Turning point

I did it – I finally got the first group of beach glass jewelry made, photographed, described and online – viewable at http://jewelsofatlantis.etsy.com. I’m pleased with how they turned out and very, very pleased to have reached this milestone.  As I clicked save on the last item I had that odd feeling of having closed a chapter and wasn’t sure what was next, although there is plenty on the list.

But then, early Wednesday morning I got the news that my father had died. Now I have a completely different list of things that need doing and right now.  Grief aside, it’s astonishing how many things have to be done, how many people need to be called and just how much an emergency plane ticket can cost.  And yet, in some ways it’s a relief to know the hospital stays are over and everyone can start moving on to a new chapter.

The wonders of the Internet mean I can get some writing in as well and I’m hoping to check a few more things off the list next week.  Strangely enough I had just retrieved my copy of Writing Life Stories off the shelf to give the title to a friend and realized that I had stopped several months ago at an early exercise and not gotten back to it.  It seems like a good time to start exploring that again – old memories and stories of family. It’s the best legacy there is.

Technorati Tags: getting things done, Health and Happiness, moving on, solopreneur, staying focused, the way to happiness

When you’re ready to stop, do just one more thing

Yesterday was one of those days filled with a lot of non-critical errands and tasks that all needed to get done relatively soon.  I have a lot of days like that – any particular task could get put off for a day or two without dire consequences yet they add up to become overwhelming.  It’s also pretty easy to stop when you get tired under these circumstances.  Sometimes that’s the right thing to do and sometimes you can find that you have untapped reserves with the right approach.

So yesterday, that’s what I did.  When I got to that point of ‘well, maybe that could wait to tomorrow…’ I got up and did just one more thing on the list – since that was making an apple pie from the rapidly spoiling apples I’d picked earlier in the day, maybe it would have been healthier to wait.  However, it turned out I wasn’t that tired after all – as the pie crust got made and chilled, the apples peeled and sliced and the whole thing baked. And yes, it was delicious! It turned out I could manage to bring up boxes from the basement too. Strangely enough, doing just one more thing turned into doing about three or four more things.

I am so much more productive when I take this approach you would think that it would be easy to make it a habit. It isn’t. But I keep hoping and trying.  And it keeps working – whether it’s stuck energy or not knowing where to start, somehow doing just one thing seems to move me back into the flow.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, getting things done, Importance of Motivation

Writing and pondering

My almost family crisis de-escalated early this week, which is great news but still takes a few days to switch back to life as normal. It’s hard to switch gears, particularly when you don’t quite trust the situation yet.  I’ve continued to try and get as much writing done as possible, partly because once I’m in the groove it’s good to stay there but also to have some extra available just in case.  Even though it’s more work, I’m glad I decided to do more than one blog. It gives me a chance to explore different types of writing, from the personal like this to more  research-based posts; it’s amazing what you find when you have a quest and a time line.  This week I learned a lot about the legal battles in Florida over rights to sunken treasure and how much the web is like the game of telephone – people post their interpretations of laws and before you know it they’re claiming that something is illegal that actually isn’t or vice versa. No different than talking to your neighbor, but curious to observe.

I’ve also been thinking about my No Excuses project. I’m committed to the what, but haven’t yet figured out the how. Something tells me that if I just tell myself to not make excuses I’ll find a way to excuse that before the year is out, so I need to come up with a little more structure, either working specific ones each week or specific goals, or some combination.  Although I’m learning to trust my intuition more, sometimes my interpration of it is way off.  Sunday I picked up my photography from the hospital exhibit and never met anyone from it or had anything develop from it which is what I felt would happen three months ago.  So either it’s a latent development that hasn’t occurred yet, I got it completely wrong, or that experience will impact my decision on something farther down the road.  I think sometimes the significance of something doesn’t become clear until years later, so I’m sticking to following intuition as much as possible.

Technorati Tags: getting things done, going with the flow, Health and Happiness, intuition, solopreneur, the way to happiness

The week of the porch project

It doesn’t feel like it but the porch is getting done.  I put the primer on this morning.  If I stick with my plan it will be done by Sunday. It should improve my overall mood, feng shui, and possibly be instrumental in world peace. Okay, that last might be a bit of a stretch but if I can forget about it for a few years it will feel that good.  Nothing much else has gone on all week – I didn’t get as much gardening done as I’d hoped or fixed the dishwasher yet. However, there are no rules that it can’t happen next week.

