April 12-18

I have to say that it was really interesting to jot down my daily schedule for a week. I have a planner, and much of my days are the same, so at first it seemed a bit redundant, but I did notice some patterns and had a few "a ha!" moments in there...

- afternoons are my tough times. Post-nap grumpies seem to happen more often than not, and I found the afternoon works better for me if we go outside and play rather than try to go to Target or run errands. You'd think I would have figured this out by now, and I did sort-of, but it helped to really identify that outside time after naps = happy time. Trying to get kids to behave in Target after naps = asking for trouble.

- I need time to myself. I really noticed when I went the whole week without down time, I was feeling it. My husband comes home Wednesdays to watch the kids while I got to tea for just an hour (really 1/2 hour when you figure in travel time for him to come home and me to get anywhere). This week I used that time to run errands, and I missed having time to relax. Good note to self.

- it's the little things that count. Cutting fresh lilacs from the garden and putting them on top of the table while we eat outside (which we always do when we eat couscous - otherwise we find it on the bottom of our feet for weeks. Yes, I know - cleaning isn't my strong point.), taking time to check out the rolly polly. A warm bath...

- I really do better when I get up earlier. I'm not a morning person, and love to eek out the last few minutes of just staying in bed while my husband takes a shower. But one day this last week I had to get up early to make cucumber sandwiches for our MOMS group tea, and my day went so much better when I was up and ready before the kids. I had time to just get them ready once we they were up instead of scrambling to get makeup on while refilling sippy cups, cuddling middle baby while she whined (she's less of a morning person than I am), changing diapers...

- in order to get up earlier, I need to go to bed earlier!

- I spend (read: waste) too much time on the computer. I don't watch much tv, but it doesn't save me any time because I spend so much on facebook, blogs (ahem, like now) and forums. And I don't spend nearly as much time as other people do (how on earth do you maintain a farm on facebook?). Not that I'm going to get rid of my computer, but I need to schedule time and stick to that alotted amount, which may keep me more productive on the computer rather than wandering aimlessly through blog after blog...

So here's the next challenge:

"After a (few) week(s) of self-monitoring, sit down with your diary or your notes and begin to analyze them. You may find..that at work, despite stress and hassles, you felt better about yourself than when watching television. Or, conversely, that most of the time when you were at work you felt listless and bored. Why were you so irritated with your children? So impatient with the people you work with? So cheerful when walking down the street? Perhaps you'll find that you should change your job. Or that you should be outdoors more often, or find ways to do some more interesting things with your children."

I'm going to implement some of these changes this week and then report back. Anyone else keeping track of their schedules? Let's hear about it!