Learning to Prioritize

Have you ever gotten so far behind on a project you were passionate about that you completely forgot about it?

I have.

Learning to prioritize is a skill.  A hard-earned skill that I am continually working on.  I think I know what my priorities are … until I look at what I actually accomplish vs. what I set out to do.  It is then apparent that what I desire and what I achieve don’t always match.  Somehow the daily activities of life can keep me so busy that I simply stop doing the the things that rightfully should have been on top of my to-do list.

To get myself back in gear I am joining with a Crystal B., Laura, & Erin in a 21 day self-discipline challenge.  Crystal Payne has written a great e-book filled with little gems of wisdom.  And we will be following her guide as we work through many little goals, and one “Mega Project.”

Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the tedious details every day, but just to hold myself accountable (I love creating accountability for myself), I’ll update every once in a while.

Day 1: “Whether or not I live a disciplined life depends solely upon me and the choices I make on a daily basis.”

Little Things: Choose 1 small project and finish it in the next 24 hours

I am a lousy communicator.  I always think that a better/quieter/other-excuse time will come, and I delay responding to messages for far too long.  So, to battle my own excuses, today I responded to a couple of really old emails, and you know what, it only took me 3 minutes.  

Mega Project Assignment: Choose a project, outline 21 steps, and complete the first step.

Remember that forgotten passion that I mentioned above?  Well, sadly it is the children’s art history program that I run which has fallen through the cracks.  I love the projects.  I love the community service. I love the history.  I love the kids.  What I don’t love is the planning.

For several reasons, I got behind this year and couldn’t quite organize myself enough to begin planning.  I had to delay registration and disappointed 60 kids.  Boo me.

So, for my Mega Project I will be pulling all of my lesson plans together in order to open registration by the end of the month.  Here are the steps I need to take:

Notice I included several catch-up days – I know myself, moving forward every day in not my reality, so I decided to accept that fact and plan for it.

• Thurs. Nov. 1 – find all old materials, random printouts, and scrap papers containing ideas for coming session
• Fri. Nov 2 – create beautiful and functional binder to work out of
• Sat. Nov 3 – design simple forms in which to collect information for each artist study/community service project
• Sun. Nov 4 – research potential artists & come up with a short-list
• Mon. Nov 5 – create list of potential community service projects
• Tues. Nov 6 – catch up day – don’t forget to VOTE
• Wed. Nov 7 – update registration forms & advertising materials
• Thurs. Nov 8 – contact parents & create poll to discuss dates/times
• Fri. Nov 9 – general online research – biographies, hands-on projects, & materials
• Sat. Nov 10 – sketch out Jan artist biography, craft project, & community outreach
• Sun Nov 11 – catch up day
• Mon. Nov 12 – sketch out Feb artist biography, craft project, & community outreach
• Tues. Nov 13 – sketch out March artist biography, craft project, & community outreach
• Wed. Nov 14 – sketch out April artist biography, craft project, & community outreach
• Thurs Nov 15 – send out notice to returning students and ask for volunteers *be specific
• Fri. Nov 16 – sketch out May artist biography, craft project, & community outreach
• Sat. Nov 17 – assemble powerpoint slideshows
• Sun. Nov 18 – catch up day
• Mon. Nov 19 – collect fun picture books and website links for each artist (usborne?)
• Tues. Nov 20 – assemble supply list & post to vendors
• Wed. Nov 21 – open registration and post links to supply list and extension information

Day 2: “Let’s face it, we already know what to do, it’s doing it that is the problem.”

Little Things: Choose one simple thing and follow through with it for the next week.

Part of what makes me fall so far behind is the false idea that I have too much to do. Information overload is the biggest culprit, so in keeping with my progress for day 1, I am pledging to keep my in-box clean.  My goal is to respond immediately, even if it is to say “call me in a week if I haven’t gotten back to you on this yet.”

Mega project Assignment: Do step 2

Yesterday’s gathering mission left me with a giant heap to sort through.  I rifled through everything throwing away more than I expected, and gathering all of the scraps of paper with idea notes and other random stuff into one binder.

I organized it all using handy-dandy dividers with pockets (like these) so that any incoming scraps of paper have a logical place to land.

Now, I know myself.  I really hate ugly organization.  So, I pulled out a couple of pretty sheets of paper I had hiding in my craft room and gussied up my utilitarian binder.  Admittedly, the inside is a still a mess of scraps, but they are now organized scraps.

I am already enjoying having a clear plan.  It will be nice to see it come together.

One step at a time!