Sidetracked Home Execs, Listen Up!

Have you ever heard that term: Sidetracked Home Executives? I seem to recall that my mother had a book that had something to do with that when I was growing up. So, I obviously come by all of this honestly.

I made a post on FaceBook about something I've been doing for a few months now that has been pretty awesome for me, and it seems to have hit a chord with so many folks, that I thought I would elaborate. I thought it could also be a good effort at supporting the folks who started it and are (probably) using the sales to supplement their family incomes. I got it originally from my sister Laura, who lives in Oregon.

It is basically a chore planner. You purchase it online at motivatedmoms.com for a mere $8. $4 right now (I guess because the year is half over?) And it looks like this:




Hey, remember in the Wizard of Oz, when the old man behind the curtain is still trying to pretend he's the wizard, even though Toto has already outed him?

Pretend I'm him:

"PAY NO ATTENTION TO THOSE DARK SPOTS ON THE SIDE OF THE PAGE!!"

There was an unfortunate incident on Saturday, involving a smoothie.

Anyway, this chore planner is for those (you don't have to be a mom, just anyone who has a house that needs to be cleaned) who like lists. I realize that there are areas of life where lists are not necessarily good, but housekeeping isn't one of them. Lists make me feel productive. Organized. Sane. Accomplished. I love, love, love checking them off.

It's also for people who have a tendency of getting....sidetracked. People who have some attention issues, procrastation associated with perfectionism, and perhaps a touch of laziness.

Hyper-disciplined people and uber-organized people do not need to read any further. If you do, you will just end up wondering what in the world I am talking about.

My husband is one of those people. When I tried to explain what's so great about this system to him last night, he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language.

One that I made up.

Anyhoo, you have a page for every week. Down the left side of the page is stuff that needs to be done every day. Cleaning all the sinks (yes, this is somewhat similar to Fly Lady but different. I was never really able to get into Fly Lady, I don't know why), wiping down counters, etc. You can also add your own dailies. I've added "play with Kolbie". Once I started making an effort to do this, I realized that, whereas, I used to think I had absolutely NO TIME to do this, I actually do because it only takes 10 minutes! Who knew.

Down the right side of the page, the week is broken down and on each day there are 4 or 5 chores that need to be done. It seems so simple, doesn't it? Do you do it? I don't.

My days are so busy, you see. They go by so fast. Especially now that I'm back in school and substituting most days, I feel like I have time to do nothing when it comes to the house, and that's not good.

So, today, for instance, I'm supposed to wash the kitchen window (there's only one so no prob), clean blinds/curtains in kitchen (I threw them in the wash w/ the rest of today's laundry), clean the light fixture in the kitchen, clean the glass in the family room, clips the kids' nails, and dust my bedroom. I can do that!

Once I was doing it for a couple of weeks, I noticed that my house was definitely cleaner AND I had hardly any house chores to do on the weekends, so I've been working in my yard more than I have in FOREVER!

Also absent has been my SMF (Saturday Morning Fit, I think this was also in my mom's book). The one I swore I would never throw because I thought my mom was a lunatic when she did it to me? Yep, that's the one!

The one where I get all overwhelmed by the amount of housework that has to be done on Saturday morning and start raging at the kids for having messy rooms and for not helping more around the house.

Also, I add to my list, phone calls I have to make, something that needs to be picked up at the store, or something that's due to be sent in to school.

Ok. On to practical time management.

This is a problem for me.

Let's say that I have 10 minutes before I have to leave to go somewhere. Normally, I would feel so overwhelmed by all the things that NEED to be done, that I figure there is no way I can get anything done and I end up choosing one of the following options:

A)Stand at the counter reading whatever book I'm trying to get through. Right now, that's a book called The Life of Edgar Sawtelle.

"Still?!" You're probably asking if you happen to be one of my friends who is in-the-know about my reading habits.

Still.

I got sidetracked.

B) Flip on the tv for 15 minutes.

C) Get on FaceBook.

Ahem.

Not necessarily in that order.

Now, when I look at the list, I say to myself, "I can clean all the bathroom mirrors in 15 minutes!" And it's done. Check it off the list.

What about the kids? I have the kids pick a chore off the list for the day & do it. Plus they have to do the ones for their room, although I do help.

So, there you have it. Check out the website. There is also a homeschooling section and other types of planners, and book recommendations.

And listen, stop on by without announcing yourself, you'll see.

While there will still be toys strewn about the floor and (as in the case of the moment I'm typing this) perhaps a crying child on the floor insisting that his brother has broken his arm; the bathrooms are clean, floors are clean, laundry & dishes are done, and the dog is tired.

Shazam.