So little time so much to do

“There is never a time when new distraction will not show up; we sow them, so several will grow from the same seed.”
– Seneca

Distractions, we have all experienced it. Most of them harmless and simple. We get distracted by that gripping novel we were reading, our favorite show’s season finale, or by the pretty lady that walked past by. Even something positive like socializing or that project you have been working on may distract you. Anything that unnecessarily takes much of your time and attention and prevents you from doing what you should be doing at that moment is a distraction.

I remember mindlessly going through my days, staying up late and waking up late, struggling to get to work and coming home just to binge watch tv or spend countless hours surfing the internet, do the cleaning, the laundry, the reading, and pretty much everything over the weekends. You could say that I’m going through my days with no sense of direction, nor completion and no goals. I go through my life distracted…

Until I learned to employ strategies and tools to better manage my distractions; learning to set routines and planning ahead the upcoming weeks, and breaking down overwhelming tasks into more manageable bits.

My daily morning routine consists of:

• Wake up at 6:30 in the morning
• Make my bed
• Take a cold shower
• Brush my teeth
• Apply my morning moisturizer
• Spray the shower with a bathroom cleaner
• Wipe down the sink and toilet with some disinfectant wipes
• Get dressed for the day

Before going to bed, my evening routine would be:

• Watch at least 1 show on TV
• Do the assigned chore for the day
• Declutter
• Sweep the floors
• Do the dishes
• Take a warm bath
• Shampoo my hair depending on how dirty it was that day
• Brush my teeth
• Apply my night cream
• Wipe the sink and bathroom again with disinfectant wipes

Setting up routines have greatly improved how I go through my day and has helped me in allocating much of my time. My daily routine has given me a sense of completion as the day ends. Setting up a routine for yourself is like setting up a standard for yourself. Letting yourself see the things you deserve and work to attain it.

Aside from my daily routines, I allocate my chores to each day of the week instead of doing it all on the weekends.

• Mondays, I do the dusting
• Tuesdays, I clean the bathroom
• Wednesdays, I mop the floors
• Thursdays, I clean the windows and the mirrors
• Fridays, I clean the fridge and the microwave
• Saturdays, I do the laundry
• Sundays, I plan again for next week

Aside from planning, I get to do pretty much anything on Sundays. I could catch up on the things I missed from the previous days: I shine my shoes, I go out and see a movie, go out window shopping, or maybe a date. I could go out for a walk or maybe read a magazine or two. Sundays usually are my buffers.

Establishing my daily routine and planning ahead for the week has helped me a lot in managing any distractions and has kept me on track especially on difficult periods in life. Having a daily routine sets you up for the day, it gives you a bit of confidence knowing you have accomplished something before you sleep. Weekly planning provides you with a solution to what seems to be an overwhelming endeavor.

I am fully aware that not all days are perfect, that not all days will go according to plan. There will be days where I will be just too lazy to get up in the mornings, or just be too overwhelmed or just be too occupied at something to do any particular task assigned for that day. But each day I try to maintain everything when possible and do a better job at following through the plan knowing that in the end even the most menial chores I have finish mattered.

We all live different lives, some are rock stars while some are begging for scraps. And others are your average ones trying to get by, but we all have the same 24hrs each day and each minute is as same as anybody else. And it’s up to us on how we spend each moment.