Frequently people will ask me how I manage to get so much done in a day.
The trick is, of course, to get absolutely nothing done.
First, you start with the dishes - if there are still unused dishes in the cupboards, or at a nearby thrift store, then the dishes don't need to be done.
Laundry is the same. If there's still clean clothing to be worn, laundry obviously doesn't need to be done. And of course, what with all the semi-clean laundry strewn about the floor, there's no way you can make the bed. Or even find it, but I tend to search harder for it in the evening than in the morning.
Work, unfortunately, has to get done. After coffee. So get the coffee done first, and then worry about getting work done.
Once you have the coffee done, before starting on the work you need a plan. Maybe a plan for the work, maybe a plan for the day. But nothing gets done without a plan. I find a cigarette with my coffee helps me to work out a plan in my head.
Often at this point I get distracted by all the things other people feel I should get done. Like the dishes and the laundry. But through careful disciplined thought I'm able to get these distractions out of my head....I've got my coffee, so I can't REALLY need to do the dishes. And the fact that I'm dressed, outside on the porch smoking, is proof that the laundry situation isn't as bad as I thought.
So I get back to my plan. Sometimes, if I'm really organized, I write the plan down. A list of things to get done.
If I'm lucky at this point the phone rings. Sometimes it doesn't so I keep working on the list.
There's the work that needs to get done. And if I'm smart I'll break up the work into little bite-sized "chunks" so I can scratch them off my list when I get them done. Then there's the blogging. A big list of things I should blog about. And some art projects that have stalled. So little lists grow and grow and sometimes grow some more until they become big or giant lists and I start to get discouraged. There's the shopping lists, can't forget those. The list of bills. The list of projects and the list of things that need to get done on each project. The emails that have to be sent out. The list of birthdays and special occasions.
Once I have my list ready I make myself another pot of coffee. The first one was good, but nothing will get done until I've had at least 2.
I could empty the compost, I note, as I throw away the grounds, but that's not really a listable thing to do, so I just push it down a little bit more in the bucket and consider it done.
Now I think I should have written it down, because if I had I'd be able to scratch it off the list of things that need to get done and feel good about how productive I am. And I review the list and I prioritize things, because that's how really efficient people get things done. I write down deadlines or dates beside the things I need to get done. And I try to prioritize things according to their relative importance. Work things are always #1. Blogging, writing and artwork always seem to come in last. Still, with luck, if I work hard I can get them done too...
Now by now I've probably checked my email and there are a few people wondering if I've got things done. I haven't put this on my lists, but I answer all my emails and tell people that I'm busy doing their things or will be doing their things shortly and they can count on me getting them done.
They trust me because I'm so organized and good at getting things done.
Then, because I'm now already on the computer I begin to check the news. I like to be well informed.