Apparently this is not the first time that I have set about "planning" to organize my time and physical surroundings. In fact, I found a journal that I wrote after my junior year in college. On
May 17, 1970, exactly 40 years ago, I wrote the following:
...I need to "just basically GET ORGANIZED!
On
May 18, 1970, I elaborated:
"If I want to get really organized, it's going to take more than just a couple hours. It's going to involve sorting through things in the attic, like mail I've gotten for the past 20 years until now, putting it all together, filing and sorting and putting it in a useable system. There's lots of resources there, but it's a matter of organizing (just like with tennis--I have lots of ability but it needs to be put into a workable framework and that takes patience to develop and the ability to determine priorities). Besides correspondence, I have books to sort through and put in shelves in Mary Jo's old room and we could work out a way to fix that up as an extra room. After dinner, we can work out a plan of how we want that room arranged and then if we spend a small time each day we can come up with something satisfactory."
Many things have changed in the past 40 years--I have finished college, played and taught tennis professionally, called lines for the Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs match, lived in Texas, California, Illinois, Michigan, and now back in Ohio, got my Master's and Phd, and rode my bike cross country.
One thing has not changed--I still need to get organized!! Apparently, that has not been the priority that those other things were. It's time to make it a priority. Today it is.
After making a one page list of things that I need to do that are related to school, I came up with the following ideas to start in my living room:
1. Video tapes: need to be cleared out of the living room, labeled and put in a central location.
2. Magazines: sort and store.
3. Bills: file receipts for bills paid.
4. Paperwork: shred what is not needed; sort and organize notes, readings for future reference.
5. Clear out furniture.
6. Vacuum and shampoo carpet.
7. When all of above is completed: Buy a big-screen TV (in time for French Open)!
How does that sound?
I just finished working in the living room and am preparing to clean the furniture and carpets. This is not necessarily the arrangement I will keep after I get the big-screen television. But it does open things up a lot more than it was. It really helped to have Lori here to help with cleaning and organizing. If I can finish doing the carpet and furniture, I should be ready for a new TV by Monday! The next picture you will see here will feature a new arrangement:-) The only thing I forgot to do today was take a "before" picture. I will be sure to do that for the next room! And oh, by the way, Lori is coming again on Tuesday!!
