To Optimize Your week, pack your bags!
As the week wears on, it seems there’s less and less time to do even simple things that would make life a little less hectic, such as gathering things I need for various activities or meetings. To streamline my day to day, I’ve taken to packing my bags only once a week. I collect up a week’s worth of gym clothes and sort them into appropriate piles by day. Then I look at my schedule and see what other items I’ll require those days, such as the notebook I use to keep track of brainstorms at Thursday’s Idea Party, or the papers I’ll need for the board meeting Tuesday. These items go into the right pile along with the gym clothes for that day. Library books to go back Wednesday? Check. In the pile! Then I take the piles and put them into a fabric shopping bag such as the kind you can buy from any grocery store (the grocery list goes in Monday’s bag, along with a few more shopping bags…). I tag the bags with the correct day of the week and place them in order by my front door so I all I have to do is grab the first bag in the row on my way out. This system ensures I’m always prepared and eliminates the need to make multiple trips back home to retrieve items I may have forgotten.
Having gym clothes already packed and ready to throw on is a great motivator- I’m half way to working out before I even have to think about it! The system is also a great way to remind yourself of those things that often slip our minds: remembering to return Aunt Jane’s cake stand is a lot easier when the stand is already packed and in your bag.
Try not to overload yourself. It’s easy to start making piles and lists. Before you know it, you’ll have a task list for each day, complete with accessories, that covers your whole day. Folks with ADHD are great list makers. We just need to remember to prioritize those lists, and keep only the items that will provide the greatest return in terms of either productivity or family happiness. Don’t add anything to a pile unless it’s already a clearly defined, actionable item. Packing your journal knowing you will have a half hour on your lunch break to write is an action, an appointment with yourself. Packing your entire collection of crafting tools in the hope of forcing some time to create out of a busy work day is not an action, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Packing your bags is the first step. It’s obviously very important, as is step two, which is following through with the items in your bag. Take those books back, wear the gym clothes and get sweaty! The third step is just as important as the first two. It brings the whole process full circle- bring the bag back home. Don’t leave it in the car! Make it a rule that Monday’s bag is only ever in the vehicle on Monday (or arrives in the car on Sunday night if you prefer to not think too much first thing in the morning!). Never have more than one bag in the car at a time. It’s counterproductive. If an item proves to be unactionable one day, reassign it to another one and move the items accordingly. The trick is to keep forward momentum going- take those gym clothes and put them in the laundry hamper so they’ll be ready to go back in the bag at your next packing session. Your goal at the end of the day is an empty bag and a fuller life.
Using this system in tandem with automated text or email reminders will keep you on track all week. Give it a go and see whether or not your life runs more smoothly. I’d love to hear how it works out for you!
Having gym clothes already packed and ready to throw on is a great motivator- I’m half way to working out before I even have to think about it! The system is also a great way to remind yourself of those things that often slip our minds: remembering to return Aunt Jane’s cake stand is a lot easier when the stand is already packed and in your bag.
Try not to overload yourself. It’s easy to start making piles and lists. Before you know it, you’ll have a task list for each day, complete with accessories, that covers your whole day. Folks with ADHD are great list makers. We just need to remember to prioritize those lists, and keep only the items that will provide the greatest return in terms of either productivity or family happiness. Don’t add anything to a pile unless it’s already a clearly defined, actionable item. Packing your journal knowing you will have a half hour on your lunch break to write is an action, an appointment with yourself. Packing your entire collection of crafting tools in the hope of forcing some time to create out of a busy work day is not an action, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Packing your bags is the first step. It’s obviously very important, as is step two, which is following through with the items in your bag. Take those books back, wear the gym clothes and get sweaty! The third step is just as important as the first two. It brings the whole process full circle- bring the bag back home. Don’t leave it in the car! Make it a rule that Monday’s bag is only ever in the vehicle on Monday (or arrives in the car on Sunday night if you prefer to not think too much first thing in the morning!). Never have more than one bag in the car at a time. It’s counterproductive. If an item proves to be unactionable one day, reassign it to another one and move the items accordingly. The trick is to keep forward momentum going- take those gym clothes and put them in the laundry hamper so they’ll be ready to go back in the bag at your next packing session. Your goal at the end of the day is an empty bag and a fuller life.
Using this system in tandem with automated text or email reminders will keep you on track all week. Give it a go and see whether or not your life runs more smoothly. I’d love to hear how it works out for you!