Productivity and Perspective

Happy Almost Thanksgiving, everyone!

I wonder why it is that most days I am feeling like I never get anything accomplished. If I really analyze my day, I am getting WAY more done on my mental to-do list than I ever used to before Kaylee joined us. For example, Monday night, I felt like I never got much done with my day, because every couple hours I had to repeat the Kaylee routine - pick her up when she either woke up or started crying, change her diaper, fix a bottle and feed her, burp her, interact with her (eithery playing, or talking, or tummy time or something), and then set her down somewhere so she can also just watch what I'm doing or play by herself or fall asleep or whatever. This routine is time-consuming and repetitive and very familliar to me, and sometimes it feels like it's all I ever do.

I guess the constant interruptions and having to get things done in small chunks makes it feel like I never get anything finished, and not getting anything finished in one session must make me feel like I'm not doing anything productive.

However, I steal moments when she is sleeping or quiet to get small tasks done. And I guess for the most part, I have broken most of my to-do list down into small tasks. And I haven't written a to-do list out on paper for a long time.

But here's what I got done Monday:

-unpacked my suitcase and Kaylee's diaper bag (we were out of town)
cleaned off kitchen counter (I have a catch-all/drop-off space that gets cluttered every couple days)
-re-packed and organized Kaylee's diaper bag for everyday use
-three loads of laundry washed, folded, and put away
-changed our bed linens and added electric blanket to our bed
-cooked 2 meals
-loaded/unloaded dishwasher
-looked for and brought winter gear upstairs from basement
-completely rearranged and organized one of our storage rooms downstairs
-uploaded almost 600 mb of photos for printing online, edited crops on 400 photos and submitted order

I guess I wasn't a total web-surfing slob on the couch all day, after all.

Got lots done Tuesday as well:

- dishes
- bills
- submitted monthly tax deposit and organized pay statements for LLC
- washed hair
- got Kaylee cleaned up and ready to go out
- went to Walmart and got groceries with Mom and Kaylee
- put groceries away
- cooked a fabulous supper (teriyaki sesame mandarin orange pepper beef and rice, anyone? mmmmm)
- matted and framed a picture for Kaylee's room

I don't know why it is I derive self value and justification for existence based on my productivity. So what if I spend a day on the couch web-surfing and in a trance in front of the television? :P