I have too much to do. The whole point of getting a “smart phone” was so that I would have a calendar and to-do list (with notification reminders) with me at all times stopping me from double booking myself or forgetting commitments altogether. So what happens?
I get geeked up about a thing, put it on the calendar, set a crap-ton of reminders and then go on about my business. And even though I scrolled through the calendar, I still manage to double book and forget my commitments. The notification dings and I don’t hear it or for whatever reason dismiss it at the time as if it were just some random noise.
Appointments appear in my calendar as little dots. No times or anything showing so I know I have a ‘thing’ on that day, but can’t remember the time at a glance so it’s usually well after I’ve committed to the current ‘thing’ that I’m putting it into my calendar and see that the times overlap or don’t allow me enough time in between to successfully transition from one thing to the next.
Too bad all this shuffling things around doesn’t burn calories. Good grief. Or better yet, it would be nice if I got paid for every time I’ve had to reschedule something the day after I’ve agreed to do it.
Case in point: Today and tomorrow
- last week a friend of mine who I haven’t hung out with in quite awhile buzzes me. We text for a minute when I suggest we meet for happy hour, an activity we used to do on the regular. She says sure, so we set it up for this week because, you know, it was free on my calendar. We’re supposed to meet at 4:30pm.
- Papa Bear finds he’s got some free time so instead of our usual date night, he’s coming in two days early (long distance relationships are amazing). YAY! Oh wait, that means he’ll be here…dag nabbit. I don’t get to spend a lot of time with him to begin with so of course, any extra minutes are precious. But then I haven’t seen this friend in a long time…
- Speaking of precious time with the Bear, I’ve got my hair appointment tomorrow which means I’ve got to undo the do tonight which means un-sewing(?) the wig from my head to give what little hair I have left time to ‘relax’ before it gets braided and tucked away. He’s never seen me without my wig in real life. Yikes! But I need to let my scalp breathe for at least 12 hours. I booked my hair appointment two days ago in anticipation of Papa Bear showing up at the usual time on the usual day and based on what I have scheduled for this weekend (which is just as convoluted as what I’m writing about now) leaves me having to wait until next week if I want to get the wig flipped.
Which brings me to my second case in point: March 24th of next week
- work = 7 am to 4 pm. This of course is a given, so no need to remind me of it at this point. Now, when I agreed to the 3xs a week training schedule, I jumped on the first available evenings the trainer had – Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday or Saturday. It’s about a 35 – 40 minute drive from my job to the gym. I’ll need to change clothes at some point. Figured I’d change right before I left work. No big deal.
- training session = 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm. I REALLY want to get into the training so I’m all in and don’t want to start rooty-pooting around with my gym time. It’s a commitment I’m attempting to take very seriously. BUT…
- regularly scheduled dinner with friends = 6:30 pm to 9 or so pm. We set these restorative dinners up last month. I enjoy this time with my friends, it’s helpful on so many emotional and mental levels, so I don’t want to start jacking around with this schedule either. I also don’t want to show up to dinner all sweaty from the gym, so at some point, a quick shower and change of clothes is in order BUT, the gym has a bathroom but no shower; to go home for a quick freshen means a maybe 30 minute drive to my house then another 25 to 30 minutes to get to the restaurant. I could perhaps do a quick wipe down in the gym bathroom, change clothes and head on over to dinner but it’s roughly a 20 minute ride from the gym to the restaurant we meet in. Either way it goes, I’m going to be late to dinner. AND THEN I…
- agreed to be a dance partner for a friend of mine who wants to take a couple’s dance class = 7:00 pm to not sure. I’ve already had to tell him no twice now because of prior commitments. During the second ‘no’, I went ahead and agreed to the next class because that’s what you do for friends.
There seriously has got to be some type of system I can use to keep me from ending up here…smh, lol.
Dana Ellington, MAPW 
Last Christmas I lost all contact info and because it was linked to my tablet and backed up on there… you guessed it I lost it there too. So, no birthdays, no phone no’s, no addresses, or emails on either thing and for good measure the virus that caused this ate all my apps on both tablet and phone. I now have a paper address book a calendar and a birthday book. I think the old filo fax was best. Love your post thank you.
I used to be all about the Day Timer. Spent hundreds and would still find myself in this predicament because I wouldn’t have my planner with me (even after I bought the fancy cover that doubled as a purse). I ALWAYS have my phone, but yet and still, here I am, lol…
Can I just say, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one?