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Tips to be Productive on Your Days Off

Jun4

These tips are best used for those in the service industry, given our weird days and weird start times, but even Monday through Friday nine to five types can utilize some of these.

My friend Layla, a retail service clerk at the department store I used to work at, often marvels at the sheer amount of things I get done on any given day.  Now mind you, just like my yearly lists, not everything I do in a day is always of the utmost importance.  However, even the little things need to get done sometimes.  Here are my tips to make sure you get the most out of your day (or even morning if you work later on in the afternoon or evening).

1.  Set an alarm.  Even on your days off, you want to make sure that you don’t use it as an excuse to sleep in until unknown hours.  Make sure to get a routine going for yourself and generally wake up at the same time each day.  However, I totally understand if you normally work a job like the Bakery and want to sleep in until eight some days even if you normally wake up at five for work.  In fact, I encourage you to sleep in until eight!  But if you usually go to work at a place like the department store around 9:30, then waking up around 7:30 every day is not a big deal.  Same with if you work at a restaurant like the Grill and a normal start time is 15:30–you’re totally capable of waking up at 8:00 every day.

2.  Keep a consistent routine.  This means that even on your days off, once you get up after your alarm, you should do all the things you normally do if you have work.  If you always take a run before work, take a run on your days off too.  If you read the newspaper with a cup of coffee, read the newspaper.  Especially important to getting your day going, though, and the most important way to keep productive on your days off: get ready.  Seriously, this is how I make sure I get things done.  Wake up, shower, brush my teeth, get dressed, do my hair.  Think about all the days off where you just sit around in your pajamas all day.  What do you say you should do?  Dishes, laundry, vacuum, write a blog post, the list is endless!  What do you do?  Catch up on your netflix queue, look at facebook, read a book, watch tv, play angry birds, maybe do something productive, but only for a little while.  Seriously, showering and getting dressed is how I get things done.  It doesn’t matter if you get dressed in soffee shorts and a frat tank after your shower as long as it’s not your pajamas, you will instantly feel put together and ready to take on the world that day.  Also, it keeps you up on your personal hygiene, which is always a plus.

3.  Make a list of the things you need to do in a day.  I’m a big Microsoft One Note proponent.  I know it’s supposed to be for class notes generally, but I use it for everything!  I’ll need to go through it with the belle binder some day on here.  But anyway, one of the things I use it for is to jot down the things I need to do in a given day or a week.  I have pages of to-do lists.  I’m trying to find a good to-do list app for a computer, but so far I haven’t found anything I like.  I have one on my phone, but you can’t transfer things, so it’s hard if I’m not on the go for a day.  But I have always been a big proponent of to-do lists.  That way you can keep track of all the things you have going on.

4.  Update your planner.  Seriously, planners are my life.  I love them.  Just like your to-do list, you want to keep your planner up to date on a daily basis.  I will also talk more about planners soon.

5.  Break up your productivity.  It’s tough to get on a roll sometimes, so pop in some music and give yourself something to listen to while you clean, for instance.  Also, it’s okay to congratulate yourself on a successful blog post by looking at shoes on the internet afterward.  But don’t lose focus on your tasks for too long, that’s key.  It generally doesn’t happen if you make sure to shower and get dressed!

6.  Multitask effectively.  I know most people will tell you to start what you finish and not stop doing it to do another thing, but it’s perfectly reasonable to multitask during some tasks.  Say your big goal is reloading your music on your computer (gee, who could possibly be doing that today?), it’s okay to write your daily blog post or sort through your mail while itunes imports your cds.  Otherwise, what would you do during that downtime?  Twiddle your thumbs or get distracted with online shopping?  Another good example is washing dishes.  Sometimes, you have to let pans soak.  It’s okay to dust or vacuum during that time.

7.  Do things right when they come up.  If you just got your paycheck, go to the bank right then.  Don’t put it off.  That will only pile up your to-do list.

