To Do and Don't List:

How do you do it all?

I don't, that's for sure. I've had to make many concessions and prioritize, which sometimes means abandoning my checklists.

Some days, I'm 100% efficient, check everything off my list, and go to bed feeling quite amazing. Other days, I go to bed and stare at the ceiling, wondering what kind of ridiculous, ineffective human I am and why I think having a job and a pile of kids and being useful in this world is possible.

There are days when a kid or someone else needs me, and I get absolutely nothing on my checklist done. These days typically come and go on a cycle, and knowing that helps me recognize that although they do come, they also go, and I'll be back on a better system soon.

A few things that make a big difference for the good days?

• CHECKLISTS: I love them. They make me feel warm and fuzzy.

  
  

• SYSTEMS: I see everything as a tiny science experiment.

  
  

  • Would I like to do laundry better if it smells like cotton blossom? Yes.

  • Is "mess-moving" or "room-at-a-time" cleaning more efficient? Time it...

  • How many narrators in Audiofile Magazine can I listen to and steal ideas from during a 15-minute lunch break?

  • Was I more effective after yoga or weights this week?

  • Shower before narrating or after narrating? Always before.

  • Lemon/ginger tea or peppermint for a clearer voice? Passionflower, actually works best for me.

  • Is that expensive throat spray cost-effective? What the heck is in it?

  • Can I clean my room, the stairs, and the hall while downloading this file? Done.

  • What if I clean the shower while IN the shower?

    
    

• EARLY TO BED: I'm a grouch if I can't see 8 hours of sleep on my little alarm circle. It's also bad for my voice... Tired = grouchy = "raising my voice" = lousy narration.

  
  

• GET TO WORK: I am two kinds of procrastinator (learned this while narrating this book). The, "I'll just get a thousand little things done on the way to doing the big thing I really need to be doing" procrastinator...

  
  

  And, the "I'll spend 45 minutes planning to do what I need to do, including color-coding a to-do list, before I start," procrastinator.

  
  

  I now set timers to get started. I.E. "Laura, you have five minutes to walk from the main floor with your tea to your studio and whatever you can fit in during that time: grab the dirty sock, hang up the dishtowel, put the basket of gloves away, scrub the honey off the counter, feed the dog, start the dryer again, change your shirt because it's uncomfortable." If the timer goes off, a trap door opens into a pit of flies. Why flies? They are horrible. Basically poo with wings.

  
  

• BE NICE: I can be hard on myself if I have one of those weird days where nothing gets done, and I end up wandering around the main floor wondering if the lamp in the office would look better in the living room (yes it would). Those days are a reminder that I need a cup of chamomile, my six-year-old, a puzzle, and a random, awful, Christmas romance movie - or to start Harry Potter over on Audible - again. Jim Dale or Stephen Fry?

A recent photo of my to-do list from my notebook: PS. I'm showing you this because it started as a highly motivated morning, but it turned into a bit of a disaster. I over-planned, underachieved, and had to catch up the next day...

Finally, there must be breaks from your craft, even if you love it. I happen to love narrating. But when the bus arrives, the computer closes, I take a deep breath, a Gaba, and I try to leave work in my studio. That doesn't always happen - Saturday night I pounded on the wall and yelled for everyone to be quiet while I finished an audition request I really wanted. It wasn't very nice, but I promised everyone mint chip ice cream if I got the book — I did :)