My Daily Schedule

The month of January has been completely different for me (although it is a lot like my summers when I was teaching).  I have long stretches of day without set structure, spend long periods of time reading, researching, blog-surfing and errand-running.  Without classes back in session until February, I have a few more weeks to get used to these kinds of unstructured days.

Last week, I was practically going crazy with the lack of structure - it's funny how much we dream of getting away from it all without any responsibilities, and then when we actually have it, we don't know quite what to do with it! (Just a note - I am doing work as a research assistant/web editor for my graduate school's public policy program - so I do some things to do.)

This week has been so much better:

• I made myself a schedule
• Have found other things to do with my days that I enjoy:
• Checking out books from the library
• Gotten back into blogging
• Listed new clothing for sale on eBay (you can check them out here)
• Set aside certain days to help my mom with housework since she has knee trouble

My best move though for making this month sane? Making a schedule.  The more structured I am, the better I tend to work and feel.  So here's an example of what my weekly schedule looks like:

Along with that, I have a monthly schedule that helps me keep track of the hours I need to put in for my research work, as well as which days I'm going to exercise (staying with my New Year's goal to exercise every other day).

This is still just an outline for me to work from, but just having these makes my life so much more productive and less anxious.  I'm still trying figure out what methods work for me to stay more organized in my home, life, and work.

What are your favorite organizational methods/ideas?