Organizing

Ever since I returned from vacation about three weeks ago, I've noticed a surge of motivation, energy, alertness. Prior to vacation, I was in a fog, as I mentioned in a post, from being so tired, stressed, and too busy. My thinking processes slowed down to the rate of molasses and I was constantly forgetful (putting things in the wrong places, turning off lights in a room forgetting that someone was still occupying it, etc). Vacation helped and what's also helping is that I've weaned DB to two feedings a day. My body is becoming less taxed after nearly two years of growing a human being and then sustaining said human being with food. I remember the same surge of energy after I weaned A.

So, when I realized that a vacation week of making only two decisions daily (what to eat and whether to swim in the pool or sea) subsequently lifted the brain fog, I needed to simplify my life more. I can't eliminate much but I can super-organize it, as far as I am able with the unpredictable nature of my job and expat life that defies organization.

Now, I've never had to be a super-organized nerd - and I say "nerd" affectionately because I think all nerds are wonderful - because I didn't juggle so many things like I do currently. It doesn't mean I was less busy before but I was able to stay on top of things without needing an organizational tool or a calendar. I don't really have great organization skills.

To learn some organizational skills, I went to ol' reliable Google and stumbled on the concept of homemaking binder. A homemaking binder is simply a central place to keep everything in order to keep your home running (and whatever else you need to keep running). You keep everything you need in it and you can put in anything you want: contact list, birthday/anniversary list, daily/weekly/monthly planner, task list, cleaning schedule, meal planner/recipe lists/inventories, anything related to kids like school, activities, etc, home maintenance reminders, budget/financial planner, auto maintenance log, etc. You can find many printables on the Internet for free that you can print and fill out for your use -- and they're pretty printables, too :-) It's whatever you want the binder to be but the point is that everything is organized, listed, and put in one central place.

A central place seemed like a good idea, especially since I have no desk. I'm terrible because I keep the calendar on my computer and phone (which syncs with G's calendar so we can see each other's schedule and not double-book ourselves), the grocery list on the whiteboard in the kitchen, the meal planner is usually written down on a piece of paper or on the whiteboard, various stuff on my computer, and I write to-do lists in a notebook which I also jot down ideas and thoughts so the notebook itself is disorganized. The notebook is never in the same place and it migrates from the bedroom to living room to kitchen and back to living room.

So, I've started a binder and it's still a work in progress. My binder isn't just a homemaking binder; it's also a language and work binder. It will help me tremendously to use my time efficiently when I am focusing on language study with its various tasks and projects which are simultaneous so that's a lot of balls to juggle in the air. I can also schedule activities for the girls by keeping it all in the binder. I can also write down work-related tasks (not language) in one category, instead of intermixing the tasks with other tasks on one list so the list is just long and jumbled and not prioritized. Anyway, I could go on and on.

Even though my binder is still a work in progress, I already feel less stressed. I am finally adjusting to the hectic, unpredictable expat life, balancing work and family, and adjusting to the strange nature of my job that isn't like any 9-to-5 job in the States. I won't say that I've arrived but I am getting there.

Cheers!