Ok, that looks too good to be true, however, what I mean by this blog is that in 15min slots I get more housework done than I would normaly.
The reason, for me is, I get distracted easily. Therefore, if I decide to dedicate a day to doing my house work, you can gaurantee that I will have jobs half finished all over the house, lol.
So working in 15min time slots at different times durring the day I can get so much more done and it gets done completely. Im not talking about re-arranging an entire room in 15min, but if you decided that you want to do that, you can do it in 15min slots.
Heres how I do it.
1 - Make a monthly chores list
You can include big jobs, the every day jobs, jobs you have been meaning to get to but havent
2 - Mak a weekly chart
I have a spreadsheet that I use. On the left hand side I list each room and under each room I list the specific jobs. I itemize every job seperately. Eg: Kitchen, Dishes, Counter tops, Vacume floor, Mop floor
Along the top of the spreadsheet I list the dates from Monday to Sunday (yes, i list sunday, you dont have too, its just my preference).
Now there are jobs that need to be done every day such as dishes, washing etc, these I place a star next too so that I ensure I remember them daily.
3 - When you do the job is up to you
What I tend to do here is just do something, anything durring times when I feel like it.
For instance, when I go for a smoke I will normaly pick a job and do it either do it before or after I go out for my smoke.
Other times, toilet breaks, meal breaks, even add breaks. Considering I am at my computer alot these days, its always a good idea for me to take a break every hour atleast. This could mean that I get the water ready for the dishes and wipe the benches down while I wait for the sink to fill, then I get the dishes washed and off I go back to my desk. I may then take another break at some point, and run out and hang out or bring in the washing.
Most time these jobs dont take 15min so its a personal choice if you do more than one job durring that time or you could just leave it at that one job.
Once a job is finished I go back to my spreadsheet and log the time I completed the job. Daily jobs will have 7 times listed.
Its realy rewarding at the end of the week to be able to see on my spreadsheet what I have accomplished. Then come the weekend I normaly have minimal house work and just have to worry about the little daily jobs.
I was actualy hoping to have a screen shot of my cleaning spreadsheet, however, as with my mind map I have still not worked out how to get it onto here. When I do though, it will be up on this blog for everyone to see, lol.
If you have any tips or tricks you use when it comes to house work, please share them with us all in the comments section. Any feedback or questions are welcome, or feel free to email me directly for any reason.
As we come up to christmas, you can imagine how full my chores list is, however, I havent been working much so I have had all the time in the world to do more house work. :)
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
How I Organise My Balanced Life - Part 1 - Mind Mapping
Ive decided to write a series on Organisation and what tools I use to help keep me on track to My Balanced Life.
In this first blog of the series I want to go over something that I blogged about in one of my other blogs called "Mind Mapping Experiment". In that blog I wrote that I was using a peice of paper to make my Mind Maps, since then I have found an online programme that is FREE www.mindomo.com
I currently have 3 maps going
1 - My Lifestyle Design Map
This map in short is my long term goals map
2 - My Weekly Intensive Schedule
This is the map I use to plan my day to day project work, its my "to do list".
3 - My Ideas Map
This is where I stick all my ideas, inspiring or otherwise. At the end of each week I go through this map and log the ideas into either my Lifestyle Design Map or my Weekly Intensive Schedule, or both depending on the idea.
Today though, I want to share with you the 2nd map, my Weekly Intensive Schedule just to give you an idea of how I use this map as an organisation tool.
For the first 2 weeks of using it, I was scheduling up to 7 different tasks for the day and I can now say that for me its too scattered. Jumping from one project to another durring the day can sometimes mean that I have to stop something that I am doing to ensure that I meet my schedule.
Therefore I have re-evaluated my schedule and will now be focusing fully on one project per day. I will still keep my normal daily chores locked in, but the majority of my concentration will be focused in the one area rather than scattered between 4 or 5 different tasks.
This will also help to organise my thoughts. It will keep me on track and I wont feel guilty for not finishing every task on the list.
I dont slot tasks into certain times of the day, instead I allocate an amount of time to tasks so that I can work around my family. As long as I am working on the one topic I am hoping it will give me more momentom.
Unfortunately at this time I have no idea how to screen shot my mind map but as soon as I do I will be sure to add it to this post.
So, all in all I feel that the mind map is going to be a great asset to my life its just going to be a matter of the best way to use it.
If anyone uses another type of automated programme please feel free to share it in the comments section. I would also luv to hear about the reasons why you use a particular system or site.
In this first blog of the series I want to go over something that I blogged about in one of my other blogs called "Mind Mapping Experiment". In that blog I wrote that I was using a peice of paper to make my Mind Maps, since then I have found an online programme that is FREE www.mindomo.com
I currently have 3 maps going
1 - My Lifestyle Design Map
This map in short is my long term goals map
2 - My Weekly Intensive Schedule
This is the map I use to plan my day to day project work, its my "to do list".
