This is This and That is That

After I explained "who is what" in yesterday's post, I was reminded about how Flounder from Disney's The Little Mermaid, (Ariel's best friend) got himself and Ariel in trouble when he tried to explain things. It's where I got my post title.

Today is another ROW80 check-in, and I promised to explain some things that I've been trying. Let me give you a little background.

Back when I was in school, I was easily distracted. My third-grade teacher, WHO I LOVED, called it rabbit chasing. Today, they would likely call it ADD. Just in case you didn't know, it's not a kid's problem. It's something folks will deal with their entire lives.

I still get distracted, going into the kitchen for something and completely forgetting about it because I stopped to get the doggies water and folded a load of laundry, answered the phone and started
dinner. I get back to my office and realize that I forgot the soda I needed in the first place.

I'll do the same thing online. Think of a term I need to research and open my browser to find Facebook hollers and tweets I need to see. I'll follow a few more links and find an hour has past before I get to my original task - if I remember it.

So I did some preparation this weekend. First, I used Google Calendar. I've read some blogs and posts about writers who purchase a daily calendar and log in their actual writing time as well as other time-wasters. I thought that sounded pretty wise, though I'm not sure I want to admit to time wasters! Still, I'm not one for money wasting either so instead of a purchase, I decided to use my calendar. I scheduled my appointments and schooling time, then filled in with media and writing sections, even adding a home-blessing hour because my poor house is taking a beating now that I'm spending so much time with trusty laptop.

As I scheduled though, I was mindful of sectioning my media time and lumping the writing. Writing all my words, all at once is by far the easiest way to do things, especially if I'm writing everyday. On the other hand, I don't want to lump all my media time together. I need one pile to blog-trot, but I need a couple of other slots to do some tweeting and facebooking, spreading it out through the day. The graphic shows my pink regular activities - a personal calendar - while the blue shows my writing activities - a separate business calendar. The yellow at the top is a family calendar. (I even keep the girls' schedules, in different colors on their own calendars so that my final monthly one is a full rainbow! :)

The other tactic I tried freed up my online time and organized my visiting. I sorted the blogs I typically trot through. (By the way, I like the word blog-trot. Made it up myself to describe the sites I like to routinely visit.) I must visit 50 blogs every week, but most of them are just links I find here and there. I've saved a few that I really like. (Most of my faves are loaded at the left column and are worth a visit!) But I don't often remember to go. So I created a bookmark folder that stays on my bar at the top of my browser page. The folder is simply labeled Blog Visits and inside are six other folders, one for each weekday and a collective one for the weekend. Inside each day's folder I've saved the blogs that I'll visit that day. That way, I get around to all the blogs I like. I'm regularly commenting, but not overwhelming any particular day.

My plan seems to be working. I've stayed with my word count goals this week and set a timer when I did my social media. (It's SO easy to get distracted!) When done, I closed my browser and put in earbuds to avoid barking dogs, chatter, ringing phones, etc. I've found that I can write to classical music as long as it isn't playing too loud, but nothing with words. I tried to use swing, but my feet wouldn't stay still. I might need to download some movie soundtracks. Any suggestions?

I've also implemented a little hanging picture for my office door. When it's on the knob, no knocking or interruptions except for the emergency type. I use it sparingly, when I'm really struggling, but it works!

What time management, organization, or discipline ideas work for you?