Of all the things I love about not working full-time, having more time to spend on my volunteer activities ranks way up there. Unfortunately, the 'work' part of those volunteer activities has actually suffered a bit. I'm not certain why, but I suspect that when I was actually working a desk job it was easy to slip in ten minutes of a volunteer project on my computer. Now, it's easier to make plans to actually go volunteer than it is to make myself sit down at the computer.

When I left my job, for the first couple of months I had a working schedule that I used to detail my time and set aside specific blocks of time to work on projects. This really guided my progress and kept me sane, too! Then, the holidays hit, and I spent most of my time at Williams-Sonoma. The schedule fell by the wayside. I was so thrilled to get my free time back in January that I barely noticed I was falling behind on actual projects with actual deadlines. Until I realized that now it is February. Where did January go?! What about the projects I was supposed to get done in January?! What now?! (Yes, that's pretty much how the conversation in my head went!)

So I sat down, made a list of the immediate projects to be completed (like the ones with January 31 deadlines...oops!), moved my laptop to the kitchen table, and got to work. Other than a blessed husband, and a couple of trips outside to throw a ball for my mostly-patient Zeppelin, Wednesday was spent marking things off the list. Of course, lists being what they are, as many more things were added than were crossed off, and it is looking like another day at the table is in store. But at least I feel like I've taken control of my schedule again, and that always makes me a happier me!

Do you feel better with a "to do" list to check off? Let me add one for you--I'm still taking suggestions for daily themes (a la "Furnishing Friday" and "Saturday Smells Like..."). What do you think I should write more about?