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Managing Crazy Busy

ByJennifer Moody
The image is a cartoon illustration of a green and yellow airplane. The airplane has a series of windows along its side and a blue cockpit window. The wings and tail are green, and the body is primarily yellow.
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It didn’t take long for the relaxing glow of vacation to wear off – I dove right back in headfirst a week ago.  I luckily had a recovery plan in place but the pace has been as busy as ever (probably not helped by a voluntary segment run this past weekend)!  But now I’m in that mode that I hate – the crazy busy mode.

You know that mode if you’ve been there.  The one where someone asks you how things are going and you respond “oh, it’s been busy – you know, like CRAZY BUSY!!!”  Yep, you know you’ve said that before.  I know I have!

A few things help me keep my sanity when life gets crazy busy – especially when travel is involved:

1. A “Go Bag” – Having a suitcase ready packed makes life easier when I need to get back on the road.  I keep a rollaboard semi-packed at all times with toiletries (I keep a full set only for travel), electronics/appliances (I have a flat iron and laptop charger that are just for travel and I keep my GPS in the bag as well), my lingerie bag (clean night clothes and undergarments for the next trip go in there as I unpack), and my (emptied) laundry bag.  All I have to do to be ready for the next trip is check the weather and count off the right number of outfits.

2. A rolling to-do list and other organizational tools -It’s easy to forget things when things get crazy busy – especially if a change of scenery with travel is involved.  I’m old school so I like actually writing out my list (I use a Franklin Planner and have for years), but there are many apps that will also effectively manage tasks.  I also keep spreadsheets to help me with larger projects and longer lists.  I prefer to be able to assign dates to time sensitive items so that I don’t drop the ball.  Travel planning apps like TripIt are also essential.  I’ve gotten into the habit of reviewing my trips on TripIt on a day-by-day basis to ensure I have not forgotten to book a hotel room or rental car.

3. Ready recipes – Making time to eat is important for staying nourished when things are crazy busy.  (And it’s doubly important if you have others to feed too!)  I like having a few time tested recipes that I can go to when I need to cook – and preferably recipes where the leftovers are good.  My favorites are the ones where the leftovers taste even better than the original day of cooking.  I’ve shared two of my favorites before – my Mexican Casserole and my Winner Chili.  I now have another favorite for the rotation – this great Roasted Lemon Chicken I found via Bon Appetit – a delicious AND easy recipe that uses one skillet for all the cooking.

While these three things by themselves will not solve the problem of being “crazy busy”, they will at least keep me sane until I can get past that point.

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