Finding time

I think one of the hardest things, no matter who you are or what time period you live in is finding time. There are some days I feel like my mind is in a thousand locations. Thinking, what do I still have to do, how much time does it take, why does my to-do list never get any smaller. I look back at my life and I have been busy and I remain busy. I have learned to compartmentalize, prioritize, and be somewhat organized. Between baking, cooking, gardening, sewing, tatting, spinning, knitting, learning new things, reading, studying, and remembering what I need to do at work sometimes I will admit I do feel a little stretched thin. It is finding balance though that keeps me from going crazy and shutting down.

So how do I find time for it all? Well first is by knowing how long things take and setting time limits. Like tonight, I came home from work, I typed up my blog, giving myself only until 6:45 to type up them. This doesn’t mean I am posting, I am just typing up the rough draft, and thinking what I will need for pictures, and then by Tuesday when I post it will be already to go and I can just click publish. After that I am making supper, now when I cook I make big things, tonight is leftover chili. This means I spent one day cooking it, making a lot which means I have lots of meals for the future, and all I need to do is heat it up. After dinner, I can knit, or sew until bed. Now tomorrow when I come home, I will do some cleaning, maybe work in my garden, then eat dinner and sew, knit or spin.

To keep track of my projects, I write. All over my house I have note pads. I have a note pad by my computer with my blog ideas. I have note pad on my kitchen counter where I note items I need to buy and what I need to do before a certain date. On my calendar I note where I need to be on different days so I can keep track. In my purse I keep a green note book. Inside it are tools for my purse knitting project, (the one I keep in there in case I have spare moments), and a list of every project I have yet to do or need to do. There is no order to the list but it helps me keep track of what yarn or fabric is for what project and what I need to do.

Some project take forever for me to do. A cousin is getting married and I have no clue what they are getting yet and I still haven’t finished the last cousin’s gift. (I promise I will finish it soon-ish,  maybe, someday). Keeping track isn't easy but neither is finding time but if you spare a moment here, and a moment there, it doesn't pile up so bad. (Hopefully)

So how do you find the time? Do you set times for set things, or do you follow your heart, or are you like me and halfway between the two? Do you keep lists everywhere, or think, I’ll remember? Do you struggle to find the balance or is balance in the disorder? I am kind of the later. I’d rather be disorderly balanced then have nothing to do. Life is more interesting that way.