Gail-Friends: organization

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Wisdom Wednesday #11 - Idleness

As promised, this week, we'll focus on the second part of this verse from Proverbs 31:

צ ²⁷She watches how things go in her house,
        not eating the bread of idleness.

When I think of all the work women had to do in Bible times, I wonder how they would ever have time to be idle, don't you?

The internet is my greatest time waster. I liken it to browsing in a library, which is one of my favorite things to do. I can sit down to look up a phone number, and a couple of hours later I'm still there, learning about travel to Great Britain or pinning house projects and recipes on Pinterest. The odd thing about it is, it feels like I'm busy. I'm not. I'm being idle. Wasting time.

With all the many things I do, and have to keep track of, I've found it helpful to keep a list like this on a clipboard. It really helps me stay organized and focused.

On the back, I have a column for "To Buy" and "House Projects" - with lots of space to write notes to myself. I'm a list-maker, and love crossing things off.

I also use the Six Most Important Things list idea, which I learned from Mary Kay Ash. Every day, I make a list of those things to do, and I categorize them by importance or urgency. Then, I start with number one and work my way down. If I don't finish, I add it to tomorrow's list. This really works well for me.

These are all in addition to my daily routine of house maintenance, cooking three meals a day, and laundry. I've found it really helpful to just do a little bit every day, rather than a full day of housecleaning.

If I finish everything on my list, then I can enjoy some time on Pinterest without guilt.

One of my all-time favorite books is Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman by Ann Ortlund. She taught me a great deal about discipline and organization. I highly recommend every woman read it.

I'd love to know what helps you stay organized and focused.

Shavua Tov! (Have a good week)
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Spiritual Sundays