Can't get my act together...frustrated...

[mlktwins]

I am just so frustrated with myself and I know some of you wonderful ladies will understand. I want to get stuff organized around my house -- the school room especially. Can't motivate to get organized. I need to lose weight -- am on WW. Can't motivate to stay on track (at least I'm not gaining anything back) or exercise. I actually have DH's go ahead to shop for furniture, pictures, lamps, etc. We moved to our dream home back in May. Can't seem to find time or energy to do that either. I feel like our house is not a home quite yet -- not many pictures on the wall, need to get some area rugs, etc.

 

Then there are things I want to do that would make me happy -- work on my scrapbooks, organize my pictures, realy learn my away around my camera and take awesome pictures. Those are my passions (aside from DH and my boys). I always tell myself when I get such and such done, I will take time to work on the things that will make me happy. But...I can't seem to motivate to get the yucky stuff done. I'm a procrastinator so that doesn't help much. I am also a planner and sometimes that doesn't work to my advantage. I often spend too much time planning what and how I will do things and not enough time accomplishing.

 

I make a list every night of things I want to accomplish the next day. For example, I list that I will spend 1 or 2 hours working on organizing the school room. Then I spend several hours in there with the boys, get frustrated that it isn't organized yet, and then don't want to go back in there until school the next day :tongue_smilie:. So...nothing is getting done. I am staying up with the cleaning, laundry, cooking, dishes, bill paying, grocery shopping, etc. Just can't find the motivation to finish getting organized and I can't seem to allow myself to do the things that I would enjoy until the organization is done. I just feel like it's a never ending cycle. Yet I know if I would catch up and have a place for everything, life would be so much smoother.

 

I don't even know why I'm writing this. I've only mentioned it to DH and he said "just do it!" :D He is a very hard worker and will just plug away at something until it is done. The organization is my area though -- he loves that about me because when I get it done, it will be really nice.

 

Anyway, thanks for reading if you read this far. I don't talk to my friends IRL about this. Their houses are all put together, they send their kids to school, and several of them have cleaning people for their house. I don't think they would really understand.

[nono]

Hey there have been times in my life when I was super-pleased that everyone was washed up and their teeth were clean.

 

May I suggest something? Tonight, don't make a list of things for tomorrow. List 1 thing. And dang it, do it.

 

Do that for a week.

 

Then add on from there. :grouphug:

[Alyeska]

:grouphug: I understand completely. It took me awhile to figure out what was going on with me. In my case, it was ADD. My mind would run a million miles per hour, I was always busy and never managed to get anything done. The house was a pig pen. Medication helped me for some time and then I decided I didn't like the ups and downs of the meds. So I went natural and researched causes of ADD. Amino acid imbalance played a major part in my difficulties, as well as diet.

 

Vitamins with aminos and fish oil. Cut out sugar and simple carbs like white bread. Use coffee to self-medicate, as it is a stimulant. That was my prescription and it was very successful.

 

As far as organizing, I had to unbury my home once I started feeling more balanced. What helped more than anything was simplifying and getting rid of lots and lots of stuff. The book From Pigpen to Paradise helped me get a handle on the every day cleaning, as well as the longer term stuff. They tell you how to make a card file to help with chores: daily, bi-weekly, weekly, monthly, seasonally, etc...it took work and patience but my house was decluttered and clean--every nook and cranny--and it only took a few months.

 

For the homeschool room, since that seems to be your nemesis, try and focus on the BIG stuff. It is easy to focus on the small stuff and never get anywhere with organizing. Try and keep yourself on task with the big stuff. Big stuff: get the furniture and bookshelves placed in a way that look appealing. Once you've done that, put the books on the shelves according to size--it is easy to do and you will get used to which books are where. I have a magazine holder for each child with their 3 r's. The rest of the books are organized according to size. small increments of time--work for 15 minutes and leave it! Then come back to it later if you have time, and if not, the next day. Slow and steady wins the race.

 

Anything that does not belong in the school room or does not have a designated space, set in one corner or in a box near the door. Deal with these things one at a time after you've gotten the furniture and books dealt with.

 

Hopefully this will give you a jumping point. Being so frustrated with yourself is counterproductive and I hope you find some solutions and a way to organize that doesn't overwhelm you or cause you to spin your wheels.

[MtnTeaching]

:grouphug: I understand completely. It took me awhile to figure out what was going on with me. In my case, it was ADD

 

OK, so I wrote a long response because I felt your pain and got distracted and am just now getting back. Of course, I was knocked off of the forum and lost my response.

 

Then I read Alyeska's response above and realized why I could literally have written your post myself (see tagline below). The love of planning, the lack of energy, the tough time following through on the plans, starting but not finishing projects, did I happen to mention the lack of energy... have you read "Driven to Distraction"? Good read, I would highly suggest it.

 

Oh honey, I feel your pain. I don't know about you, but I cannot seem to think with disorganization around me... but I always seem to have piles.