8.  Do things when no one else is doing them.  I learned this in college.  I always did my laundry on thursday afternoons.  Why?  Everyone’s laundry day is sunday, so if laundry got done at home on sunday, when will college students do laundry?  Sunday.  Your time is more efficiently spent if you do things when you can’t expect other people to be doing them too.  Do laundry during the middle of the week, go grocery shopping around nine in the morning, go to the gym at midnight.  Seriously, you’ll get more things done if the places you need to go aren’t already crowded!

Those are the tips I use on a daily basis to make sure that I get everything done.  Hopefully they help you too!  And if you haven’t showered yet, now’s as good a time as any to get that done.  Good luck!

The Road Trip To-Do List

Apr21

So last night, Larissa and I were at one of our favorite bars with Dylan and Hailey and Russel.  I haven’t seen Hailey in like a month and I haven’t seen Russel since Larissa’s wedding actually…  And I never see them out at bars, so I was just in an utter state of confusion.

While we were there, Larissa and I started making a list of things we would need for the trip down to Texas.  Please enjoy it in its entirety.  Larissa’s commentary is in quotes in parentheses.  Items that have been crossed out have already been acquired.

Paint

Plastic Primer

Cooler (I am in the process of painting a cooler.  Get excited.  Now get really excited.)

Chex mix

Gum (“Add gum to the list.”)

Lots of gum  (“Did you add gum?”)

Larissa won’t shut up about the gum (“Hey, I’m doing most of the driving and I need to concentrate!  Gum helps keeps me focused!”)

Making it rain gum (“I hate you.”)

Water

Gatorade (blue?)

Five hour energy (four?)

Mad libs

Sunflower seeds

Pillows and blankets

Music

CD with Wagon Wheel (“Do you mean every song?  You can’t make it every song.”)  CD with Wagon Wheel every other song.  (“No…..  Every fourth song?”)  CD with Wagon Wheel every third song.  (“Fine, fine, every third song.”)

Those little cracker things with peanut butter (Dylan: “Ritz cracker sandwiches?”)

Beef jerkey

And that is our list so far.  We are clearly prepared for a sixteen hour drive.  Clearly.

We Do Not Mope, No, We Go Forward

Mar6

So yesterday, I had my job interview, a legitimate meeting with one of the managers, but it was cut short.  I didn’t meet with the manager I was supposed to and the one I did meet with merely asked me “If you get a job here, would you keep the job you currently have?”  And I said “For now, I will say, yes, I would try to.  But, if I was afforded better opportunities here, then I would likely only have the one job.”  And then he sent me on my way.

I took the bus over originally, and as I was leaving, the return bus was waiting across the street, but was gone by the time I got there.  So I started walking…  in my little black heels.

And as I started walking, I lamented not having an ipod because no one was answering their phones.  But then that reminded me of that scene in Bride Wars, at the beginning, where Emma and Liv are running and Liv asks why they can’t use ipods on their run and Emma tells her “Ipods are only for people who can’t be left alone with their thoughts.”

And I thought about that and said, okay, so let’s think about what’s going on lately.

I walked almost three miles in my heels, so I had a lot of time to think.

Rich, if you’ve decided not to talk to me anymore, fine.  I will accept that.  I will not mope, I will just go forward.

New restaurant, if you do not want me, fine.  I will accept that.  I will not mope, I will just go forward.

Life, if you are not quite the way imagined, I cannot accept that.  I cannot mope.  I must just keep going forward.

Every journey begins with a step.  I’ve been taking lots of steps all along, but I think this goes back to what I think it means to be a Coloradoan Belle.  A belle has three important things:

1. Strength of character.

2.  Strength of mind.

3.  Strength of person.

And I am a strong person.  People gain strength from the trials they face.  And if a journey to move forward starts with wearing high heels for three miles and ending up with only one stumble on a rock and seven blisters, then it’s not a bad outcome.  It could have been eight blisters, right?

Today’s to-do list item: Do not mope.  Work hard.

So I Know it’s Tuesday…

Feb7

I guess this is still kind of to-do list Tuesday.  But it’s also more than that.  I had one big to-do list item today:  get a jeep out of a snow bank.

I know you’re surprised.  Why would getting a jeep out of a snow bank be a major priority?

