Retail Therapy for Neat Freaks

There's a whole lot going on in my life right now. We're moving in less than 8 weeks, we have another baby on the way, and my active duty DH will be deploying soon. All of this is on top of my daughter's birthday and the holidays. Oh, and I guess my birthday is in there somewhere, too, but at my age that's something we don't discuss. Point being, my life is insane right now. My DH looked at me the other day and asked a question I had been thinking myself - "When did we become soccer parents?". That's a reflection of the busy state of our lives - our kids don't even play soccer yet.

I've been doing my best to keep up with it all. We'll have exactly one weekend to pick a house, so I've been doing a lot of online research. I need to hand over my volunteer breastfeeding group to the next Leaders, who aren't finished training yet, so I also have to help them prepare. Of course, there are schools to change and our own home to wrap up. And then there's the wrapping. I'm worried we'll be homeless on Christmas, or that my daughter's birthday will get lost in the shuffle. My own health and my son's, um, outspoken behaviour lately are both pushing me to try a new diet, which is a real challenge under the best of circumstances, but extra hard when you're trying to use up your pantry. Speaking of my health, I'm just starting to get big enough to bump into things I never used to, and the baby kicks back every time I do, so I'm getting kicked from both directions a lot. Fortunately, otherwise, all is going well.

I'm not complaining - really! I simply want to share with you that we all have crazy-busy times in our lives, and in our little family history, this is one of them. I hope you're somewhat impressed with all we're juggling like I am when I see working moms going to school or singles who work full-time, volunteer, travel and still have time for book groups every week. Everyone has her "productive period" - isn't that how they refer to artists?

Anyway, it's getting a bit overwhelming for me. So yesterday morning, I indulged. Yes, that's right, I went shopping. I'm not generally a shopper unless we need something, and then I bargain hunt. But yesterday I grabbed my allowance and spent it on ME. Shocking, I know. I went to Office Depot (or Office Max, or Staples - you know, an office supply store). I browsed organizational products. I got myself new pens and highlighters that I'm not going to share with the kids. I even found the perfect project planner.

I still have my paper planner - and yes, I even broke down and ordered another year of FC refills. Hey, I DO hate their new business model but dammit nothing else fit in my expensive leather binder! And nothing else fit my planning style. We will never speak of my pathetic crawl back to them again. But this new planner, ah.... she is so beautiful. It's a simple spiral-bound notebook, but the pages are for individual projects. There's an area for brainstorming, one for notes, the subject/description, and a series of follow-ups to schedule. In the middle of all this, is a blank list for breaking the project into step-by-step tasks, which I can then schedule in my planner. It's like a whole book of goal-setting pages. It's allowed me to take all the crud driving me insane right now and put it on paper. From my kids' Halloween costumes to shopping for the best mortgage, each "worry" now has its own page and steps to take to get through it.

When my friend Rachel was in college, she wrote everything she had to finish around finals on an index card and taped them all around her door. As she finished each one, she tore the card down and shredded it until she walked out the clean door (with a brilliant GPA) at the end of the year. I hope to rip each page out as I finish each task, rip it to pieces with wild abandon, and walk through my new door (with money in my pocket) before the end of the year.

"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."
— Michelangelo Buonarroti

$$$ Immediately after my purchase (naturally), this Office Depot $10 off $20 coupon was released! If you want to splurge the same way I did, you can until Nov. 16th - at 50% off! $$$

Review: The Other 8 Hours

After reading a few other reviews online of Robert Pagliarini's The Other 8 Hours, I actually paid full price for this hardcover, I was so excited to read it. What could possibly be so interesting about a business book to a Stay-At-Home-Mom? Well, technically, it's a time management book, and I'm all about that. So here's what thought of it.

First, I have to say that several of the reviews I read commented specifically on his "course" language. I personally found absolutely nothing offensive. Nothing. I think at one point he used the phrase "get off your ass", but that was it, and I was actually looking for offensive language since I couldn't imagine how it would fit in a business book. So if you also read those reviews, allow me to throw in my two cents - there's nothing offensive here, at least to me.

Now that that little issue is out of the way, let me summarize the book. Basically, Robert suggests a four-step approach to getting more free time, specifically making the most of the "other 8 hours" you aren't sleeping or at work, and then using it to make money and make your life better. Sounds good, right? Sure, but what about those of us on more flexible schedules? I still found his suggestions effective. Robert isn't going to clock you with a stopwatch and make sure you use all 8 hours, nor does he encourage you to do that to yourself! However, if you apply even some of his suggestions, I think you'll notice a more productive day. I have. For example, one of his suggestions is to do brain things and body things at the same time. Since reading The Other 8 Hours, I've rethought if I want to spend my workouts listening to my iPod blindly or using that time to listen to motivational podcasts, digital books, reading real books, etc... Last week I planned an upcoming meeting while on the recumbent bicycle, and yes, I could read my writing!

The section on making more money with your other 8 hours is very detailed with a lot of specific resources and step-by-step guides. It was a bit overwhelming for me as a SAHM who has been out of the business world for a while, but it's clearly valuable information. I started with the blogging section (something I'm obviously comfortable with) and I hope to experiment with some of the other ventures as the courage and creativity hit me. The final section is dedicated to making the most of your personal life during the other 8 hours, and that immediately struck a chord with me. That's what I'm all about, making time to read to my kids, getting fresh air, learning to tat or become a better photographer. I like that he places equal emphasis on the importance of these activities and not just on working 24/7 to get rich.

The only part of the book I found a bit lame was the "LifeLeeches" section, which lists a number of ways we lose our other 8 hours to less than stellar activities. I suppose there are people out there who still need to be told that TV, social websites, whining and water cooler gossip are all wastes of time, but for me, the list was simply common sense. Still, if that one reader suddenly realizes how much more he could accomplish if only he stopped checking daily on Lindsay's latest adventures or gaming until 3 am, then I guess it's worth it.

The book, by and large, is filled with simple, direct motivation, clear suggestions, and useful resources. Perhaps most telling is the fact that after reading this book, I was motivated to create a list of other books I've been meaning to read, hit the library, and start reading them. So one good book has lead to a list of others, all of which (hopefully) will pour a little more good into my head. To learn more about this book and others I've enjoyed, check out my book recommendations on the right.