Have-To Items and Really-Like-To Items

I was recently asked how we juggle and manage have-to tasks and really-like-to tasks. 
That's a tough one because things that are "super important" and "have to be done right now" will always come up. Especially as you start this journey of trying to organize things, crazy things will start coming out of the woodwork. 

However, when those crazy things happen, it gives you a chance to decide if you want to deal with the issue and then go back to your plan, or throw your hands up and walk away from it all. 

Each thing that interrupts you will need to be dealt with in a different way, but ultimately, YOU choose how you react to it and if it throws your whole day or is just a "normal" blip on the radar. 
If a child wets their pants, that needs to be dealt with. But does it mean that you drop the whole day at 9am and eat chocolate cake in the pantry for the next 30 minutes? Probably depends on how the morning has been going, but generally, no. You would deal with the mess, help console or correct the behavior of the child and then redirect the day back to what you needed to do: "How would you like to help mommy load the dishwasher?" 

If a text comes through, you can choose to let that phone just sit there and you don't have to look at it. You can tell yourself, "as soon as I finish mopping this floor I'll give myself a chance to reply" and often, that gives us motive to move quicker and push through. Besides, if you leave a chore half done, what are the odds that your toddler finds your mess and spreads around the love, undoing everything that you just cleaned up? Pretty high. Don't do the same chore twice. Instead, stick it out the first time with a little self-discipline before getting sidetracked. 

If someone shows up on your doorstep unexpectedly, it is perfectly reasonable to let them know that you are busy or that you have time for them or that you just need to complete one quick thing before visiting with them. I know we like to pretend that we are doing nothing but waiting for others to drop in on us, but there's a good chance that is never true. Be honest. It is truly okay. 

What if you get a phone call or text and because they asked you to look something up, you now are off on a tangent and miles away (in your head) from what you need to be doing next? This is tricky, but comes easier with practice. This is where a task list for the day comes in handy. You can always refer back to your task list when you're not sure where you left off or you need a reminder for what else needs done. 

If you only focused on the "have-tos" for a few hours each day, then the rest of the day seems to leave us feeling less stressed because we attended to the most important things first. 
If you can get your "have-to" items done as soon as possible in the day, then it is easier to deal with the things that get thrown at you AND you have more time to get to the "want-tos" as a reward to yourself.