Be Productive

A couple of weeks ago, as my husband was leaving for work one morning, he told me to "be productive." This was on one of the days that Mary Jane & I were on our own since the other two were already in school. A couple of hours later, I called Rob and asked if a trip to the zoo with friends was considered productive. I don't think that's what he had in mind, but my options are fairly limited if I want to keep Mary Jane engaged and not in front of the TV while I try to clean up. Don't get me wrong, we do that, too.

The whole thing did get me thinking about productivity. Most things that are fun and addicitive in my daily routine, are not very productive. Things like trips to Starbucks and way too much time on Facebook. Blogging is productive if I find a way to turn it into some sort of money-making endeavor, but, for now, it's more theraputic and, possibly, mildly entertaining for my mom, sisters, and 3 other readers.

There are minimum requirements for me to consider that my day was productive. When a newborn was in the house that didn't sleep and nursed around the clock, if I had a shower and did a load of laundry it was a great day. Times have changed. Most days do involve laundry and hopefully a shower, but there's now much more. Everyone needs to leave for school on the time with the correct work or provisions for the day, there are bills to pay, shopping to do, and a house to clean. If you've been to my house, you know that it's not always clean and the pantry is sometimes fairly sparse. I'm working on it.

I now consider it a good day if I make it most places on time, turn the TV off before we all start singing the Sponge Bob theme song, the kids all eat at least a few fruits and veggies, and homework is done before the last minute. Cleaning and organizing are going to take a while this fall. Yesterday, I tackled one of my drawers full of stacks of paper and I found out that Rob has a doctor's appoinment next week, and I also found car insurance cards that should be in the car. I did manage to get a handle on all of the beginning of the year papers for school, and I set up annual binders for Mason & Charlotte. I will end up purging most of the stuff they bring home, but I give myself a little time to enjoy.

The productive latte for today is to stay on top of things. Open a drawer or closet and clean it out before too much stuff piles up. If you have a productive day, you can reward yourself with a trip to Starbucks and some time on Facebook.