What Do I Do To Keep Organized?

How do I keep my life organized? That's a question I ask myself all the time. It all comes from my upbringing. My parents (aka, my mother) taught me to always keep a list/checklist to keep myself focused.

As most of my readers know, I was homeschooled my whole life. This means that my mother was my teacher for about 95-98% of my schooling. Because she was my teacher, and the fact that I come from a large family, she made a weekly checklist for each of us so we would know what was expected of us when it came time for school.

In my senior year of high school, she trusted me enough to create my own checklist of things to get done for school. That's when I started my current checklist of things to get done. How do I do it? Let me tell you.

I take a yellow legal pad and go day-by-day for a week, listing what I have to do each day. When in school, I would start with Monday. I'd put the date after the day of the week and then put down what I needed to accomplish for each subject that day. Then, I'd move to Tuesday, eventually making my way through the week through Friday. Usually, my Saturdays and Sundays were extremely free and therefore didn't need to be written out. I'd also put in my work schedule for the week. While in high school, I babysat every Wednesday night and every other Thursday morning. I'd also babysit randomly for people from church, so it was always a good idea to keep a record of what I needed to get done each week so I didn't over book myself.

When I went to college, this became an invaluable habit/skill. Since I had anywhere from four to six classes (some with a lab) that happened at different times on different days, it was good to have a pre-set system for keeping up with what was due when. Unlike high school, college was a bit more strenuous. So, to help myself see the bigger picture for each semester, I bought a monthly planner for each year I was in college and wrote down the assignments for each class on each day that they were due. Each class was written in a different colored pen to help with how much was needed to be done for each day. This is where I got the information to fill out my yellow legal pad checklist. Also, I worked anywhere from 2 to 5 part time jobs during college. So, knowing when I was working a particular job, on top of what homework I needed to get done, meant that I NEEDED to keep a detailed checklist to stay sane.

Now, after being out of school for several years, I don't use the same checklist system that I did. Yes, I'll make checklists if I need it, but since I don't have so many variables in my day-to-day life like I did when in school, I can just use a calendar on the fridge or on my phone to know when I have the rare day that's different.

One Thing To Do Today

Today, I don't have to go into work, so I have several things to get done around the house. It's mainly the usual suspects: laundry, dishes, sweeping, dusting, washing windows, and mowing the yard just to name a few.

So far, the one thing I've gotten marked off that list is to mow the yard. If you are familiar with my current lawn mower situation, you'll know that my mower was out of commission for a few weeks. To make a long story short, the spark plug was unhooked due to either a stick or rock that hit it.

When I went out, it took me quite a bit of time to finish the main portion of mowing due to the grass growing freakishly fast and thick in areas. My back yard backs up to a fenced in area that I'm sure has housed cows or some other animal at one point in time because there's still a barbed wire fence up and the grass along the fence line is the area that caused the longest time to get through. Between working and the rain, I've not had the time to mow the back yard like I should, causing the grass to grow up to m knees.

That's one thing I've accomplished today, but I still have many things to get to before I can call today a done deal. What have you accomplished today?

What's My Must See Show This Fall

September 29, 2019.

That's the air date for a T.V. show that I'm most looking forward to. I've been looking forward to the next season since the end of April.

Of course, by now, you might be asking yourself: "What T.V. show is she talking about?" Let me tell you about this show.

The show I've found that I've fallen in love with is "The Rookie" starring Nathan Fillion. It's a story about a Las Angeles Police Department (LAPD) rookie who just happens to be the oldest one in the departments history. He has to prove himself as not being just another middle-aged man going through a mid-life crisis, but as an officer to be taken seriously.

I started watching this show for two reasons. 1) The show stars Nathan Fillion. For any and all of the sci-fi geeks out there, like me, you know what I mean. For those who don't, let me fill you in. Nathan Fillion is the star of a T.V. Show called "Firefly." I recommend that you go watch that show, just to get an appreciation of what #1 really means. 2) I like to watch cop shows, and this show seemed to have a different perspective from the plethora of cop shows that I've seen before. This show goes through what it takes to be a police officer out on the streets. It shows all of the different sides these officers go through: physically, emotionally, and mentally.

What About Fall Am I Looking Most Forward To?

Most people have a favorite season of the year. Also, there are certain things about each season that most people like more than others aspects.

For me, there are some things about fall that I like better than others. How many of these things do you like as well?

1. The colors of the trees when they change
2. Thanksgiving
3. Pumpkin flavored coffee
4. Candy Corn
5. The smell of a pile of leaves
6. The slight chill in the air on a slightly foggy morning
7. Knee-high boots and scarves

A Must For School

How many of you are getting ready for high school this month? How many of you know someone who is going into high school?

You may be going into your senior year, or getting ready to start your high school career, but that doesn't mean you still can't use some tips on how to survive the school year.

As an English major, I've always loved to write. As a high school English teacher, I've always loved to share any tips or tricks I've learned along the way to those who need them the most.

This book, High School Study Tips, is an eBook that I've written to help high school students swim through the jungle called high school. Some of these tips and tricks lend themselves to middle school students, but most of the information is geared towards high school.

If there is anything that I've missed in the eBook, let me know, and I will make adjustments as needed.

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

Today is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. There aren't many of these types of "holidays" that I pay much attention to, but this one is very special to me and my family.

One of my grandfather's loved ice cream sandwiches. August 2 also happens to be his birthday. Unfortunately for me and my family, he passed away about fifteen years ago. Ever since his passing, my family and I always eat an ice cream sandwich in memory of him, not because it's some fun national holiday.