My Day to Day Schedule

Okay, now that I've posted my cleaning schedule, let's talk about my work schedule. As I said a couple days ago, I'm a writer. Which means, I work from home. Also, I'm recording my books on audio, so I can only do that when everyone is at work or school.

After stressing about never being able to get things done, I decided to make myself a day to day schedule. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't always stick to this one hundred percent. There are days when my mom calls and we head out for some thrift store shopping and breakfast. Or maybe there are unexpected errands that fall on my lap. But, barring unforeseen activities, I've tried really hard to stick to this to ensure there's enough time for everything.

Of course, this schedule won't work for everyone. Maybe you have toddlers that take naps at a certain time. Maybe you work outside the home. Maybe your spouse works from home or you homeschool your little ones. Whatever the case, make a schedule that works for you and stick to it. I've had to, on occasion, set an alarm on my phone to ensure I don't get distracted with one project.

This is the schedule I made on Photoshop and printed out. It's currently hanging in my Cave. (My little space where I work).

It's a little hard to see, but here are the time blocks:

8-9-:30 Walk, Breakfast, and Shower. In this allotted time, I try to walk no less than twenty to thirty minutes. This is also the time I make sure I look somewhat presentable. lol I'm trying to wear makeup daily, but anyone who lives in a colder climate knows how dry it is right now. Between my skin refusing to keep any form of foundation on, and my eyes constantly watering (along with my nose), I've had to adapt my makeup accordingly. (No liquid liner most days)

9:30-10:30 Daily cleaning chore (this goes along with Thursday's cleaning schedule)

10:30-Noon Marketing, Promotion, Emails. Okay, this was is a hard one to stick by because I get messages and calls throughout the day and end up having to run back to my laptop. I'm trying to break myself of it and stick to this time slot, but anyone who works for themselves knows how hard it is to get your name out there.

Noon-12:30 Lunch. Again, hard to stick by because I tend to forget to eat. I'd love to say it's a writer's curse, but I think it's a woman thing!

12:30-3:30 Writing Time! At this chunk, I force myself to sit at my laptop. I might not be able to punch out 3k words, but as long as I'm doing something related to my books, I feel like I've accomplished something. Even if it's editing or plotting.

3:30-5 General Housework. At this point, my daughter has come home from school. I use this time to pick up the house, vacuum, dust, etc. for any rooms not assigned for this day. The deep cleans are saved for their specific day, but daily cleaning is how I keep up on the tornado...I mean, family.

5-7 Dinner and Cleanup. This is prep, cooking, and cleanup for dinner. We sit down at the table every single night for dinner. And since we don't have a dishwasher, all dishes are washed by hand. On the weekends, however, I make the kids take turns doing them to give me a break.

7-Bedtime Family Time!!! This is when we watch TV, movies, talk, etc. It's also shower time for the daughter. Again, I try really hard not to work during this time, but since my husband sometimes works odd shifts, my daughter is on the basketball team and goes to church on Sunday nights, sometimes I'm home alone and use the time to work a little more.

10:30 Bedtime We can all have a good laugh at this one. Okay, sometimes I'm in bed by 10, but I rarely go to sleep before around 11:30. Between reading in bed and mild insomnia, I don't sleep well. Although, I've recently begun taking melatonin and I think it's actually working. I feel like I'm falling asleep sooner and staying asleep longer.

So, there's my daily schedule. Like I said before, this schedule won't work for everyone, but you can adapt it to your lifestyle. It definitely eliminates stress of feeling like there's too much to do and not enough day to do it in.

All kinds of new things this year!

Last year, I neglected this poor blog entirely too much. And I apologize. Every year I write goals for myself, not resolutions, attainable goals. One of this year's goals is to update this page more often and find some awesome content for y'all!

As for the changes and goals for this year? Last year, I attended quite a few conventions and book signings. While I still intend on doing a few, I only plan on doing one that is not local and that will be CIL-Con in Mattoon, IL.Otherwise, I'm going to stick closer to home this year. Why, you ask?

My husband and I have decided to become foster parents. I'd done it in the past, but my license expired about two or three years ago. We'll be going through the classes starting this spring. We've chosen to do elevated needs, which can also be considered special needs. Since I've raised my own special needs kids, as well as worked with both special needs adults and kids, we feel extremely comfortable and confident. While previously I'd chosen to work with the teens, this time, we're focusing on newborns through six years old. Because I still have two teens, I didn't want the risk of any accusations or hardships on my own kids.

The only thing making me nervous is making sure I have everything we need. A lot of these kids come with little to nothing. I already found a toddler car seat, but I still need an infant seat, a booster seat, a crib, and some varying sizes of clothing in case they come with nothing. I'm extremely excited, and extremely nervous.

As far as my professional career, I still plan on writing. I figure I wrote when I watched four toddler boys, I can write with little ones living here. I put out my sixth book on December 30th and plan on putting out at least three more books this year. At least, that's my goal. I also plan on becoming better at marketing myself. I'm excellent at marketing for anyone else; time to work for myself just as hard. So, having said that, I'll be including links to my books on this blog, as well as my website, www.clparks.net.

That's all I have for you today, but keep your eyes open for new posts on cooking, cleaning, and being a housewife. After all, that is my primary job and I'm damn proud of it.

I'm a Glamorous Author....aren't we all?

When I was a little girl I read Charlotte's Web; it devastated me. Why the HELL did they have to kill Charlotte? (Mind you, I've always been terrified of spiders, yet Charlotte was different somehow) At six years old I rewrote the ending of one of the most beloved books. Okay, it wasn't very good, somewhere along the lines of "Charlotte lives and her babies live and they all stay with Wilbur forever and no body kills Wilbur." Oh, and it was very misspelled - give me some slack, I was six!

