What is Life Maintenance?

It seems as if almost weekly I'm figuring out my life. For me this generally means making a series of "to do" lists that is impossible to complete in the time allotted. I even go as far as creating a spreadsheet and planning out every waking hour! In an effort to "get things done", I often work until I fall asleep...fully dressed (glasses and all), lights on, and with my laptop on my lap if not somehow curled around it as if we're cuddling. When I finally become cognizant of my discomfort, I wake up to realize it's 3:30 AM and I have to start my day in 2.5 hours!!! I turn off my laptop, take off my glasses, and hit the lights. My alarm buzzes what feels like a minute later and it's 6 AM...I hit snooze until I can't anymore then frantically hop up at 7 AM. I'm late! The race begins...take the dogs out...the little one has pee'd because they should've been out an hour ago...then upstairs to wake up the kids. Even in their sleepy hazes, they manage to get ready before me. I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off, my afro looking like JJ from Good Times, going down the checklist:
Are you guys ready?
Do you have everything?
Aaron did you brush your teeth?
What shoes do you have on?
Have you guys eaten breakfast?
Are your lunches fixed?
Come brush your hair... They look up from their bowls of cereal and answer yesss in unison. I continue to run back and forth until I finally give them the keys and send them out to the car. I run outside to get the dogs. I put the big one on her leash and the little one runs in, but can't seem to get into her crate so I drag her in after the big one is situated. I drive like a mad woman to get the kids to school on time over taking Marta buses so that they don't have to get tardy slips. The race ensues from there. And this is what leads to life maintenance...

The term life maintenance was introduced to me by a good friend, Leslie Etienne. I was explaining what I do...looking at the different components of my life from physical/mental/emotional to kids, financial, and even social. He said, "oh, you're doing life maintenance". Prior to that, I had no name for it besides maybe getting my life together, so I have to give him credit because those 2 words have become regularly used in my vocabulary. I have incorporated the term so much that someone may ask what I'm doing and the answer is "life maintenance" and between he and I, simply LM. So what is the point of this blog??? The point is not to just explain what life maintenance is but to become more efficient at it and to live through it. The truth of the matter is my life is not going to get any less intense anytime soon. I'm a single mother of four (2 children and 2 dogs). I work full time and am a full time grad student. As I embark on this long weekend--thanks MLK for making the ultimate sacrifice, I plan to do more planning, but I also plan to do some living...BALANCE. On Monday night I'm shutting down the computer intentionally by 11 PM, sleeping 7 hrs til 6 AM and beginning my week taking deliberate steps...NOT racing.