Friday, January 30, 2015

Plan and Do


How quickly the beginning of this year has whizzed by! January is nearly at its end and I am only now  getting round to contemplating the upcoming months.

I've thought long and hard about what my word for the year ought to be. So many came to mind, and reading about other people's thoughts and their chosen words proved inspiring yet in many ways not helpful (so many worthy and inspiring thoughts!!). 

But looking at the year ahead (and all those things I am aiming to achieve this year!!) and my particular disposition I think it ought to have been obvious what I need my word to be - it's plan, or rather, plan and do, because I think the two of them need to go together to actually lead to anything. 

I'm not naturally an organised person and I'm prone to a fair bit of procrastination too. I have got better since having children, because with children, if you don't get your organisation skills on to some extent, things will come unstuck very quickly, but there are days when it's a real struggle, and it's led to a string of last-minute-panics, missed appointments, and no end of rushing around. These are not good things in anyone's life. 

I have a lot of things to achieve this year, and I'd like to approach them in a mindful and organised manner rather than rushing into them in a headless way. I'll feel better for it, and so will my family.

With that in mind, a few things I'd like to start doing more:
1) pay bills when they come in
2) plan the week in advance (this includes work, childcare, playdates, but also weekday meals for example)
3) pack lunch for work (so much better and also cheaper than the cafeteria)
4) bake and freeze breakfast muffins. I'm thinking of these:
Breakfast Muffins
Raisin Bran Muffins
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
French Toast Muffins
Healthy Happy Banana Muffins
or possibly these:
Breakfast Balls

And for lunch...
I love cornbread, but perhaps I might also try these:
Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

How did this plan and do post turn into a muffin post? Although if you squint a little I suppose the two are related...

Shared with:
Creative Friday

9 comments:

  1. Love your words!!! And I might have to sort of add them to mine.....as you added mine to yours. My word this year is 'mindful'.....and nothing better, I think, than mindfully planning and doing!!! Thanks!

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    1. I couldn't agree more! You know, I hadn't even realised that I'd added your words to my own thoughts - clearly they must have resonated with me so much that I internalised them!! :)

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  2. Great words. I am really good at planning certain things.... and horrible and planning others (like dinner more than one night in advance). I could certainly use a few kid-free days to get myself organized!
    And I am a sucker for jalepeno cornbread!

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    1. Thank you. I've got a lot better with planning things ahead, and that one of my boys has suspected Aspergers and needs a fairly structured day has certainly sharpened my organisation skills. That said, there is still A LOT of scope for improvement, not only for my son's benefit but also for my own!

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  3. Nice planning to get you organized and going.

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    1. Really hoping I'll stick with it. A bit of planning and organising and thinking ahead can only be a good thing for me, LOL!

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  4. Those muffins sound yummy! I'm at the other extreme - a bit of a control freak so I don't do spontaneous at all! I plan the week's meals on a Sunday afternoon (when I know what's coming in the veg box), which helps with our shopping list. As I frequently cook two different meals for the two of us each night because of different diets, I need to plan, otherwise it all ends up being too much! As for paperwork, I quickly sort it as it arrives, and anything needing action goes in a pile, then I put aside 15 mins once a week to action anything - pay bills, file payslips etc. That makes everything happen when it needs to happen, and stops the pile becoming unmanageable. Good luck!

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    1. I really, really want to bake more, and what better thing to bake than breakfast muffins. Not only are they (relatively) healthy, they also work well for that awkward 11am did-I-eat-breakfast-today-or-was-that-yesterday feeling. Honestly, I need to eat every 2 hours in the morning! ;)

      How funny that you are the other extreme - all this planning ahead sounds all pretty great to me, as does the lack of procrastination in the way you approach paperwork. I really hope that I'll stick with it and will manage a bit more of that this year. I do get things done, but I could really do with a bit less last-minute panic...

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  5. Hi Iris, I keep forgetting to tel you that the "red bird" in my post was a cardinal. They are quite common here and the males are bright red while the females are brown with a reddish tinge on their head.
    As for Plan and Do, I'm there with you! I've always been very organized but then I got sick and old and now it's a struggle! LOL! But at least I was when my kids were growing up and now I just need to get rid of stuff and that would help a lot. Love the muffin recipes! Good luck and it will free up time for you to do the things that bring you joy!

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