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to-do-to-do

I was just reading Defeating Busy by Brett Harned over on the Happy Cog blog. It’s a great list of ways to keep on top of your to-do list, but one item really stuck out to me.

“3. Make your to-do list #1 on your to-do list.
Review and revise your morning to-do list before you get embroiled in the dramas of “inbox zero.” Determine what must be done today and what can be completed tomorrow, and prioritize accordingly. Then check your email.”


Sigh. Such fabulous advice but so very, very hard to follow.

You’ll usually find me playing with my daughter at the park or backyard, it’s a rough life I know! However, I have two days (10am-5) a week, totally to myself, to work on freelance and other projects. (Thanks mom!) I plan for those days the other 5 days of the week. What I don’t finish then I do at night instead of sleeping or when my husband is off work on the weekends which is even harder – I’d rather be hanging out! With such a limited schedule I’m really trying to get myself organized to make the most of the time I have available.

Every morning I have a list of things to-do before I can even start on my to-do list. It’s never-ending and I always feel a bit behind and overwhelmed. It feels silly even writing this, but it also drives me crazy knowing the house is a mess and laundry is piling up. And then the email, OH the email! I’m actually really good at keeping up with it, maybe too good… but that’s a whole other post.

For now though, inspired by Brett:

A tiny new daily to-do list:

  • Prioritize to-do list (be partial to pushiness)
  • Add new requests, no matter how urgent, into my prioritized to-do list and respond to email accordingly.

How do you organize your time? Any tips?

A few weeks ago I deleted the Facebook application from my iPhone. I found that without even thinking about it I would open my phone, tap into fb and be thumbing through without really reading or paying attention – or I’d click on links and read things that I had absolutely no interest in – just because it was there. I’m actually not a Facebook hater, if you haven’t read ‘How to Not Hate Facebook‘ by Jessica Hische you should. I love catching up with family that I wouldn’t otherwise, and it’s such an easy way to share sweet photos of my babygirl.

I do think there’s a time and place for it though. And it’s not 24/7 in my pocket.

A phone without Facebook

I’d have a free minute and open the phone and have nothing to look at. I ended up looking at Twitter more, which isn’t much better but at least the links I’d follow and read were focused more in my own personal interests – and not that of my extended family who I don’t really have anything in common with at all. I still wasn’t satisfied with how I was spending my phone surfing time though.

Enter Feedly

I had installed Feedly and transferred all my feeds over a while back but hadn’t spent much time on it. I went through a big RSS purge a year or two back and never really added anything back in – so I’d just get occasional updates. Thanks to my short stint in Twitter I had discovered a few new blogs and am starting to build my reading list back up. Which has been awesome.

Now, instead of blindly wasting time on uninteresting (to me) things when I have a minute to waste on my phone I’m reading about the latest WordPress, CSS, Crafty news instead. Fabulous.

What I’m reading/following* these days:
Planet WordPress (WordPress)
The WordPress News Core (WordPress)
Post Status (WordPress)
CSS-Tricks (CSS)
Pigtail Pals and Ballcap Buddies (parenting, raising girls, fighting stereotypes)
Kim Werker (creativity, business, crafts)
Manhattan Nest (interior design- currently demoing a mess of a house built in 1895 in upstate New York – beautiful before/after photography)
– Plus a few other friends, family and crafter blogs of course.

Now if I could only find a way to curb my Pinterest usage, I’d be set!

What are you guys reading?

Amanda Hawkins

Amanda Hawkins

Take care of little humans,
stare at tiny computer,
scribble on paper,
daydream.
Maker of DIY Planners and 🎨 artist; front-end web developer and designer well-versed in CSS & WordPress. Make music with RBK & as Love Morris. Check out littlebird.ahhh.co if you're interested in hiring me for WordPress dev. Subscribe to a newsletter I never send out. Connect on Instagram & Twitter.

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