Happy last day of July! As you may or may not know, I set out to s-l-o-w down this summer and had some loose guidelines and goals for each month of summer. Somehow, month 2 is already over! I can’t believe how quickly the summer is flying by. Read about the specifics of my goal here, and find a review of month 1 here.

This month, my big goal was journaling. Before all you journalers get excited to hear about how journaling has changed my life, I do want you to know that I didn’t actually journal one time. At first, I was embarrassed about it. I wrote out my plan and shared it on the blog partially for accountability but also to encourage you all to be intentional with your days. I wasn’t intentional about journaling this month, but that’s okay. That’s life. Sometimes, we set out to do something and then look back days or weeks or months later and realize we didn’t do it. The question then is: How important is this thing (journaling) to me?

I’ve decided that it is important for me to journal. I want to be able to reflect on my days and look back to see how God has moved in my life and circumstances. So, I’m going to give it another go this August. Say a prayer for me! I am still going to work on meditation, as well. This goes against my “only work on one new thing at a time rule” so today, I want to share how I plan to get back on track with my Summer of Slow.

1. Schedule out my days.

I am a planner and really thrive when I have a roadmap. I have fallen a little lax on utilizing my planner, so this month, I am going to schedule out everything that’s important for me to do in a day. This includes meals, workouts, walking my dog, phone calls, etc,. I think this will help me to have margin for the things that pop up.

2. Prioritize my to-dos.

I am a morning person and tend to do my best work in the morning. I am going to journal and meditate in the morning. By doing so, I will know that I’ve done it for the day and won’t be tempted to push it aside when I get home from work. It may sound like I am turning these disciplines into check-list items, but I know that to get in the habit of actually doing them, I need to make sure it happens before I leave home for the day.

3. Set a timer.

I am easily distracted. I get caught up in an article or book or meaningless conversation at least 3 times a day. Then it is SO hard to re-focus. I’ve been reading about the Pomodoro Technique for time management. You set a time for 25-minutes and take short breaks every time the timer rings. By focusing your time on the task at hand for short periods of time, you actually save time because you aren’t as easily distracted.

That’s my plan. I will keep you updated as it goes. I’m still staying off social media (for the most part), drinking lots of water, and resting up for a busy fall. How do you organize your time? Do you ever find it difficult to stay on task? Reply in the comments below. I’d really love some new ideas!