Organization is tricky business. Just ask Lorelai Gilmore. She has papers, phone numbers, take out menus, schedules, and planners lying around her house. Yet, she still runs a business, makes time for breakfast at Luke’s diner, and raises her wonderfully perfect daughter, Rory.
As a central character in Gilmore Girls, Lorelai Gilmore can teach us a few things about tackling a crazy schedule. She rocked her bedazzled jacket right from the start when the series kicked off in 2000. Lorelai knew how to handle her life while simultaneously being the comedic relief for her family, the glue of the town, and a role model for millions of young viewers around the world. She was the head of the Gilmore duo in their town, Stars Hollow. Not only did she parent Rory (who, let’s admit, was the perfect child), she had her best friend Sookie, her inn, her coworker Michel’s snarky attitude, and her love for Luke Danes, which was obviously there from day one. Even when the series wrapped in 2007, with Luke’s crazy party tent for Rory’s college graduation, Lorelai was still keeping true to her character.
So, in honor of her near-superhuman ability to manage a seemingly impossible situation, here are five tips for getting your life together, brought to you by Lorelai Gilmore.
1. Write things down
If not, you risk losing them forever. You are relying on your ever-so-useful brain to tell you that you need to do it. If we’re not mistaken, your brain probably forgets what you had for breakfast this morning, let alone the litany of assignments you have not started. So, let’s get that memo your boss just sent you, or that extra reading your professor needs you to complete ASAP, down on some paper. Lorelai had her book at the Inn, her Michel and Sookie, her daughter, and the countless little papers around her house. The latter might not have been the best solution, but it worked for her. What works for you will get you through the day.
2. Know how to have fun
Yes, you have so much to do. Lorelai had her Friday night dinners, her old inn (which caught on fire), her new Inn (which took years to achieve), her super-smart daughter, and her handful of serious relationships. And, of course, her coffee, which was a relationship in itself. But she still made time to see movies at the town theater or attend town meetings usually lead by the ever-so-enthusiastic Taylor. She even carved out time to realize her obvious love for Luke Danes, sending fans on their own love trip. Make some time to have fun and everything else will not feel like the end of the world as you know it.
3. Accept what you have to do
You need to do things you don’t want to do all the time. Just accept that you’re going to have to do that one task or go to that one event that your boss suggested. If you do that, you won’t hate it as much. Plan around it. Find something fun in the task itself. Lorelai didn’t love her Friday night dinners, but she stuck with them. They became a tradition — well past Rory’s Chilton graduation. Although her relationship with her mother was rocky, she went to the dinners and made the best of them — even if her sarcasm was the only thing keeping her sane.
4. Talk It Out
You have a lot going on, so chat about it. Find a friend, a family member, maybe a cat, and talk about what’s on your mind. Lorelai is the queen of “talking it out.” Rants are her forte. Most of them involved her coffee and her walk to Luke’s, but they were rants nonetheless. They probably made the annoying guests at the inn more tolerable by allowing her to let off steam from the other areas that clouded her mind. Fans know her daughter, Rory, was the voice of reason in almost every conversation they had. When Rory left for college, Lorelai eventually adopted her dog, Paul Anka. Find someone who can help you balance your life, even if that means chatting with a friend over coffee or signing up to see a therapist. Talk out your stress.
5. Take charge
If something needs to be done, then do it. Stop dabbling here and there. Set up your space if it’s a writing assignment. Set up your space if it’s not. Get some music going, maybe some snacks, and get that task done. If you are finally presented with an opportunity, take it. Lorelai said she was nervous when she took on the Dragonfly Inn, but she did it. She had a dream with Sookie and they made it happen, even if it meant that they could fail. Do what you need to do to get your dream off the ground. Get your work done. Make it happen.
Lorelai not only lead her own life, but she was involved in the lives of others. She helped them get things done and reach their dreams. From the start, Lorelai took what she was given and ran with it. (Okay, she probably walked with it, but that’s because her shoes were too tight or her coffee would spill – but she got to there nonetheless.) Gilmore Girls ended in 2007, but with hopes of a movie on the horizon — and a reunion panel at the ATX television festival in June 2015 — Lorelai’s power is still going strong. Take some advice from the woman who made her crazy life entertaining and get yours going.
