Time....

Kind of a funny thing about time.  It's definitely going by faster than I would like.  And I frequently think it would be so much better if it was a 26 hour day instead of a 24.  Jame just suggested that sometimes he wishes he could go back and really appreciate what it was like when you had nothing to do, no agenda, no to-do list, and nothing to worry about.  And what got me thinking to blog about this was that today I had two friends suggest they "don't know where I find the time" to take on some of my projects.  Anyway, I started to ponder how exactly I was working these things into my life.  I feel they're pretty necessary to my mental state so thats part of it.  But, I also drive myself fairly insane in order to carve out the space for things like crochet and my gardeing and this blog, etc.  So, for those that are wondering...  here's how you can go type A and drive yourself and everyone around you nuts but you'll have 25 minutes a day to do something that, Damnit!, you want to do!

1) Anything that can be done at night, should be...In the evenings (and, MOY alert - while my kids are awake) I prep the coffee maker, make my lunch, pick out clothes for the next day, pack our bags, pack the car, etc.

2) Utilize the husband!  He doesn't get enough QT w/ the kids - it's not your imagination.  Let him understand how to put dinner on the table w/ the monkey's harassing him while you take care of your work out.  that's how I do it.  :)

3) Menu prep - On Friday's (at work) I do a menu for the following week.  It's a strategic exercise in figuring out how to only cook 2-3x a week.  Yep, that's right, we eat a TON of leftovers.  So, on Sat I cook a big meal and on Sun I cook 2.  And by Friday we've usually run out of food but by then we're all usually willing to eat toast or cereal for dinner so I don't worry about it :)  Yes, its insane... I do realize I'm letting a lot of my crazy out in this post.

4) Ignore your dirty house.  Yep, it's true.  If you want to do something that you actually want to do then the toilets may not get cleaned every weekend...and the dust is just a fact of life.

5) Sometimes its okay (IMO) to be a lousy employee.  I'll say in defense of myself that I always get my work done, on time, and I do it well.  However, I also pay our household bills at work, most of my blogging takes place on Massey time, and I only schedule appts during business hours so that I can use vaca to cover Pediatrician appointments rather than my free time. 

6) Never stop moving.  Got 5 minutes?  Go pluck your eyebrows!  Got 10 minutes?  Perfect time to trim everyone's fingernails.  You get the point...

7) Bathing optional.  I am serious!  Okay, so I keep myself clean but I only shower 3 or 4 days a week now.  And I wash my hair on Monday's.  Because I am a lover of a long hot shower its just amazing how much time I save by not getting in.  So, when I'm up too late messing around on something I actually wanted to do I stay in bed for as looooooong as possible in the morning.  (don't tell Natalie who is routinely harassed out of bed and driven hard to get going every day because "we're running late" due to my being too tired to get up on time...oops, is that another MOY I just received?)

Okay - I guess that's a good general idea on "how I find the time".  I doubt it's a method for everyone but so far it seems to be working out for me.  Most of the time.  :)