It seems that lately my life is a series of dramatic mishaps.  I’ll go back and reflect on the other ones this week, but let’s start with this one today.

Rich gave me a ride home this morning for work and was pulling around my building.  In the back, there’s a sloped hill against a fence with a pole.  Well this morning, it started snowing, so the slope was icy and covered in powder.  Even though Rich has a jeep, it slid, horribly.  So bad that in front of us was a pole and behind us was a snow bank.  Obviously the snow bank was the better option than the pole, so I told Rich to back up.  He did, but that only got us more stuck.

So, Rich and I ended up with a jeep stuck in a snow bank.

In a stressful situation, Rich gets just that–stressed out.  He gets wrapped up in the crisis and gets worried.  So I tried to remain calm for him.  I got on the phone with AAA while he called one of his friends from work to pick him up, unfortunately, he was already at work.  So when he got off the phone, I had him trade phones with me.  I put him on hold with AAA while I called a cab.  Then I got AAA settled with a tow truck coming out.  The cab came to get him in about twenty minutes and AAA came about two hours later.

The jeep got cranked out of the snow bank and I got it safely into a parking space.

The results of this drama include Rich being late to work, so he has to stay a half hour later.  I also got called out of work because I would be late, and it was slow anyway.

So tonight, I get to drive Rich’s monster over to his work and pick him up.  So I guess that’s my second to-do list item today.

I mean, I have the usual things: write my cards, update my blog, get things mailed out.  But those are the major things.  Also watch tv on dvd and take another shower.  Such a fascinating to-do list, right?

Anyway, later on this week I have a few more of these mishaps involving Rich, I also want to talk about Shawn coming back into town, and maybe I will finally get to talk about my crafting.  That’s the hope anyway.

To-Do List Tuesday 2012 Number Two

Jan31

Tuesday is apparently my usual day off from work and the only one I’m guaranteed, apparently.  So here’s back to To-Do List Tuesday.

TODAY

Clean

Letters

Write this post

Update on the list

THIS WEEK

Figuring out what to bring to Vinny’s party

Make plans with Littles

Craft–I miss it!

Clean some more

Buy a picture frame for GGB

Clean even more than I already noted

Make time for posting!

To-Do List Tuesday 2012 Number One

Jan10

So the second post of 2011 is on my first day off from work, so it’s also to-do list tuesday!  Yay!  More on football tomorrow…  Thursday we’re back to TSMs.  And then on friday, new blog features for the year.  Saturday, I don’t know yet…  And sunday one of those new blog features.  Get excited.

Anyway, on with the To-Do List!

TODAY

Create exercise regiment

Finish notebook

Personal calls

Edit resume

See Lilac

THIS WEEK

Second job search

See Hailey

Buy birthday cards

Finish letter

Thank you notes

Have you ever noticed the sheer numbers of to-dos at the beginning of the year?

To Do List Tuesday Number Three

Oct11

And we’re back to To-Do Lists!  I’m not actually doing any of this today per-se, because my first day off since last friday is going to be this coming saturday, so these to-do list items will probably get pushed back a bit.

Today

Clean

Address Book

Beauty Bootcamp

This Week

Buy a new phone.

I’m starting to realize that my to-do lists are the same week to week, so I’ve stopped explaining them…  This is getting kind of boring isn’t it?

To-Do List Tuesday Number Two

Oct4

Welcome back to To-Do List Tuesday.

Today

Clean the sink and dishes.  I’m really doing a terrible job of doing this every day.  I just really hate doing the dishes.

Put away laundry.  Time to put laundry away so I can finish cleaning my bedroom.

Get into following the FlyLady.  Why start a regiment if you won’t follow it?

Beauty Bootcamp.  Bootcamp time!

Pick a recipe.  I’m going to start working on the cooking thing.  So I’m going to pick a recipe to make this week.

Work on my address book.  I’ve decided I won’t get a new phone until I finish it.

Watch Titanic.  Gotta get on this.

This Week

Make that recipe for the Fab Five event.

Return to the restaurants I applied to and reiterate my interest.

Go to new restaurants and apply.