I’m an odd little duck, and I’m the first to admit that. I like living a carefree life, as long as the carefreeness of it goes according to my schedule. I like being spontaneous, as long as I know exactly what that entails. I like being an eclectic homeschooler, but within certain boundaries. And I absolutely cannot stand it when something happens to throw me out of my groove.
Three times this last week, I had my day all mapped out and I knew exactly when I was doing what. My to-do list was polished and shining, I was moving right on down it like a self-motivated dynamo, and then something happened to throw me off track. The first day, it was a phone call. Now, it was a very important phone call, and it definitely became my priority as I dealt with the issues being presented. But it threw me out of my groove, and I didn’t get back into it the rest of the day. The kids could tell I wasn’t really plugged in.
The second day, it was an emergency that came my way via e-mail. Again, the situation presented was something I had to take care of right then and there. If I could have delayed it, I would. It took me about an hour, and then again, getting back into my groove was ultra-hard.
The third day, it was my mother. I do love my mother—let’s be clear on this. But let’s also say that she … doesn’t always “get” the concept of having a routine. She stopped by and just wanted to sit and chat, and by the time she left, an hour and a half had gone by, despite my gentle hinting. You guessed it – difficulty plugging into my kids when she left.
I’m working on this. I know I can’t expect life to always go with my flow. But for me to be able to really concentrate on my kids and feel as though I’ve given them the best of myself, I have to be in the zone, and my zone can’t be tampered with. So my question for you today is this – what tips do you have to share with me for how to pull my mind back into the program when I’ve been unexpectedly sidetracked? I can say no and I can take care of some things later, but when a situation arises and I have to deal with it first, how can I better transition back to what I was doing before?
Related Blogs:
Working When You Don’t Feel Like It
Five Ways to “Fire” Your Inner Procrastinator
Disciplining Yourself Isn’t Easy