Make A List, You'll Feel Better

What do feminism and organization have in common? You can't bash the patriarchy if you lose your keys on the way the rally.

Seriously, though. Where are my keys?

It's been funny, getting older. I know I'm barely older. I'm scratching the surface of older. But one of the things I'm realizing is even though I'm quite fond of talking about myself and writing about myself and wondering about myself, I have been in denial about myself for awhile. I am frequently late, inherently messy, and as scatterbrained as they come. I've made excuses ("I'm just overwhelmed with too many activities right now!") and they've been made for me ("You have two small kids!") but the truth has always been the same. Keeping my shit together is very hard for me, and without discipline, I can easily crumble. I don't crumble cutely.

Being organized doesn't feel very rebellious, and I'm not old enough yet to be over that. I want to be cool and spontaneous and roll out of bed and get up and throw together an outfit and do something creative with my time instead of planning. The problem is, then there is no clean underwear and without a well-packed lunch I will get SUPER GRUMPY and if I forget to cancel that doctor's appointment they are going to drop me as a patient. One of my favorite quotes is this commandment from Gustave Flaubert: Be steady and well-ordered in your life so you can be fierce and original in your work. This makes sense to me. Save that spark and leave it on the page. Don't waste all your crazy in front of the fridge eating straight butter, crying because you can't figure out what to feed your family for dinner (that has never happened.)

My good friend Kacey said LISTS SAVE LIVES and I love it. Routines are another golden ticket. Yeah, sometimes it doesn't feel very subversive to do the same thing at the same time every day, but you know what is subversive? Taking the hours you've got in a day and killing it, knowing that you're going to get your shit done and then have time to paint your nails or work on your side hustle or binge-watch something because you took control. Another thing routine can do is reduce your decision fatigue. This is a real ass thing that can drain you- making decisions makes your brain tired. If you can use routine to get rid of the paralyzing What do I do next? feeling, then you save that decision power for important stuff.

So that is where I am right now. During one of the busiest months of the year at my house, I am balancing everything using pen & paper and a downright ridiculous number of iPhone alarms, set to tell me what I am supposed to be doing at any given moment.  My absolute FAVORITE tool right now is this Daily Page notepad from the Etsy shop Thyme is Honey. I ordered one of these pads a few years ago and only realized when I ran out how much comfort I had found in just the act of writing out my day.  There is space for water and food consumption, fitness plan, today's goals, lots of To Dos, daily tasks, purchase, notes + ideas,  and a schedule of events.  The color and font combination is visually soothing. Even owning this pad makes me feel 45% more capable of handling my life.

I like it so much that I decided I had to spread the love, so I am giving one away. But I am greedy, so I am making you give me information in return for a chance to win. Please leave a comment on this post and tell me what you do to stay organized. Weird, out-there tips encouraged. Use the rafflecopter link below to rack up entries, and the giveaway closes on October 24th!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck & happy listing!