Do any of you ever feel stressed out, confused, distracted, cluttered, and unsure? Recently I took some time off to organize my life. I felt cluttered, it felt as though all of my goals and clarity was buried underneath some serious clutter(mentally & physically) and neglect. So, I wrote down my goals of what I wanted to accomplish in my life on a day to day basis as well as for the future, and I knew that the first thing that I needed to do was to create clarity within my surroundings. I needed to edit my life!

Steps Towards Editing Your Life

Brainstorming & Outlines: Jot down ALL of the things that you would like to do on a day to day basis as well as in the near and far future, then write down all of the resources and steps that is going to be needed to obtain and maintain your goals. I have several different categories as most of us do within our lives, so I made separate outlines of my goals for each one individually. For example, I made one outline for my writing, another for homeschooling, another for homemaking, another for friends & family (this is where I wrote down things I would like to do more of for friends & family, like sending out birthday cards, etc.), and another for my arts & crafts. Under homemaking I wrote down everything that I wanted to get accomplished and that I wanted to be apart of my daily/weekly life, such as: doing my hair, exercising, journaling, planning menus, housekeeping, me time, reading, family time, etc. Then I stapled my lists all together. My list was VERY VERY long.

Creating a Work Schedule: Now that you have a running list of your goals and responsibilities, try to finalize a schedule that fits in as much as what you would like to do on a day to day, weekly, and monthly basis to meet your daily and future goals. I went through lots and lots of drafts before finalizing my current schedule. I tried to spend at least a month to observe my energy and what I tend to do at certain times without a schedule and how I worked in relation to how our home was arranged.

Make sure that when you are drafting your schedule that you are realistic and honest with your time and energy. You may not be able to have “me time” every day, but can schedule out a day out of the week or month. Be flexible & creative in how you schedule your responsibilities and goals.

Here Is A Summary of My Daily Schedule:

7:00 Wake up

7:30 Reading/Meditation & Tea Time

8:00 Breakfast

9:00 Son of Light: Homeschooling (spelling, science, math, culture, free learning)

12:00 Lunch

12:30 Exercise

1:00 Shower & Clean Up Apartment

1:30 Homeschooling (reading & writing)

2:30 Free Time / Nap Time (many times during the week, I will take a nap, because I tend to keep very late hours during the week, so if you are able to, I highly suggest it, as it is good for your health)

3:30 Cook Dinner

4:30 Find Recipes for 2 Week Menu

5:00 Son of Light: Homeschooling Research & Planning

6:00 Dinner: Clean Up Kitchen: Pack Lunches

7:30 Free Time

9:00 Work (this is when I do my blogging & writing for the most part)

1:00 Go to bed (now this is up in the air, because I am most likely up much later than this...I enjoy the peace of the night)

Thursday Mornings: Wash Clothes, Vacuum, Dust, Fold & Put Away Clothes

Friday Mornings & Daytime: Hair, Nails, Feet, Skin, Work in my sketchbooks

Friday Nights: Arts & Crafts

Saturdays: Family Day

Saturday Nights: Arts & Crafts

Sundays: Journaling, Letter Writing, and Making my To- Do Lists for the upcoming week

I did this same thing for my work schedule and all of the things that I was responsible for with that. I set aside certain days/hours to blog, certain days to write, certain days for interviews, certain days to research, and currently I take Fridays & Saturdays off to focus on my family & arts/crafts/design endeavors. I printed out both schedules and keep it in a very visible place so that I can reference it quite a bit during the day. The most important thing to remember after you have finalized your schedule is that it is just a guide. Most likely you will not do each of your tasks on the dot, but it is more important to pace yourself and try to get those things that you have listed done within your day. It is merely a guide to let you know what you need to get done to keep clarity and to keep your stress level low.

Creating Your Space: This was the most enjoyable part of my editing. I cleaned, I scrubbed, and cleared out any and everything that we no longer needed or used. You know, things like old files, paper, old toys, clearing out closets and drawers. It is so VERY important to not neglect cleaning and organizing the spaces that you do not see, because it is all in your sub-conscious of the clutter that is around you, like: under your bed, high cabinets, your basements and garages, and storage closets, etc. Clean & organize your life like your life depended on it! I lost 6 pounds while I was editing my life!

Adding The Ambiance: Now that your space is clean, make it beautiful, and organize it according to the schedules that you have written out. Simplify the things that you will need to perform your schedule at your best by making things at hands reach and in the places that you find yourself doing your tasks the most. I even went as far as keeping the top off my non-stick spray, because it made it easier to just open the cabinet and grab it. It may sound a bit unnecessary, but every minute counts in my opinion! I did this for all of my tasks: this is where I will do my baking, this is where I will do my art, this is where I will do my writing, this is where I will journal, and so on and so on. Organize your home so it makes sense to your tasks, like I totally rearranged my cooking utensils so that all of my baking tools and appliances are in one spot.

Keep the Focus: now you can start following your schedule. YAY! Do not get discouraged when you first start, as it will take time to get your body into the rhythm.

Keep It Going: I now keep a running list in a binder that I call my “Projects & Product Wish Lists”. This is where I keep lists of projects that I want to accomplish soon and later, as well as products that I would like to buy to make my home & life beautiful & easier. I use it as a daily visual guide. It is nice to flip through when you loose focus on what you want to do. I just open it up and pick a project that my spirit feels that it wants to do at the time!

Keeping A "Staff": Click Here for More Info On Editing Your "Staff"

Well, that is pretty much how I spent my time editing my life. It is an ongoing task, but I wanted to share this, because I get asked a lot on how I balance everything. It is not easy but I can honestly say that life feels so much better when you create the time to focus on self, when you create the time to make your home beautiful, and when you create the time to make your life simple. So make your lives beautiful if only for a day...take the time to make the time to maintain your position as the Editor-in-Chief of your life!