Some days, I can’t figure out where to begin. What to start my day with. My mind is racing in 17 different directions, and the more my mental to-do list lengthens, the foggier my mind gets. Until it’s all a blur. An overwhelming blur, where there is too much to do, but nothing is getting done as I am still figuring out the answer to a simple question – where do I begin.

I have understood how my mind works to some extent now; we have been together for 32 years after all. I know it races it gets excited, it wants to do everything at the same time. It’s a hyper active child, until it’s tired and then it becomes a drunken old man, who wears one shoe and goes out in the snow.

With that understanding, I have formulated a system to clear the fog, organise the madness in my head, and turn all that noise into productivity.

  • I take a plain paper, without any dates or numbers, and write EVERYTHING that I need to do. Personal, professional, chores, commitments, literally everything. Within a set timeline. Say 2 weeks. Or a month.
  • Once I have poured everything out on the paper, I go through it and divide those tasks into days. I usually stick to a weekly plan and add things to do under those dates. Whatever doesn’t belong yet goes on to a sticky note, to be catered to at a later date.

Life is again organised. Until the next storm.