I love this. Thank you, Joe, (whose name actually isn't Joe). This may be old news for you, but Joe's Goals web app is the most helpful thing I've seen since disposable diapers. I like it so much I put a button my sidebar. Go there now, sign up; yes, it's free. It takes two seconds. Then put in some goals. Assign them days. Add a log book for the goals if you want to record details ( read more about that here). Then use it!

I check my email kind of obsessively. Some of you use Facebook quite obsessively. (You know who you are.) Just start checking in with your Joe's Goals page when you check email or Facebook or Twitter or whatever you're hooked on. It has helped me keep track of what's going on with my day (I kind of use it as a scheduler plus a goal tracker). I can see progress. I can put in little checkmarks.

I love little checkmarks.

Really. Go. Set it up. You can thank me later.

Image Credits:  WPClipart 

I hate this topic.

Why am I writing about this topic? I don't want to be up right now. It's 10:47 am. I've drunk 4 cups of coffee. I've written 2 blog posts, applied for one writing position, read, fed my babies breakfast, talked to my sister and my Dad, made bread, helped Marzipan sit on the kid-potty five times, and put the babies down for a nap. I want to put myself down for a nap.

I got up at 6:13 this morning. My alarm went off at 5:00. No, I didn't hit snooze. I got up, turned off my alarm, used the bathroom, nursed Wick, stared at the coffee brewing, and crawled back in bed. My husband is so warm and cozy. Bed is so warm and cozy. The computer is like an alien. The coffee maker is slow. It was still dark outside.

There was this one time when we stayed up waaay past midnight.

I did a monthly challenge of getting up early. It was difficult. I wasn't completely unsuccessful, but not consistent enough to make it a habit.

Since then I get up at 5 probably 3 or 4 days out of the week. The other days I sleep until 7 or 8, as late as the babies will let me. I like it when I get up at 5. I get lots done. I feel ahead. I write before anyone else is awake. I have ideas. I read the Bible. I pray. I think about the day. I know I would be calmer, happier, and more productive if I would get up early every morning.

It's still a challenge, obviously. Sometimes I just don't want to get up. Sometimes it's because my night-owl husband kept me awake until 1am. I'm not sure what to do about that yet.

I did some internet research on this How to Get Up Early topic.

It's hand-in-hand with productivity gurus, entrepreneurism, life hacks, zen-ism, and other continuing, popular blog discussions. I make fun of these discussions, but I like them. I read them. I'm interested. I want to be a life-hacking, zen-thinking, productive entrepreneurial guru too. Apparently I have to get up early in order to achieve that goal.

Here's what they say:

• Steve Pavlina: If you don't get up early you're wasting a lot of time. You should get up early.
• Leo Babauta: If you don't get up early you're wasting a lot of time. You should get up early.
• Dave Cheong: If you don't get up early you're wasting a lot of time. You should get up early.
• Matthew Stibbe: If you don't get up early you're wasting a lot of time. You should get up early.
• An entire blog on early rising: If you don't get up early you're wasting a lot of time. You should get up early.

I've paraphrased them all a bit. I don't know why I can't get this idea out of my head:

If you don't get up early you're wasting a lot of time. You should get up early.

I want to, I really do. I'll be back later with more on this. Maybe early tomorrow morning...

Challenge Update: The days when Joe is off work are always either the most or the least productive of my week. Day 5 (Wednesday) goes on the most productive side. He was on a get-things-done rampage so I just tagged along.

Finished reading Peony in Love by Lisa See

Better Life Tip: Some days will be more productive (in terms that we measure) than others. That's okay. Relax and let there be some roller coaster movement in your life. It keeps things interesting.

Challenge Update: Monday, the first "working" day without a to do list, was good. I am still using my planner but only for my routine checklist and for appointments. The routine I pretty much have memorized but I like checking it off. It gives me that feeling of accomplishment.

I feel a lot less pressure during the day. I am still running around like crazy, doing stuff, but it seems to be flowing in a more logical order rather than starting a project, remembering I have something else on the list of the day, stopping to do the thing on the list, etc. I am starting and completing things in a more streamlined way. I feel busy but not rushed. I also stopped a couple of times to just play with the kids or take care of them and wasn't trying to multitask as I usually am. I struggle with giving myself time to just be a Mommy when I have an uncompleted list over my head.

Start Building: A Master Task List is simply a place to put all those things you need to do. Anything from "Remodel the kitchen" to "Write thank you note to Aunt Nina" goes on the list. You can periodically check it over and cross off the things you've completed, or that have become irrelevant. You can also set a certain day each week, or a certain amount of time each day, to do as much as you can off the list. Alternately, pick one item from the list to accomplish each week, and work on it whenever you have time. It's best, when you want to tackle the major projects on the list, to break them down into smaller task. So, "Remodel the kitchen" would become "Clean out cabinets," "Paint kitchen," "Shop for new refrigerator," etc.

13 February - Success! Bright Beacon of Hope!

Yes, indeed, Wednesday has dawned bright and beautiful. I got that coffee maker going and got my notebook and Bible and stayed awake, beautifully awake, brightly awake. Once it grew light outside I saw the fresh inch of snow that fell last night. It is also bright and beautiful.

The contrast between Monday and Tuesday taught me two things: first, having a plan makes my day much more productive; second, the beginning is the most important part.

I got through a rather long list of to-do on Monday, and I enjoyed the entire day. I was motivated, moving, clear-minded, and even with a cold I felt energetic. Tuesday I woke up late and very tired, fell asleep again, didn't get moving, didn't have a list or a plan, and was exhausted by afternoon. Some days are simply more productive than others, right?

Right. Some days are simply more productive because they are better planned, better managed, and better executed. Productivity doesn't just happen when the Happy Productivity Fairy appears and waves her DayTimer over your head.

You can be sure that there are always circumstances that fight productivity, that some days despite your best planning and diligent efforts, forces conspire to prevent anything productive from happening. You can also be sure that the default of any day, left to run its own meandering course through whatever pops up or whatever you feel like, will not result in productivity.

Remember that second law of thermodynamics? It's the one about entropy: basically, as energy is transferred from one form to another, some is lost and as energy decreases, the disorder increases. Entropy is " the degree of disorder in a system." Until more energy is put into a system, the entropy will increase until, finally, disorder has increased to such an extent that no productive processes can continue.

Thermodynamics for Life Management: The disorder in your life will increase unless you continually add energy to maintain order and productivity. You've got to push that ball to keep it rolling, or else it will run out of energy and sit there and the moss will grow over it and soon you won't even be able to find it anymore.

Start by setting a schedule and establishing a routine, keep on by beating procrastination, and keep it solid by continually simplifying your life.