Tuesday, November 5, 2013

confessions of an overwhelmed organizer

I will be the first to admit that I do not have it all together.  Despite the fact that I am extremely organized, I still drop a ball or two every now and again.  Ok. . .I drop balls more than I care to admit.  This blog is a perfect example.

When I was launching my business last summer, I was determined to post multiple times a week with clever, insightful organizing tips and tricks that would inspire my readers.  On my most motivated days, I even considered buying a fancy camera and taking a photography class.  I attended a conference for bloggers and made lists of potential blog posts.  I scoured the web for inspiring organizing blogs from which to glean wisdom and inspiration.  And then reality set in.

In reality, I am an organizer. . .not a blogger.  I don't necessarily enjoy the creative process of writing.  I would much rather be reorganizing food items in your pantry than words on a page.  I will do LOTS of other things to avoid the task of sitting down and recording my thoughts.  It's somewhat comical to see the countless entries of the word "blog" in my dayplanner to-do column.  Each time, the word is neatly crossed through with pen (my indication that the item did not get accomplished and should be moved to another day).  It has seriously been an ongoing to-do item since June.  At one point, I sat down and scheduled several months worth of "Quote of the Week" posts.  This was a strategy to encourage myself to blog between the weekly automated posts so that my blog would not become a string of "Quotes of the Week" with no other content.  But guess what?  That is exactly what happened.  I'll admit I am tempted to delete all of those postings in an effort to "clean up" my failure, but I will not.  Hopefully you will find some humor in my shortcoming.

Also, another reality check came in the form of an unexpected career development.  While I dreamed for months of making SORT my full-time career, I knew when I launched that I was not ready to take the plunge into full-time self-employment.  In August, I started a new teaching position at an elementary school, working with struggling learners and students with dyslexia.  My intention was to stay in this role for one year while I got my feet wet in the organizing business.  But guess what?  I LOVE my job.  I cannot imagine leaving any time soon.  My daily 9 to 5 is challenging and stimulating and lots of fun.  I use my organizing skills every day to structure 30-minute lessons for the numerous groups of students who cycle through my classroom.  It's taken a great deal of energy and attention to learn the ropes in my new role, but I am finally at a place where things are running smoothly and I don't need to work long hours to keep it going.  I am ready to turn my focus back to SORT, but with a different expectation for where my business is going.

Another reality check came the week before I started my new teaching job.  The love of my life asked me to marry him, right as the summer was winding down and school was starting again.  Of course, I said yes!  And with that "yes" came a whole lot of planning and organizing.  A wedding is a huge organizational feat in itself, especially when you are working with a small budget and two very different personalities.  Then there's the planning and organizing that comes with combining two households and making decisions about our shared future as a family.  When Chris and I marry, I will become step-mom to my favorite eight-year-old in the world, and while all of these life changes are welcomed and exciting, they've all coaxed my attention away from SORT and onto other parts of my life.

So here's my confession: I can only juggle so many balls at a time, and this blog has not been one of them.  While my business with clients has remained steady, I have totally dropped the ball on blogging, posting to Facebook, networking, marketing, etc.  It feels like I am just reaching a level of calm in my personal life where SORT can move back to the front burner, but even still. . .no one can do it all.  So my reality probably looks a lot like yours.  I dream big and love life.  I feel incredibly blessed by my jobs (both teaching and organizing), my family, my future husband, my health, etc.  But at the end of the day, I still have dog hair on my floor, mounds of clean laundry to fold, and an empty fridge.  Oh, and I haven't been to the gym in a month.  And it's probably time to start thinking about Christmas shopping.  And I can't remember the last time I actually completed a book. . .

So while I HOPE to blog more consistently, I know that it will continue to be a struggle for me.  It's just not a priority that often rises to the top.  I am setting a goal for myself to think small and post small.  Hopefully you will soon see posts about how I am organizing everyday, and from that you can find some inspiration for your own life.  Thanks for bearing with me as I SORT it all out.