I have ancestors going back generations whose ability to clean and organize is breathtaking. Things put away in their place. Clothes, blankets, and sheets folded. As much as this all makes sense, I always hear it as a “novel idea” that some folks apply in their daily lives. I have the organizational skills of a tree stump.

Of any traits handed down to me through my DNA, not one single drop of that longed-for clean-and-organize character trait found its way to me.

So, you might ask, what has led me to this moment? If getting distracted were an Olympic event, I’d be in the running for Gold. A wandering mind stops me from getting things down. This is why I am striking back. I am setting down a daily schedule. Times for writing, reading, walking, meditating, cleaning house, and so on.

The key word in the preceding sentence is times. Write from this specific hour to this one. This hour for reading time, and so on.

“Put things back,” is a superb organizing guidepost my mother gave me. I’ve never forgotten it. Acting on it is an entirely different matter.

There has been an unexpected and welcome supply of emotional (motivational) fuel for me as I begin this schedule attempt. History has taught me that when I complete a scheduled task, the resulting emotion is happiness along with something I didn’t expect. Confidence.