3 - My Ideas Map
This is where I stick all my ideas, inspiring or otherwise. At the end of each week I go through this map and log the ideas into either my Lifestyle Design Map or my Weekly Intensive Schedule, or both depending on the idea.
Today though, I want to share with you the 2nd map, my Weekly Intensive Schedule just to give you an idea of how I use this map as an organisation tool.
For the first 2 weeks of using it, I was scheduling up to 7 different tasks for the day and I can now say that for me its too scattered. Jumping from one project to another durring the day can sometimes mean that I have to stop something that I am doing to ensure that I meet my schedule.
Therefore I have re-evaluated my schedule and will now be focusing fully on one project per day. I will still keep my normal daily chores locked in, but the majority of my concentration will be focused in the one area rather than scattered between 4 or 5 different tasks.
This will also help to organise my thoughts. It will keep me on track and I wont feel guilty for not finishing every task on the list.
I dont slot tasks into certain times of the day, instead I allocate an amount of time to tasks so that I can work around my family. As long as I am working on the one topic I am hoping it will give me more momentom.
Unfortunately at this time I have no idea how to screen shot my mind map but as soon as I do I will be sure to add it to this post.
So, all in all I feel that the mind map is going to be a great asset to my life its just going to be a matter of the best way to use it.
If anyone uses another type of automated programme please feel free to share it in the comments section. I would also luv to hear about the reasons why you use a particular system or site.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Lady of Leisures 10 Ideas for a less stressful Christmas
If you are having family and friends around for Christmas then why not try a couple of the below ideas.
1 – The good old Kris Kringle for the adults, and put a limit on the amount you spend on each child.
2 – It can be hard buying for teenagers who's tastes change all the time, suggest the family give money to the older children, and get the parents to set up a bank account. This will ensure they can't spend it all at once. They can also go shopping for themselves during the boxing day sales.
3 – Put together a gift basket.
We received one last year from a family member, it had a number of items and a poem that went with it, it was the most heartfelt pressie I have every received!!
Try the op-shops, they always have knicknacs that are ideal for gift baskets.
If your buying for a couple, what about a romantic gift basket, or even a naughty one lol
4 – Ensure you shop with a list otherwise the pretty lights around a sale price may suck you in then you wonder who the present is going to go to. Also, ensure you know how much you are going to spend on each persons gift and try to only take enough to cover it. This means you will really be on the look out for something special.
5 – Get everyone to bring a plate to the Christmas gathering, sort out who brings what. You will find you waste less this way, and the hosts of the lunch or dinner are not stressing about their budget.
6 – Make sure you put money away for the next month so that you aren't wipping out your bank accounts in one day
7 – If you are an arty kind of person, why not paint or draw something special
8 – Try to stick to cash payments where possible, don't get so far in debt that its going to take you a year to pay off one days worth of spending
9 – Give something to someone you don't know.
Im sure you have all seen the trees outside Kmart etc where you give a gift for a child who may otherwise not receive anything for Christmas. Put a little something under the tree. It only has to cost you a few dollars but it could mean the world to someone else.
10 – Give the gift of love!! Nothing says I love you like you do!
1 – The good old Kris Kringle for the adults, and put a limit on the amount you spend on each child.
2 – It can be hard buying for teenagers who's tastes change all the time, suggest the family give money to the older children, and get the parents to set up a bank account. This will ensure they can't spend it all at once. They can also go shopping for themselves during the boxing day sales.
3 – Put together a gift basket.
We received one last year from a family member, it had a number of items and a poem that went with it, it was the most heartfelt pressie I have every received!!
Try the op-shops, they always have knicknacs that are ideal for gift baskets.
If your buying for a couple, what about a romantic gift basket, or even a naughty one lol
4 – Ensure you shop with a list otherwise the pretty lights around a sale price may suck you in then you wonder who the present is going to go to. Also, ensure you know how much you are going to spend on each persons gift and try to only take enough to cover it. This means you will really be on the look out for something special.
5 – Get everyone to bring a plate to the Christmas gathering, sort out who brings what. You will find you waste less this way, and the hosts of the lunch or dinner are not stressing about their budget.
6 – Make sure you put money away for the next month so that you aren't wipping out your bank accounts in one day
7 – If you are an arty kind of person, why not paint or draw something special
8 – Try to stick to cash payments where possible, don't get so far in debt that its going to take you a year to pay off one days worth of spending
9 – Give something to someone you don't know.
Im sure you have all seen the trees outside Kmart etc where you give a gift for a child who may otherwise not receive anything for Christmas. Put a little something under the tree. It only has to cost you a few dollars but it could mean the world to someone else.
10 – Give the gift of love!! Nothing says I love you like you do!
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