To-Do Lists

I'm a list person. I always have been, probably always will be. I can't procrastinate to save my life. I enjoy productivity and checking things off of my to-do lists. But lately I've been keeping the lists in my phone so that they're more portable and it saves on paper. The only problem is that now those lists are constantly carried with me, begging for things on them to be checked off.

But let me tell you, growing up sucks. I feel like every time that I check something off, I put 5 more things on it. Why is that? I feel like I can't relax anymore because I have so much to do and I'm always reminded of that because the lists are so accessible. (I hate to admit this but my phone is my life. I don't know what I'd do without it.)

Every time that I sit down to enjoy some "me" time, I can't stop thinking about all of the things that I have to do: get the car washed, do 5 sections worth of math homework, do the dishes, etc. It never seems to end. It makes me wonder how I'll ever be able to handle being a mom one day when I can barely keep up with everything that I need to do for just myself. I always ask myself how my mom was ever able to keep up with everything while my sister and I were growing up. I've come to the conclusion that moms have superpowers. Yep, that sounds about right.

I really try my best to manage my time and relax when possible though. "Try" is definitely the awkward word here. Since I only go to college 2 days a week, I use the other days to get necessary things done. But since my mom lets me live in her home rent-free, I try my best to help her out as well. I feel guilty if she comes home to a dirty house if I've been home all day and I could've done something to help her out.

So my days off from school normally go like this:

• Wake up, get ready and make coffee
• Blog (I always feel really accomplished after I write a blog post. ) 
• Do math homework
• Do the dishes
• Take a 10 minute break
• Do anthropology homework
• Fold the laundry
• Take a 10 minute break 

You get the picture. Basically that cycle runs all day until I can physically do no more and I give myself small breaks while getting stuff done for my family and I. But when I have other things to do like go to the bank or get an oil change, it throws my routine off and I feel even less productive because I'm not at home getting other things done. But this constant battle with time is really tiring me out and I need to learn how to relax a little bit. I get things done in advance so that they don't pile up but then I end up missing out on the little joys in life like tanning or running to the bookstore just to browse. I miss the times when I could actually do that. I really need to slow down. Kris was always really great at reminding me about that but now that he's not here, it's been harder for me to stop and smell the roses.

So right here and right now I am making a promise to myself to enjoy the life that I have and give myself some time to actually enjoy being a 20-year-old girl. Let's hope that I can do this! 

Thanks for reading, everyone! Happy Tuesday! 

-Chelsea