Being Productive

Last Updated on September 15, 2017 by Samantha Flores

I have a notebook that I use to write down all the ideas I have for my writing pieces. To generate some creativity, I have turned to sources like Pinterest to see what other writers have used to spark that inspiration into their writings. I found some ideas that included taking time to write down 100 things that made me happy and I had to do it in one sitting. Thinking about it, it seemed like something that should have been an easy task, but it actually took me some time to finish. Obviously things my list included my husband, our unborn son, date nights, family, friends, etc. But there was one item on my list that I was surprised to see: being productive.Being productive brings about a sense of purpose for me. Yes, there are many, many days where all I want to do is flop on the couch and binge watch some Netflix and not be productive at all (and I allow myself to do this probably more than I should). But, on the days where I decide to just put my hair up and do, do, do until I’m done, I feel such pride and motivation.Last week, I had a difficult time with changes related to my job that were out of my control. This week, I decided to do more about my current situation and focus on the things I could control. I created my to-do list (my grandmother would be so proud) and hammered it out all this week and crossed things off my list as I went. For some reason, seeing a to-do item on paper and physically crossing it out is pretty thrilling for me! Today, I looked back at the to-do list that I started with on Monday and felt such pride. Even with the lack of confidence I have in myself right now learning this new position, I actually made some progress and helped others along the way.At home, I made it a priority to get little things in order for our little boy’s room to bring him home to. As we get closer each week to meeting our son, the time crunch can feel a bit restrictive. This feeling put me into high gear this week as I made up my mind to buckle down and get ‘er done! There are still many more things we need to get for him before he arrives, but his room is at least in order and now we can start filling in the gaps with other necessities.I moved on from his room to the rest of our home with doing laundry, dishes, more laundry, rearranging things, cleaning, and making more lists of what else needed to get done. I even made a couple of batches of snickerdoodle cookies! Our home smelled like Christmas (another item on my list of 100 things that makes me happy)! I wouldn’t call this the nesting phase for me quite yet. I’m sure that phase will hit me probably around Halloween when I’ll spiral into washing all the baby clothes, baby blankets, cracking open those packages of diapers, unpacking/repacking the hospital bag, sanitizing the bottles and pacifiers, and so on.Lastly, there has been this subtle planning for our baby-moon! This will be our last hoorah without baby (though this baby bump sure won’t go unnoticed during the vacation)! We’ve received the seal of approval from our doctor to enjoy this trip and this week we made some progress in getting those plans finalized. After this trip, we’ll be a little family of three taking our son on vacations with us!Once the baby is here, I’m sure all this feeling of productivity will go right out the window along with any sleep. For now, I will enjoy getting to cross off things from my to-do list. I’m sure the journey we have ahead of us having a newborn will be productive in it’s own special way!Does being productive make anyone else happy? Surely, I can’t be the only one. Always,Samantha <3

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