Aug 2, 2018

TOO. MUCH. TO. REMEMBER. by a panicky Clare Connelly



Do you ever feel like you're drowning in chores? Like you're groaning with the weight of how much there is to remember? Life Admin is by far my most exhausting, time-consuming job - and one I absolutely suck at.

I truly thought that once my children started school, I would have all this free time, and energy! Time to be organised and get everything done. I thought I would be calm and measured and I'm here to tell you friends, the opposite is true. Because being a school mum is like having a whole other job!

There is just so much to remember, so many boxes to tick all the time, and for someone like me, who has the admin skills of a sugar-hyped five year old, I am just not coping. So far this week, I've forgotten my son's homework (yes, he should remember himself, but I wish I'd remembered to remind him!), failed to return the permission slip for an excursion that is THIS WEEK, totally missed the memo on it being 'grandparent and special friends' day in two weeks - for which the children need to do invitations and the school needs to know who we want to invite, return stamped envelopes for said grandparents and VIP day. Oh, and next week there's demo day, where parents get to go sit in on their kids' classes and see how they learn... And the kicker? Book week, which requires - yep, costumes.

You know that meme on the internet how a brain can be like an internet browser with a thousand tabs open? That is what I feel like all the time at the moment, but I seem to be dropping ALL THE BALLS all the time.

So I'm sending out an SOS. How the flip do you all stay on top of everything? What are your organisational secrets and tips (I'm looking at you, Ally Blake!) to hold it together when you're also managing work deadlines and trying to maintain a semblance of a social life? Please, give me hope. Tell me I can do better (without having a total brain transplant).

PS I just realised I meant to post this yesterday, so there you have it - further proof I am administratively almost non-responsive...

4 comments:

  1. Oh I know where you are coming from Clare this used to happen to me when my kids started school many moons ago, and now I have to remember all the things that the grandkids are doing so now when my daughters ring to tell me when I need to be at the grandkids schools I have to write everything down and we use the calendar on our email and before we make any appointments this is where we go first but it is hard very hard to keep up with everything I am wishing you the best of luck

    have Fun

    Helen

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  2. Well, you just have to keep smiling and keep really long lists! I thought that when I retired 4 years ago I would finally be done with so much Life Admin (I love that!) but I was amazed to find I have as much to organize and keep track of as ever (and we are not really that social...). So just have fun and enjoy it because it won't stop soon ;-). And keep writing!

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  3. I’m hearing you Clare! And the unfortunate timing of BookWeek during conference, we’ve been googling costume ideas this morning to get a jump on that one! #somanyballs #justkeepswimming #smileandwave

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  4. Post-its. And choosing something easy for book week instead of arty and intricate...

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