In the past three years I’ve really struggled with staying focused and achieving goals. The past 8 months, when depression reared its ugly head, have been the most difficult. The only goals I seemed to be able to accomplish were the ones that were necessary–feed and clothe my family and keep the house semi-clean. Beyond that? The couch was my closest friend. Books and movies kept my mind off the pain. There were spurts of energy where I dove into the distraction the wool business could provide, but my heart wasn’t in it.
This past February I was finally able to get some help beyond the “you know what you need to do” platitudes I heard far too often (sometimes you need tools, not just words shared and then dismissed, right?) and slowly I’m crawling out of the muck and mire, but it’s a slippery slope.
As I’m crawling out of the muck and mire, I’ve been struggling with this feeling that I should share some of these tools here on the blog. I can’t be the only one who needs these tools. I struggle with sharing them because there are many people who have never experienced grief or debilitating depression and the silent judgement is often deafening…yes, we notice it. I’m a people pleaser and some of the tools that have been life changing for me, will not please everyone. I struggle with that. A lot. Yet, these are tools I wish I would have had a long time ago. So, I’m going to work at sharing these with you. One at a time.
The first one is a pretty safe one š: Create a calendar with goals. Some people like to use the calendar on their phone. Me? I’m old school. I like to write it all out.
Every Sunday I try to sit down and map out what I know about the week already and then each day I add what I need to add. Some days all I can handle is the Daily Cleaning. That’s okay, I’m learning.
I don’t enjoy cleaning the house all in one day, so I divide it up to do a bit each day (and yes, I skip some of the items–a lot–let’s be real). Laundry is the same. One or two loads a day and there’s rarely a huge pile.
Having things written down is the only way they will get done. If I try to remember what I was planning on doing, 90% of the time I won’t remember, unless it’s written down.
Completing my goals for the day is giving me a purpose beyond losing myself in feel good Hallmark movies and feel good Amish novels (the only drama I want to handle š¬). I’ve also been reading with students in Olivia’s class twice a week. This too gives me a chance to get out and do something beyond my little world.
Do you have a helpful tool that helps you stay focused and reach daily goals? I’d love to hear about it.
Living in the Moment 
I love me a good schedule. Items each day that can be ticked off at the end. I too stopped cleaning the whole house and doing all the laundry in one day. Sure some people will say \”you're never really done\”. But who cares! This is what works for me. I also find walking helps me.
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