It’s safe to say that right now, I feel busier than I ever have in my entire life. Part of (actually, a lot of) what I do is self-imposted busy-ness (or is that business? or busyness?), meaning I have no boss waiting for me, nowhere I really NEED to be (except school) and no one holding me accountable. Despite that though, I do have a lot going on between Bruja’s Bakery, writing these posts, events, seeing friends, having a social life, doing fun things with Luis, going to school, and working on my project. The amount of work I have ebbs and flows, where there are weeks like last week where I sort of felt like I was trying to keep my head above water, and weeks like this week, that feel a little easier (albeit still busy). Either way, as a self-proclaimed Control Freak, I like to know things WILL get done and the best way for me to make sure they will get done is to make sure they happen at the same time every week (more or less). I am really waving my Freak flag with this post! If you have any schedules you follow, please share in the comments! I am all about adding new things to my schedule.
1 // Keep a white board on the fridge to update the groceries we need.
As we run out of things, or start to run low, I will write each thing on our little whiteboard, so when Saturday shopping comes around, I can quickly reference it. This helps avoid the ‘oh sh!it I forgot xyz’ or the buying too much of something (which I hate, but Luis enjoys….). Right now, since it’s Monday, our lists just says “deoderant, chocolate chips, brown sugar, kale”, but will get longer and longer as the week goes on.
2 // Wash and put away the dishes every night before bed to start the day with a clean kitchen.
It makes me so frustrated to find pans and dishes from the night before when I am about to start working in the morning. Taking 10 minutes to clean at night makes a world of different. Luis and I have figured out a system that works for us: I clean all of the breakfast dishes and any dishes I use for cooking during the day, and he cleans up after dinner while I put on pajamas. Sometimes, we will leave a pan in the sink for soaking and the next morning I’m always like ‘gdhsfdfsdfhs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’, so better to just do it.
3 // Do all laundry on Sundays.
Trust me, it is tempting to do extra loads during the week because I am home mostly and I can see the laundry piling up, but I have been making an effort not to do household chores on weekdays because it takes time away from other work. This took some getting used to, but now I know that even if the basket is full on Thursday, it has to wait until Sunday (or at least Saturday).
4 // File manuals and warranties and receipts in one box.
This apartment is brand new, which means there is a LOT of brand new stuff and a lot of receipts, boxes, and warranties to keep track of. I made a box that has the user manuals, warranties, and receipts for each item to help keep things organized. The next level of organization would be to make actual copies of the receipts, because ink on receipts tends to fade.
5 // Use Excel to manage Bruja’s Bakery orders.
For a long time, I was only writing orders in my planner, and then on Monday I would write the week’s orders on a Post-It. This worked for awhile. but now that business has boomed, I am doing a better job of keeping track of not only when I have orders, but also what people are ordering and how they are ordering. Excel is a great tool to use to organize information and track data. For example, I can see the most commonly ordered flavors, as well as how people tend to order their bagels (whatsapp, Instagram, website).
6 // Write a to-do list every night and keep an agenda.
My agenda is my lifesaver! Yes, it includes things like ‘shower’, but it helps me sleep (literally) knowing I have a schedule for the next day and they everything I need to do will get done. Before the week starts, I will write out a general outline of what needs to be done on each day (for example, ‘walk’ is listed on M/W/F and ‘gym or run’ is on T/Th. I also include school, any tours I have, orders I need to fill, etc. In the Sunday column, I make a general to-do list for the week.
7 // Make one large batch of food per week that can be used in various ways.
To be honest, I have been in a bit of a cooking rut and haven’t really felt inspired to make extravagant meals. Even when I do cook, I usually just want something simple, so Luis and I have been taking time on Sundays to prepare the basics that can be used in a multitude of ways. For example: brown rice, sauteed veggies OR roasted veggies (potatoes, kale, carrots), and maybe make a batch of chili, lasagna, etc. Today is Monday and I just made a quiche, a pan of roasted veggies, and brown rice.
8 // Automate chores.
Deep clean on Sunday afternoon (wipe down surfaces, clean bathrooms, vaccuum), laundry on Sunday, wash sheets on Sunday, water all plants on Monday, clean the fish tank on Tuesday, dry cleaners on Wednesday, errands on Friday. Knowing there is a day for each chore helps me let go of the ‘WHEN AM I GOING TO DO THIS!’ anxiety.
9 // Make a gym schedule.
This is KEY for me because going to the gym isone thing that can so easily be pushed off because I am ‘too busy’. In October, I got into a routine of working out Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday no matter what and it has worked beautifully. Tuesday and Thursday, I work out 11-12 and Saturday and Sunday, from 12-1. I write it into the schedule in my agenda and after I do it, I tick it off. I have yet to miss a workout and I look forward to the workouts because I know there are few hours in the week when I am disconnected and doing something just for me.
10 // Pre-cook breakfasts and coffee for 2-3 days.
I consider myself to be a morning person, but I am also a little slow in the mornings and like to start the day easily. Making coffee on Sunday that will last for 2 days, as well as a big batch of oatmeal just makes the morning easier to ease into.
