Systems

For the twenty-sixth time this year, I admitted I was in need of routines. The baby care is an ever adapting one. But the cooking/meal planning and blog posting have begged for a routine upgrade. As in anything other than flying by the seat of my pants. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have taught us something. If you’re not planning then you’re just reacting. That is getting quite old.

As I struggle and strive for routines, the systems are what’s waiting for creating.

Systems are like decisions. The hardest part about making them is making them.

Everyone uses systems. Ways of getting through life to advance to somewhere else. Getting things done, keeping and sorting and accomplishing are all system oriented. I always wait to visit a new restaurant until I know they’ve had time to set up their systems. Been there, lived that.
But sometimes personal systems need revision. Wait too long and they become as tough to change as habits. Refusing a quick death and sneaking back in while you slack off for a day or two.

You really are only as productive as those systems you have in place to help govern your work and your life. I implemented Google calendar usage recently and its phone application into my life. As with the initial fiddle phone set up, proper setting of notifications may be the trick for this. But now I know when my husband’s working with synced calendars.

I’m always updating my kitchen systems. I reposition the tools and supplies depending on where I use them most. Drives my husband batty. Where are the spoons/ cups/ paper trowels now?

He’s keen on reorganizing the refrigerator.

My filing isn’t a problem either. I file whatever needs filing almost as soon as I create the item to be filed. Getting husband to look at his stuff needs a system however. And I go through the mail as soon as it comes into the house and throw out the trash.

One system I can’t seem to subscribe to scheduling, however, is laundry and grocery shopping. They happen when they need to happen.

I made a fabulous homekeeping binder and then stopped using it. But recently, I’ve gone back in to rethink what it does for me. Schedules for school and receipts and anything else that lays about goes there.
Seems like to see the system, you need to pull back from the view further and further until you see the forest for the trees. Overwhelmed by all that needs accomplishing, I can’t gain perspective on any and all of it. So for the rest of this year, I will try to be proactive instead of reactive. No matter how spontaneous I want to be constantly, sometimes I just need something in place to bump aside for the spontaneity. Systems are being cooked and implemented for the big girl upgrade. I’ll do my best and let go of the rest.