Near and far

 

Perspective is a tricky; making small things appear big and large, distant forms seem small.
Some people are content with the view from where they stand while others yearn to stand on the horizon.

Thinking of the list of things you want to achieve, are they small changes that will improve your daily life or big ones that will change what daily life means?

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, small pleasures

Getting back in the swing of things

Ok, it’s been a while – longer than I realized, actually.  But that was kind of the point.  I took a break from posting, not because I was tired of it but because it felt necessary to re-evaluate.  What am I trying to accomplish? Are my efforts going in support of those goals or just keeping me busy and distracted?  I think it’s part of any journey to need to stop and evaluate the trail ahead the choices being offered and the like.

I’ve decided I need to be more focused in what I’m doing but that I wasn’t that far off from my goals either. I’m going to cut down on how often I post to a couple of times a week but also really work on some of the side projects and provide some advance visibility to them here, starting with that meditation book I’ve been toying with for over a year!  So stay tuned…

Technorati Tags: achieving goals

Why things take so long

It seems like the “experts” keep telling us it’s easy – whatever it is they’re talking about. Even if you know it’s not, a little bit of that thinking can creep in, particularly if the message seems to be coming from all directions. Not too long ago I was reading an article on the Launch Coach totally an another topic but it brought home the point that we’ve become conditioned to believe that life is supposed to operate on a push button. Life is difficult when you have to write something out by hand and impossible beyond that.  No wonder so many people stop in their tracks.

And yet studies are starting to show that what truly makes people happy are challenges, and the accomplishing thereof.  We aren’t wired to have life be easy. So if you’re stumped by something that seems impossibly long and hard maybe it’s time to reset the scale.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, challenges, the way to happiness

New technology

Oooh, I love this new little laptop. It’s tiny and fast and weighs less than three pounds. Now that I have it up and running I’ve been getting a few more things done here and there.  The broadband signal isn’t as consistent as I’d like but it’s a place to start. Gradually I’m working on building links and moving forward with newsletters.

Beyond that things have simply been busy with life and such. Getting in some more exercise and the garden.  The big projects have been incubating and now it’s time to make them a reality.  I was reading something the other day that pointed out how much we’ve grown to expect life to be easy – that manifesting and visualization can replace the work of “doing”. Not only does it not work that way but I’m not sure I’d want it to. The perspective though is helpful in framing the approach. Hard work requires down time too!

Technorati Tags: achieving goals

The No Excuses Project: Chores still need to get done

There’s nothing glamorous about taking out the garbage or loading the dishwasher. It’s even hard to relate that to making that trip to Italy happen or retiring to Baja. But. not getting them done, at least the basics, does keep you from achieving those goals. Partly because the rest of your life doesn’t flow as smoothly and partly because the guilty part distracts you from those projects every time you walk by the dishes on the counter or that pile of unironed laundry.

I’m as guilty as most of putting these things off with an easy excuse until they grow overwhelming and turn into a project of their own. In the past, it’s worked to assign a chore to each day of the week instead of doing everything on the weekend. That won’t work with my current schedule so well so I have another approach. Simply finish what I start – if I run the dishwasher that means putting everything away when it’s done, laundry gets done, folded, ironed and put away the same day adn so forth.

That may seem simple but it’s a committment none the less and designed to root out the ‘I’ll do it tomorrow when I’m not so tired.’ If you’ve never ever said that then I’m pretty sure you can ignore this entirely!

Next week: Keeping up relationships with family and friends

Holding Myself Accountable

First off, I made myself a chore chart – not that different from the one when I was six that resulted in a trip to the toy store when I got enough stars.  Most of life relates to when we were six.  This one I did in Excel but this way I’ve got a single point of reminders of what I’ve committed to.

• Gardening: This one is going smoothly; hanging baskets planted and everything fertilized
• Losing weight: funny how that chore chart made me hit the treadmill immediately – all in all, better
• Photography: next set of pictures selected for the book
• Jewelry: working on improving some techniques, a little low on the marketing efforts
• Romance: well, I’ve enlisted someone else to keep their eyes open so I guess that’s a start.
• Treasure hunting – found a new hunting buddy so that may help get me out there a bit more…

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, common excuses

The No Excuses Project: Making time for treasure hunting

Hobbies are important – basically having something in your life that you judge by how much you enjoy doing it and not where it takes you. But for those of us with pressing goals they can be the first thing that goes by the wayside.  The excuses just help it stay there because most everyone still wants to see improvement in themselves – play a better round of golf, knit a more complicated pattern or hunt down an even rarer stamp.

My hobby is treasure hunting- metal detecting and gem hunting in the wild (as in still in the ground)  I’m not very good at it (an excuse to avoid practicing) but I have a blast because the potential is always there – despite the lack of Spanish galleons or pirates in my part of the world.  Treasure hunting falls into that limitless category of things I mean to get to – but the fact that the metal detector is still on it’s original set of AA batteries  doesn’t make me happy.

You might not think there would be that many excuses for something that’s not attached to a major goal. I still managed to find a few that I’ve used to avoid pursuing this hobby:

• I’m too tired (maybe I’d better save it for a day when I feel great and have nothing better to do)
• Doing this will stop me from  doing more important things
• The timing isn’t right (the tide is high, it’s raining, etc.)
• I’ll lose interest before it’s profitable (it could be years before I graduate from pennies and coat buttons)
• I don’t have any experience (I don’t know the secret places to hunt)
• It will take a long time (it’s usually at least a full day commitment)

Next week: how I plan to create some balance in my life and fit in some treasure hunting.

