no time...never any time....

I really thought that once I had graduated, all this free time would become available to me and I’d be SO on top of everything. ONLY working full time seemed like it would be a breeze!

It’s now been over 1 month since summer school and my college career as an undergrad has ended and I don’t feel like much more time has opened up in my life at all. I get home from work at about 5pm every night and from that point to about 10pm (bed time) I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything. It was silly of me to think about getting a part time evening job to ward off boredom….WHAT boredom?! I LONG for boredom at home.

I think the biggest consumer of my down time would be the dog. Between playing with him, feeding him, bathing him, and taking him out for frequent potty breaks, my ME time has seemingly disappeared. I don’t mind completely, but I would like to get more accomplished by the end of each week.

Last night I had an unusually successful evening wherein I managed to exercise (in the house and out with Desiree – we ran a nearby flight of stairs several times -- more on this later), do two loads of laundry, scrub the bathtub, AND make dinner for Ryan – ok, it was just a frozen pizza that I tossed in the oven, but hey, it filled his belly. Anyway, I felt really good after doing all of that (even though I was EXHAUSTED) and I want to feel accomplished like that more often.

I’ve decided in order to do this, I need a visual reminder of what I need to do….so today I printed a weekly checklist which lays out the things I’d like to get done each week, but currently am not getting done weekly (or even bi-weekly). My list includes: Scrubbing the tub and toilet, sweeping and mopping the floors, laundry, dusting, vacuuming, and cooking dinner at least 5 nights a week…REALLY cooking, not ‘frozen pizza’ cooking. I’m hoping that by seeing this list on the refrigerator, I’ll manage to make time for each chore and make better use of my ‘free time’.