Planning is awesome. Some of us are practically addicted to it. For many of us, planning is a comfort zone.
Inside the pages of my planner, everything behaves. I can control all the variables. There are no unexpected rainy days, and all the discomfort that comes with doing something new can be soothed by simply adding a task to my to-do list. And no one really tells you how much of adulting is just learning how to manage your time so you don’t completely lose your mind.
Of course, my planner doesn’t actually manage time for me, though it probably should. Time management has always been my weak point. I’ve never been able to time-block properly because I rarely know how long something will take. A task might take twenty minutes… or two hours… or somehow both. The only thing I could realistically time-block is studying, but if I tried to break that down into smaller pieces, it would quickly fall apart.
So I’ve decided to simplify things. Instead of strict time blocks, I’m dividing my day into broader sections: morning, mid-day, afternoon, and night. Since I’m putting together a curriculum for my studying (which is almost finished), I can organize that work into the mid-day and afternoon blocks. Morning and night will be for everything else. My mid-day needs to start at 9, since my morning starts at 5. I think that would be a good setup.
The nice thing about this system is that when it’s time to study, I won’t have to sit there staring at the book or the screen for half an hour, wondering what I should do next. And the curriculum will help me with knowing what I should do next.
I need to finish up this curriculum after I read a bit. I want to get started on studying. I think having these time blocks and a curriculum will also help when my day is off. Such as yesterday, when it started later than usual. I also need to be more aware of what others around me are doing, especially if it may affect my day. Having the knowledge that my day may start later or that I will have a disruption will keep my routine flowing.
I have to have a routine. Even my weekends revolve around one. It’s not the same structured, productivity-themed routine as the weekdays, no alarms, no to-do lists staring at me from across the room, but there’s still a rhythm to it. A lazy routine, if you will, but a routine nonetheless. So yes, my weekends are relaxed. But they’re relaxed in a very organized, predictable sort of way. Even my laziness likes a little structure.
Oh, I got a call from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office today. I think that was her exact title, but honestly, I was a little nervous during the call, so some of the details are a blur. She said they’ll get me registered so I can attend the parole hearing when it happens.
She also mentioned that there was a hearing about three years ago where the drunk driver was denied something. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but she’s going to send me the transcript from that hearing so I can get caught up on everything that’s happened in the case so far. I’ll be attending the upcoming hearing virtually. I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing. I’ve never attended a parole hearing before.
She asked me to email the letter I wrote, so I sent that over today. Not long after that, I received another email from the District Attorney with a PDF form that I needed to fill out, sign, and send back. I took care of that as well, so at least all the paperwork on my end is done for now.
Tommy has band practice tonight, which means we are all on our own for dinner. I’m not entirely sure what the evening will look like yet. Maybe I’ll play a little Final Fantasy XIV, or maybe I’ll just fall down the YouTube rabbit hole for a while. I’ll decide when the time comes. For now, I’m just glad the administrative part of the day is finished.
I’m going to make myself some tea and study for a bit longer. Don’t forget that Daylight Saving Time starts Sunday morning. We move ahead one hour, so we will lose that hour of sleep.
