To-do lists, trying to focus, and chicken wings…

An interesting group of subjects, huh? Suddenly I feel like I should be on Sesame Street singing, “One of these things is not like the other…”

I’m finding that my time management skills are lacking a bit these days. Maybe it’s my tendency to bounce between many things at once instead of focusing on one task, or maybe it’s that things take longer than I think they should and I set unrealistic goals. Either way, I’ve been struggling for the last several days and am a bit worried as I watch my to-do list grow longer and longer.

One thing I have to remind myself is that when starting anything new, there’s always an adjustment period. Since I haven’t had to deal with deadlines and editors before now, this is all new territory. With my blog, I set my own deadlines and am my own editor. And that has made me incredibly lazy. If I didn’t feel like it, I didn’t have to do it. Now that I’m actually getting paid to do it for someone else, there’s this funny little thing about them actually wanting you to do the work…on time. It’s a cruel world, isn’t it?

My fingers are crossed that this will all get easier and soon it will become second-nature to dream up articles and submit pitches, then actually do the cooking, the photographing, the writing and ultimately submit something with the proper format, hopefully error-free and up-to-snuff. So far, I’ve got five under my belt and even the fifth one felt easier, which gives me hope that in another month all this angst will be for naught. 

As things get easier and I get more practice, I know my time management skills will come back, my focus will sharpen, and I’ll be able to check items off my to-do list quicker. I CANNOT WAIT. In the meantime, I’ll distract myself with chicken wings.

Do you ever get that craving for chicken wings where absolutely nothing else will suffice? Suddenly all you can think about is your need for that spicy-tangy flavor, creamy dip, messy hands and a pile of napkins. You can almost taste the cold beer that you’ll wash it all down with. No? Never feel that way? Oh, right…neither do I. (Sure.)

Super Bowl is just around the corner and chicken wings are a must-have dish at any football party. And, just in case you have picky eaters, I’m giving you three options to please them all: sweet and spicy, tangy with a kick, and fiery hot.

Check out the recipes here, and get the wet-naps ready.