Go For The Gold

It used to be that I was super organized about my schedule and the tasks I had to complete. You know that Type-A friend who makes you crazy because there has to be a plan for every second of the day? Yeah. That was me. When I went to RYLA in high school, the personality test system we used had me categorized about as gold as they come. But the older I've gotten, the less gold I am. I have just let go of the need to plan every second, keep a full year's calendar and have a hundred lists a day.

But since I'm starting school later this month and working as a DSC and traveling so much this year on top of the other things I do, I decided that this year, I need to go for the gold. I can't miss deadlines, forget meetings or function without lists. Or I WILL forget.

So yesterday afternoon, after falling on the ice (could I resolve to be less accident prone this year?), I went out and bought myself a new planner. It's a pretty simple planner. Just a page per day with a pre-labeled 8am-8pm schedule, a to do list, expense column and note section on each page. So I thought to myself: Hey! I'll write in my travel! And my church meetings! And... And... And...

SIX HOURS LATER, I was still writing in my planner! Oye! I needed to get it all in there and I'm glad I did, but holy Moses. It's been a few years since I've been so structured about schedules, tasks and commitments. I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed.

One thing I hope will serve me well, though, is that I've already scheduled out twelve hours every week for school. And my promise to myself and my educational journey is that if I have another event that comes up during a scheduled school time slot, I have to move that school time slot to another day or find a place to make up those hours. And if I don't have any more assignments to work on and still have time left, I will go back and review. I think it's the only way I'll be sure I stay focused.

So it's time to bury my inner orange that comes out more and more with age and go for the gold! I need to do it to be successful - I just hope I can re-connect with the discipline I used to have!