 

After the Christmas vacation, I finally did it. I got up early one day, had a nice big protein filled breakfast, dressed for success, gathered my tools, gave the kids assignments to read and told them not to bother me unless their hair was on fire, and completely tore apart the classroom. It took me about 4 focused hours and it is pristine now.

 

We have saved so much time looking for things and the frustration that I felt everytime I came in here is gone. It is motivating to be able to mark that off of the list.

 

For me, the keys to productivity have been: Exercise, lots of water (CO air sucks the life out of me), Fish oil, protein, Adderall, FlyLady, helpful kids, stopping the habit of saying "yes" to EVERYTHING, and not making my to-do list overwhelming.

 

Good luck! I do feel your pain.:grouphug:

[Random]

Hey there have been times in my life when I was super-pleased that everyone was washed up and their teeth were clean.

 

May I suggest something? Tonight, don't make a list of things for tomorrow. List 1 thing. And dang it, do it.

 

Do that for a week.

 

Then add on from there. :grouphug:

 

:iagree:

 

I noticed you mentioned being a procrastinator, which can go hand in hand with perfectionism. If that is your situation, you will get more accomplished if you learn to let go of 'perfect.'

 

But, do make a small list. Then get it done. Start with one small (time-wise) item.

[gardenmom5]

It sounds like there are so many things, you are overwhelmed and dont' know where to start.

 

back to that old "how do you eat an elephant?" one bite at a time.

 

focus, triage your oganization wishes - and start with the area that means the most to you. (if it's your school room, break it down into component parts and focus on one part at a time.) *ignore* the rest for now - just focus on that one area.

 

set small goals/changes for weight loss. eat carrot/celery as an afternoon snack. take a 10 minute walk. if you take three 10 minute walks - you've exercised for 1/2 an hour. even if it is just up and down your street. (I live on a steep hill, amazing what just walking up the darn thing once can do.)

 

drink more water. many people mistake thirst for hunger. when you reach for a snack - drink a glass of water first, and wait 10 minutes to decide if you really want the snack or were just thirsty.

Edited January 19, 2012 by gardenmom5

[mlktwins]

Thanks so much for input and advice. I just ordered "Driven to Distraction" from the library. I have never thought of ADD, but I've just looked at the symptoms. Some do apply to me.

 

It is weird, I am very organized in my paper work for bills, etc. I was an auditor for the Fed Govt for 15 years before kids and I have always been very anal about paperwork and records. I have no problem paying bills on time, getting to appts, etc. I have planned out my boys school work and we stay on top of that. I'm very organized with book lists, what I need to order from the library, etc. I check and file their school work when completed. But....I cannot get the school room straight (organizing all the books, puzzles, games, manipulatives, etc). I have a beautiful craft room that my husband made sure I had in the new house. The furniture is there. It was organized in the beginning. Now it is the catch all room. On my behalf though, DH needs to put more shelves in the closet so I can get stuff put away. He did put shelves in the school room months ago and I still haven't organized. He won't do the shelves in my craft room until I clean up the school room -- LOL. I don't blame him.

 

I am going to try the suggestions you've made. I will try and just focus on one thing to get completed before moving to another. I know it would feel so good to get it done. I am definitely a perfectionist and that does not help. I am trying to let that go. That is another reason I haven't gotten to my scrapbooks yet. I want them to be perfect and I agonize over page layouts, etc and never get around to doing them. My mind also goes a mile a minute so even while I'm trying to get something done (school room organized), I am focusing in my mind on what needs to be done next. Then I feel overwhelmed.

 

It will be interesting for me to read the suggested book.

 

Thanks again ladies!!!

[magnificent_baby]

I could have nearly written your post. Sometimes I really feel like I have ADD when it comes to my house: I cannot stay on task long enough to accomplish much of anything.

 

One thing that I have been doing, and has REALLY helped me stay focused, is to use a timer. I choose one task (cleaning the sink out and wiping down counters for example), set the timer for 10 minutes, and force myself to work only on that one task. I am amazed at how much I can get done in that 10 minutes when I focus.

 

Another idea is breaking down a mess into smaller tasks, writing them down, using a timer and crossing off as I go. Instead of listing "clean dining room", I write down "clean craft cabinet" or "clear off table". Breaking it down into specific tasks seems to help versus walking into a room and feeling so overwhelmed.

 

Hang in there, I know exactly how it feels. :grouphug:

[justamouse]

IT sounds as if you just moved? I mean, it hasn't been a year yet? We moved a year and a half ago and let me tell you, it's a gargantuan task. I am just now getting to the point where I'm over it.

 

I work in swells. I get a lot done, then I have months of puttering. Then the next huge task gets done, then I putter. But what I've come to realize is that it's a cycle, and that huge amount of energy (emotional and physical) it took to move, will come back.

 

Don't beat yourself up too much. Even though you moved to your dream house, it takes a lot of emotional energy, and that saps you more than anything.