Fast forward thirty years and I'm still writing. Gotta tell you, my image of a professional writer is so much different than reality. Do you remember seeing the movie She-Devil with Roseanne Barr and Meryl Streep? Okay, maybe you didn't see it, as most with any taste in movies laugh at me when I talk about it. There's a point in bringing it up. Meryl Streep is a romance writer in this movie, and has a very specific image. This is what most people picture when they think of writers:

Pink hat, pink clothing, pink laptop, and iced drink at hand. I mean, isn't this how EVERY writer looks while working? Ha...HA.....HAHAHAHA! You want to see a little reality?


Yes, that's me working on my latest book. No zooming in!



The reality is we (as in those of us who work from home) tend to stay in our pajamas, we go hours into the day without brushing our hair, and so many of us write wherever we're comfortable. I'll spend a few hours like I am in this pic, then flip to another couch. At some point the laptop will end up on the coffee table with me hunching over it, before I'll finally give up and have to walk around to stretch out my back. Between the wrist issues and the neck and back pain, this is a very NOT glamorous job! lol

There's a site on the web by Paige Cuccaro who has one of the coolest pages. If you haven't checked out The Writers Cave you need to head over there now! Seriously...now....GO! I'll be here when you get back. Good? Did you like it? I TOLD you so! Wow...I just realized I not only talk to myself, and to my fictional characters, but now I'm talking to my readers on the blog like they can hear me.

Anyway, I would love to see you writing. If you're a reader, send me a pic of you reading. Do you have a specific place you work/read? Are you only comfortable once you have your coffee, cigarettes, chocolate, etc?


Day 4 - What's that smell?

I actually took yesterday off from being Suzy Homemaker to get some writing and editing done. Funny enough, the only thing I kept from doing was blogging. HA! Apparently, I live as Suzy Homemaker every day anyway. I still made beds, hand washed dishes (I don't own a dishwasher), did three loads of laundry, picked up several messes, and as the headline indicates, picked up an accident from my darling puppy. *sigh* Just what every glamourous woman wants to do, pick up a pile of dog poo!

There's a blog by a Canadian woman named Jen, but never Jenn who not only did a 1950s housewife experiment, but actually made the food, walked to the shops, and donned a dress all day every day. Go read it and have a good laugh! Wait until you see some of the meals she made!! (She actually used cookbooks from the time period, and all I can say is EWWWW!) She committed to two weeks and actually followed through and had some great insights. Seriously....go read it....now.

As I sit here writing this I've decided I have a ghost in the house. It's either that or my lamp is possessed. The bulb in the lamp keeps flickering; when I get up to check it it turns back on. As soon as I sit back down...yep, flickers out. Anyone know a number to a good ghost buster...or somewhere to get a cheap lamp?

I digress. Today is officially the fifth day of my experiment and I've learned a lot about spending more time with my family. While I didn't originally tell the kids what was going on you can definitely see a change in all of us. The kids seem lighter, the husband seemed like he was able to relax more when he got home, and I realized this is something I need to do every day, not just for a week. My life has always revolved around my family, but now, instead of saying I'm too busy doing laundry/dishes/cleaning/insert chore here, I take the time to listen to my kids and husband. I mean I really stop, look them in the eye and listen to what they have to tell me. It has been wonderful!

I can't tell you if I lost weight by all my scrubbing as I don't and won't own a scale, but I definitely feel good both emotionally and physically (all except my knees). Even with financial stress I find I'm able to sit back and hand my worries to God and realize there are some things I can't control. You know the saying - Let go, and let God.

Here's my challenge to you: Stop what you're doing, slow down, and really listen to what your kids, husband, wife, whatever have to say. More than likely whatever it is that you're busying yourself with isn't nearly as important as what your kids are trying to tell you.

I have a game plan!!!

Okay, so this is the second post of the day. I've done so much since my last post, and still have so much to do to get my home where I want it. I've heard of people doing just fifteen minutes a day to keep their homes up, but they don't live with my kids. They have dirtied the same room three times now, so I've put them to work.

I came across a website some time ago and revisited it today. It's called flylady.net. The way these women do it is by forming routines, or habits. They're big on "not being behind, but starting right where you are". Their program splits up the home into zones, and you work on these zones throughout the week, while doing your usual upkeep of the home. In other words, your home gets a deep clean every month, rather than just your typical spring cleaning.

Another huge focus is getting dressed to lace up shoes as soon as you get up. In other words, get up, get dressed all the way to your shoes (including hair and face) before starting anything else for the day. Now, I don't know about doing my hair and face first thing in the morning, but there's no reason I can't get dressed, brush my hair and teeth and have my shoes on before I start my coffee or wake up the kids. I mean, really, how long does it take to throw on some clothes and run a brush through your hair. Granted, we start our day at 6am, but that's no excuse for looking like a slob every day!

Okay, so there's my game plan. While I'm working the steps on Flylady.net, I will also tackle one project every day. I have so many projects that need to be done, anything from socks to be darned (yes, I do this. I see no reason to throw them out if the elastic is still good in them), to walls that still need to be painted. We've lived in this house for over a year and I still haven't finished painting.

Here's the deal: I will post a pic of what I'm wearing and what project I've tackled every day (or at least I will try to. I do work from home as a published author, and writing must be done in order to get paid). I will also post what I've accomplished on the Flybaby list for the day. I hope you will join me in reclaiming my life!

Have a great New Year's!