Holding myself accountable

A quick look at how things are going so far:

Gardening – the new schedule seems to be working; got the dahlias planted and started to clear the vegetable garden

Romance – working on owning my previous choices as having been the right ones for me at the time – nothing to apologize for, even to myself.

Photography – doing much better at just having some fun and trying new things and most importantly taking more pictures

Exercise – getting more in; but still need to do better.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, balance, common excuses

The No Excuses Project: moving past the excuses on weight

So what am I going to do about all the excuses and constraints on getting more exercise?  Like photography, I’m simply going to set my sights a lot lower. Instead of the 2.5 hours a day I know it took in the past, I’m going to commit to 30 minutes every day. Nothing fancy but I’ve got a treadmill, a hula hoop, weights, and the neighborhood. Between those I should be able to keep myself occupied and moving.

I’m also not going to ‘diet’ but instead make enough meals and snacks to stock the freezer for a full month of Monday through Friday. Like brushing teeth I think it works better to make it so routine that you don’t even notice you’re doing it. This last will actually help move other goals forward (thus eliminating an excuse) by freeing up more time every weekend.

My health is absolutely a priority, but it can’t be the only priority which is why I’m taking a more moderate approach.  Cross your fingers for me that I can stick to it!

Holding Myself Accountable:

I’m keeping up with my plan for photography – I’ve selected the images for the first book chapter and gotten some bizarre and fun shots in my yard over the last week.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, common excuses, losing weight

Focus, goals, and surprises

I  think my new routine is starting to work for me, while it’s hard to get focused so early and stay focused after a full day of doing other things, knowing that there are limits on it helps.  I’ve put pen to paper or rather fingers to keyboard on the travel book – not much and I doubt any of those sentences will survive to the final draft but it’s a start. And I’ve sent follow-up emails to setup appointments for jewelry and kept up some basic blogging tasks.  There is always more to do!

While I haven’t been watching the Olympics, living so close to where they’re happening means I can’t avoid all the local stories and news features.  It seems like there is always at least one young athlete profile with a kid at the top of her game who also manages straight A’s and is or will be going to an ivy league school while continuing to compete internationally. You can be envious of what they have achieved or critical of what they’re missing but pretty much everyone agrees it requires great focus.  Focus seems to come up everywhere there is talk of great goals that are clearly defined. My two hours a day is giving me focus but it’s also creating space in the remainder of my free time for something equally valuable – observation and daydreaming and everything that is at the opposite extreme.

That’s what I realized as I contemplated the life of said young athlete – she probably isn’t missing out on the big stuff; graduation, birthdays, Disney World but I’m pretty sure anyone that focused all the time is missing out on being unfocused – noticing that a neighbor two blocks down has unusual crocuses blooming or just spending an afternoon on the porch with a romance novel.  Those things were important to me as a teenager and they’re important to me now. If they’re that much a part of my essential self I’d better figure out how to work them in to the schedule…

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, living your dreams, staying focused

Can you really achieve your goals on 2 hours a day?

There’s no big status report  this week – my big accomplishment has been losing my voice as a not-quite-bad-enough-to-stay-home cold has occupied my  time. What I’ve notice though is the amount of pressure I’m putting on myself to still accomplish great things on a very routine basis. It’s always interesting to note where you put punishing pressure on yourself to be superhuman.  And yet not doing those things is not an option to my essential self- it’s going along with this working 8 hours for someone else because my essential self is also fond of its house and warm bed.

Then last night as I was coming home on the train I was listening to a podcast – figuring that would be about all my cold-ravaged brain could really handle.  Synchronicity or not, the phrase ‘most real work happens in just two hours a day’ caught my attention.  The idea being that two separate hours a day, completely focused on the task at hand is what accomplishes great things. I have two hours a day, mostly uninterrupted with wireless access on the train.  The only thing I can’t do is make jewelry during that time  so I’m re-evaluating to how to do less while doing more in that time frame.  If I put in those ten hours a week then time at home can go to eating right and exercising and maybe an adventure here and there.

I am worried about getting to that point of self-sustainment, but it won’t happen if I keep getting sick and this just may force me to be a little more efficient in my writing.  I’ll let you be the judge:-)

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, synchronicity, time management

The No Excuses Project: Moving photography forward

So last week was about some brutal honesty on what I haven’t been doing to move photography forward. This week is meant to be a little more constructive in what I plan to do about it.

First off, I’m committing to do my current list of photography projects without any new equipment – I can produce an ebook with what I’ve got, even if it could be better with newer, shinier toys.

Next, artistic mood is as much about habit as real mood. Habits are much easier to continue in a productive fashion even when you feel grumpy. If I can manage to brush my teeth, I can get the camera out at least three times a week even if those pictures are not good for much.

Lastly, two hours a week spent working on the trip book I’ve been planning – the pictures are all taken it just involves editing, writing the essays and putting it together. Even if that means getting up at 5:00 on a Sunday it needs to happen.

Along with that goes continuing to work on the website, social media and the rest of marketing, but that can’t be successful if I save the actual product ’til last.

And a final note – just to let all of you keep me honest I’m going to append a progress report to each post going forward – that way we’ll both know how effective these strategies really are…

Next week: my health-related goal of losing weight and what excuses are at work there.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, common excuses, The Art of Happiness

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