A couple of years ago, I got into a planning/time management program that’s really helped me with staying on top of things and being realistic about what I can accomplish. It starts with the big picture of your vision for your ideal life, then drills down from there to specific goals that will lead you in the direction you want to go, and then you figure out the projects you can do in the time you have available that get you to those goals. And then you break the projects down into tasks and schedule them.

It’s a quarterly process. My second quarter of this year was pretty much taken up by the move, so I didn’t even try to plan. Now I’m going through the whole process for the next quarter and revisiting the initial vision work I did, since my life has changed a lot. And I realized that I’ve pretty much got the ideal life I outlined when I started doing all this, before I moved from Texas.

Of course, I’d like to earn more money, and I need to improve the way I use my time so I’m devoting real time to both work and fun, but I’m in a position to have the kind of daily life I said I wanted.

I’ve got my little old house with a big deck and a yard full of plants and trees, so I almost feel like I’m living in a forest. I have congenial neighbors of the sort who gather on the front porch for a glass of wine in the evenings and who stop in the street to chat (our street is so quiet that you can stand in the street to chat). I live within easy walking distance of a downtown area full of restaurants and shops and venues for concerts and theater. I’m surrounded by mountains and places to go hiking and exploring. This was all stuff I dreamed of when I started imagining the life I wanted to work toward, before I was seriously considering moving.

Which means now I need to focus on getting my work life in order and actually taking advantage of my living situation to do the things I want to do. I’m trying to be more diligent about prioritizing and scheduling work, getting it done, and then moving on to do the other things I want to spend time on.

Summer is my usual time to really focus on work because it’s too hot to spend much time outdoors. It’s not as bad here as it was in Texas, but summer is still not my favorite time of year or a time when I manage to go out and do a lot. It’s a good time to sit indoors and write during the day, and then evenings are relatively comfortable (and late!) here, so that’s when I can go to things like concerts in the park or I can work in my yard.

I’ve planned my major projects for the quarter, and now I need to schedule the tasks and then actually get stuff done.