, I revisit that priority and reassess. I might change it. I might even scrap it. But it’s always a conscious decision.

And remember, I fail often. These are just things I try to do. When I succeed, they are what make me succeed so I wanted to share. I hope this was helpful in some way.

I thought it might be a good idea to review my goals at the end of each month and see if I am still making sure to prioritize them. I also thought this would be a good time to shift, adjust, add, take away as needed. So here we go. This is the list I posted on January 1 with status updates for February.

Family
1. Read and do workbooks with David daily (Project A Book A Week with David).
Still doing well here. Even though David sometimes whines and fidgets a whole bunch, I think he’s really enjoying this project and now he hears references to things we’ve read and I can see how he’s excited. Like he heard “Emerald City” in a commercial recently and also saw a reference to Aslan and picked up on both.

2. Take photo of full-family and write updates weekly (Project Us Right Now).
This is also still going great. I bought a second remote since the first was not working and this one is great and we’re having a ton of fun. I can’t wait until the weather is warmer so we can try more outdoor shots.

3. Write a daily diary of us + gratitude (Project Daily Diary)
Still on a roll on this one.

4. Start a family night where we all play games or watch movies together (Scheduled for Sunday nights 6pm)
This, too, is going strong. We skipped a few weeks due to visitors and birthdays but we’re back on track now.

5. Sign up for a mommy/me class with Nathaniel (this still needs to be scheduled)
I haven’t done this though I do still think it’s a great idea. I need to work on it.

6. Schedule minimum bimonthly date nights with Jake
We’ve gone out on two date nights in February and have another one coming up. We’ve also had some date nights at home sitting together and cuddling.

Health (Project Healthy For Life)
1. Do a combination of walking and running daily, work your way up to 5K a day
So far, so good on this one, too. I’ve exercised at least 2.7 miles every single day in February for a total of 75.72 miles.

2. Complete the 100 pushups schedule
well this is off the list.

3. Do strength exercises 3x a week
I haven’t started this. Still not sure on this one. But won’t start in March. Likely April.

4. Track exercise+food+sleep+water using the fitbit
I am still tracking sleep and exercise.

5. Get minimum 7hours of sleep every night and 8 on the weekends
I am doing relatively well on this still. 7-8 hours most nights!

6. Eat at least one serving of vegetables daily and chicken/fish 3 times a week
Doing well on the veggies. Need to do better on the chicken.

7. Walk at least 8500 steps a day and work your way up to 10,000
According to the fitbit, my February average is pretty good. I am doing ok here. I should walk more and will try to add a 15-20 min walk a few times a week.

8. Walk/Run a 10K
This is more like a November goal 🙂

9. I also want to work on the coffee+graham crackers intake but not sure of the plan here yet.
Bleh. Still drinking 2-3 coffees but I am working on the graham crackers. I did not do so well in February, however.

Art + Photography
1. Draw and paint a portrait six days a week (Project Six Portraits a Week)
Drew them six a week all February. Likely changing direction for March.

2. Art journal weekly (Project Weekly Art Journal)
So far, so good. All Soul Restoration in February.

3. Sketch something small daily (15-30mins)
I am working on this. This is what might take #1’s space. I have sketched about 6 pages in February. I have plans for March too.

4. Go on a Monthly photo excursion alone or with a photo buddy
I did this but not with a buddy. Just as part of my trip with my inlaws.

5. Write weekly extended photo articles on my blog
Ugh. No work done on this one.

6. Figure out for once and all if I want an etsy shop and what will go in it
no progress here either.

Scrapbooking
1. Create one layout a week just for me
I’ve been doing this. Sort of…

2. Do monthly The Girls’ Paperie layouts
Done here, too.

3. Do monthly Pink Paislee layouts
And here. I am all over this.

4. Do monthly Creative Therapy layout
Did the layout for February and the one for March even.

5. Do monthly Write.Click.Scrapbook layout + write one more week during 2011
Did all of them up until May.

6. Successfully teach all four scheduled 2011 classes at Big Picture Classes and the one I am a part of in Masterful Scrapbook Design
So far so good! Both MSD classes are finished. So is Embrace Imperfection. In the middle of Finding Your Way now.

7. Aim to do 5-6 guest design spots or classes (that I teach) this year
I guested on Scrapbook and Cards Today blog in February and also on Making Memories. I have one more coming up in March. So far, so good.

8. Submit to one magazine a month (maybe, I can’t decide if I want to do this just yet.)
I submitted in January and one of my layouts got picked up for Scrapbook Trends. I also submitted a few in February. Let’s see.

Reading
1. Read a book a week (Project A Book a Week)
2. Read one book with David each week (Project A Book a Week with David)
3. Regularly attend both book clubs
All three of these are going great and right on schedule.

Writing
1. Write at least one long thought/idea oriented blog post a week
I’ve been working on these. I think I did relatively well with this in February.

2. Write one new class (if you have requests, please share)
3. Write one downloadable pdf for my site or etsy (if you have requests, please share)
I haven’t done either of these yet.

4. Write+email a newsletter each month
Doing this so far! Next one goes out in a few hours 🙂

5. Possibly do NaNoWriMo (not sure of this one…)
We still have quite some time till November thankfully!!

I decided to add one more here mostly because it’s been so beneficial during January.
6. Journal at least 5 times a day. Even if just for 15 minutes a day.
I am still working on this. I didn’t do as well in February as I did in January but I am still journaling and trying to make time for it each day. I’ve also begun a daily art journal in February and did it every single day. More on this coming soon.

Learning
1. Learn to draw and paint portraits (Project Six Portraits a Week)
Working on this one, see above.

2. Take 5-6 online classes this year
I’ve already taken 8 this year. I believe I have no problem meeting this goal!

3. Learn to write an iPhone/iPad application (sort of out there but achievable – let me know if you have an app you want)
Ah. Didn’t make any progress here.

4. Learn how to make a stop-motion movie
No progress here either. Though I have an idea.

For March, I am going to try to make a sketch a day. Let’s see if it works.

Community (This is a particularly hard one for me.)
So this area was a struggle for me last month and I decided it might be best to revamp it. Here’s what’s left now:
1. Do a weekly-open house for Nathaniel’s moms group
I just sent the email for this. So none in February but looking good for March.

2. Invite guests over for dinner at least once a month
We didn’t have anyone over but we did go into the city to have dinner with friends so that counts.

3. Go out to breakfast/lunch once a month (to work or elsewhere)
I did this in February and will aim for it in March as well.

4. Reach out to people I admire more often (leave more comments/send emails)
I’ve sort of been doing this in the form of offering help and will continue to do so.

And that’s it for February. Overall, I think I did pretty okay. Let’s see how productive March is.