Organize Yourself & Your Time

Good Morning & Happy Monday!

And what a wonderful to Monday it is! For the past two weeks, I've been unable to post to my blog because my Composer wouldn't work, only HTML. Since I know nothing about HTML, this made blogging not an option for me. I could not find any help online and was on the brink of posting a job on elance to get it fixed.

I came back today to try troubleshooting one last time, only to find that my Composer is working again! This means that I have an article for you today! It is the one from two weeks ago, but it's an important post to me, so I've decided to keep it. I intend to have a new post for you as usual, next Monday. I do want to thank you for keeping faith and visiting my blog as usual.  

Meanwhile, if any of you fellow bloggers have had this problem or know how to fix it, please do post a comment and let me know. I would be most grateful!  Here's the post I originally meant to post two weeks ago, and I hope to have a new post for you next week. I will also be working on posting the PDFs, article by article, soon.

By the way, our bags are now packed for Saudi Arabia, and I'm only waiting for our tickets, though we've not been given a date. I'm as much in the dark as any of you about what will happen the next couple of weeks, and one only knows where I'll be blogging from, next week!

As always, thank you for visiting and have a great week!

Faiza Raintree

Monday, September 9, 2013

I’m sorry for my absence, and I can’t tell you how happy I am to be doing an article for this Monday Morning. It’s been a hectic two weeks for me and also sad, although I’m so grateful to be healthy and enjoying life.  My Aunt Hamida, my father’s eldest sister, died from cervical cancer a week and a half ago (Ladies, please, please get that Pap smear! You owe it to yourself and to your body.). She was an amazing woman, kind and extremely generous, and almost our entire clan came from around the US and Canada to be here for the funeral. Two days after the funeral, my husband left to start work in Saudi Arabia. So here I’ve been trying to manage three kids and my own grief as well as that of my poor parents. My poor dad is just heartbroken, but trying, as always, to keep himself together for everyone else.

With everything going on in my life right now, I’ve found that my days are starting to be a blur and feel at times like I may fall apart! However, I do have to keep myself sane, at least for my three kids, and have been going over tips do this. That said, I think that many of us out there do struggle to manage everything on our plates, ESL students included. So this week’s article is about getting and staying organized. I thought that this might also be a good topic with the
beginning of the year upon us and all.

Thank you for reading and have a great week!

Organize Yourself & Your Time

The beginning of the year is a busy time for everyone. People are busy with school, jobs and housework. Those with children are even busier. Making a few small changes can help you to have a much easier day.

Here are some tips you can use to organize yourself and your day.

1. Be An Early Bird
Go to bed early. This will make it easier for you to wake up refreshed. I have found that going to bed early on Friday nights is a great way to stay energetic the whole week.

2. Go Blue
Buy yourself three or four pairs of jeans and use these during the year. Jeans go with everything and will make it easier for you to get dressed in the morning. If you have children, do the same for them. Children can get dressed themselves if they have clothes that all go together.

3. The Night Before
Lay out your clothes, shoes, and socks the night before. Have your kids do the same. If they wear jeans and matching shirt, this will be easy for them. Also, try on any new clothes the night before to make sure it looks okay.

4. Reward Yourself
Make yourself a breakfast that you enjoy. Examples are: frozen fruit shake, quick pancakes or buttery eggs. If you are short on time, have a cup of tea and some buttered toast. A fun breakfast can make for a better morning!

5. Meaty Meals
Have some protein with each meal. Examples of protein are eggs, chicken or turkey. Some people even cook chicken breast on the weekend and have it during the week. Having some protein will help you to stay energetic all day.

6. The Golden Quarter
Here is a secret to a great workday and a great career: Get to work 15 minutes early. Make this a habit! You will not be sorry. Getting to work a little early makes you look professional. If you look professional, you’ll want to be professional. Being early can also prevent you from getting to work late. If you are delayed on the road, you may still be on time. If 15 minutes is too early, start with 5 minutes. Then work your way to 15 minutes.

I hope these tips work for you!

QUESTIONS
1. What are some things that keep people busy?
2. How do jeans make life easier?
3. What is a great tip for a refreshing weekend?
4. What is meant by “lay out”?
5. What is a reward? What are some morning rewards mentioned in this article?
6. What are some ways to get more protein from your diet?
7. What does Golden Quarter mean?


ACTIVITIES
* On a piece of paper, write down your daily schedule. Share it with a partner. How are your days alike? How are they different?
* What are some things you do to stay organized? Write or tell about 3 tips.
* Do you think that technology helps a person to be more organized? What are some devices you use to organize your life?
* People say that life with children is more hectic and difficult.They say that children are more trouble than they are worth. For this reason, many people choose not to have children. How do you feel about this?

* THINK & WRITE 

Some people say that organization is the key to success and that organized people are better than disorganized people. Many people also believe that disorganized people have something wrong with them and that is why they are disorganized. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Thank you for visiting!

Faiza Raintree