Systems, habits and Routines

by | Jul 14, 2016 | Throwback | 6 comments

You know that first week of school feeling? You’ve got all new supplies that you can’t wait to use. You have your brand new outfits laid out, perfectly planned for each day of the week. And you’ve promised yourself that you’re going to stay on top of homework, making sure you get it done right when you get home no excuses, ok?

And then week number three rolls around. You can’t see the floor of your bedroom and you can’t even find that super expensive binder that omg-you-absolutely-had-to-have-or-you’ll-flunk-math-do-you-want-me-to-flunk-math-Mom!?!?

Been there.
Done that.
Sorry, Mom.

I admitted last week that I’ve been trying to figure out systems and routines, anything to make the work-from-home day go smoothly. I had a momentary thought as I was placing strawberries atop my yogurt as my dessert that huh…it doesn’t matter how old we get, that first week of school feeling still exists.
Case in point: desserts are my coping mechanism. Always has been, always probably will be. So after a month full of omg-this-is-really-happening-what-have-I-done-was-this-a-mistake-no-okay-it’s-not thoughts, I realized I’d eaten an ungodly number of desserts…a day. I suddenly heard myself saying out loud to my husband “I’m trying not to have any desserts anymore, not in the traditional sense, anyway.”
New routine. New declarations.
Happens every time.
It’s a joke, really, because everyone knows I can’t possibly go without sugar. It’s just not something I’ll do. But for now I’ve told myself that I’m allowed to have my normal coffee (creamer, lattes, whatever), but the only “desserts” I’m allowed are fruit and yogurt. I have no idea why I’m doing this. And I don’t think it’ll end up mattering, but I just found the whole thought process slightly amusing. 
My favorite part of becoming an adult
was being allowed to eat desserts whenever I wanted.
So this will be interesting, huh?
I figured this whole new structure to my life was a good opportunity to track and change some habits. I’d gotten painfully lazy toward the end of my day-job, just feeling completely burnt out. I used to really enjoy keeping my home, meal prepping, and establishing well-being habits. Turns out when you’re doing all those things for someone else’s life, you tend to sweep your needs and habits under the rug. So it’s time to start anew. 
I’m using a bullet journal-type system to help me keep track of things so I can evaluate at the end of the month and adjust as needed. 
The whole concept of bullet journaling fascinates me, but I just don’t have a need for most of it. If you’re interested, though, you can find a full run down here.

I only started on the 9th, but it’s already pretty evident where my priorities really lie. There are some things I can already tell you from now just won’t factor it. Either because I realize I just don’t care, or because I incorporated them inapropriately (I should have broken down the cleaning rather than stating a “Full Clean.” I don’t operate that way). 
Anyway, we’ll see how it all goes. I’ll do an end of month report to loop y’all in. 
Tell me, do you bullet journal in any way?
I’ll do a whole breakdown of how I plan to use it soon!

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6 Comments

  1. Yay for starting new, here is to a successful month!

    Reply
  2. I couldn't even finish the video without almost having an anxiety attack. There's no way I could do that. I can see how it would be super-helpful for working from home, especially if you have deadlines and projects. However….I couldn't do it. I'll stick with my monthly calendar planner 🙂

    Reply
  3. Ahahaha at your comments about the first day of school & needing new school supplies- SO true! I'm so obsessed with seeing bullet journals! I semi have one for my fitness related stuff but need to take a little time to add in more ways to stay organized and track different things. I can't wait to see your total breakdown of how you use it!

    Reply
  4. Your comments about the first day of school are spot on. Same thing happens with a new job, etc. I dont bullet journal. Watching that video just confused me lol. But I do have a notebook that I keep track of important things that I need to do or want to remember or whatever. So I guess it is sort of kind of similar but not quite as organized.

    Reply
  5. I've attempted Bullet Journaling to some extent. I think I have the wrong journal to make it work. My favorite parts of it though are just LISTS all in the same book. I can't wait to see how you fully utilize it. So I can start a fresh one with new ideas soon.

    Reply
  6. I like that bullet-type journal and your way of tracking good habits. Maybe that would help motivate me.

    Reply

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