Now that the second half of the year has commenced I feel like earlier efforts should start paying off soon.  That’s ‘should’ as in it would only be fair, not as in ‘very likely’.  I think that gap between cause and effect has to be the hardest in any new venture but giving up would be like putting down a really good book three chapters before the end. When I look over the last six months it’s amazing how much I’ve learned, gotten done, and put off. It reminds me of the old Chinese fortune curse ‘may you live in interesting times!’

I’m looking forward to a quiet 4th in the backyard with a book and a drink.  There are all kinds of independence to celebrate! Next week will be back to work on the other projects and the garden while I think about what kind of year-long project I could initiate and if I really want to. I keep seeing news stories on similar projects so some part of me is keen on the idea…

Technorati Tags: getting things done, Health and Happiness, learning new things, living your dreams, solopreneur, starting a new business, the way to happiness

5 ways to get traction on that project that never gets done

I have had a home repair project hanging over my head for the last three years.  Ignoring it not only doesn’t make it go away but is starting to make me embarrassed about the front of my house.  It started with the discovery of rot at the base of one of the columns. Since there was a couple of hundred pounds sitting on it, things were starting to lean.  So I geared up my bravery and google and learned how to jack up a column and replaced the base.  Then I found rot in less structural areas because the paint was coming off. So last summer I excavated all of that and stopped any further damage but not before the fall rains started leaving me to wait until this summer to finish it. Also leaving the porch with peeling paint, gouged out holes, and unfinished wood where I’d gotten in a few replaced pieces.  In short it looked like Mothra had visited and then left in disgust.  Ughh! The time it’s taken to deal with a relatively common issue is frustrating.  I’ve not been lazy about it, rather more intimidated.  I don’t love using power tools and I’ve been afraid of what I’d find next.  Which is pretty much the perfect recipe for not getting something done.

The one strategy that definitely doesn’t work is waiting until everything else gets done and there is no other choice.  I am tackling it this week and will finish it soon.  Here are the five things I’m doing to finally get this off my plate and my guilt list:

1. Break it down into small tasks and only tackle one per day.  So on Monday, I inspected everything to see what might need to be redone from last summer and what was still to be done. Tuesday I  cut and nailed in the replacement parts. Today, I’m scrubbing the old paint and going to the hardware store for exterior wood putty.
2. Radically decrease the importance of anything else – the bathroom isn’t getting scrubbed this week and I’ve not been quite as good about blogging as I normally am.
3. Go easy on yourself – a little sleeping in for one week isn’t going to do any damage, particularly if it lets me focus that much harder on the task at hand.
4. Go for ‘as good as you know how to do’ instead of perfect.  The real benefit to an older house that was build soundly but not perfectly is that repairing it doesn’t have to be perfect either.  Some of my corners match what was there and some don’t, because I’m replacing the wood the best way I know how. If I were going for the perfect restoration job, I’d have to stop, learn, and buy equipment to cut the angles that were originally used.  I’m not cutting corners (no pun intended) on the structural integrity but I’m allowing for adequate on the cosmetic side of things.
5. Rewards – incentives work!  All the fixings for making a caipirinha are in the kitchen and I can deal with anything if at the end of day I can sit on the shaded deck with an icy, lime drink in hand.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, facing fear, getting things done

Projects met and nagging

No one is nagging me but me. However, I’m really good at it!  Enough that I’ve decided to dedicate next week to finishing repairing the porch (left over from last summer), getting the garden weeded and the backyard excavated and getting my dishwasher working again.  All of these things keep slipping down the list each week and I’m tired of feeling guilty every time I pass by. I’m hoping if I just focus on that for a solid week I’ll get them done and can get back to putting my attention to more creative things.

What I have gotten done, however is to get a first set of photography uploaded and available for sale on RedBubble.com:  http://julietchase.redbubble.com. That generates a whole new list of things to do around promotion and maintenance but this is a big first step.  When I see how many people are on there already with great work, I feel like I’m late to the party and start doubting myself. There’s not much to be gained from doing that so I’m constantly telling myself to stop and get on with it.  I can’t quite shake the feeling of waiting for something that’s about to happen.

Technorati Tags: getting things done, Health and Happiness, procrastination, self-doubt, solopreneur, the way to happiness

Excitingly average

I seem to have a lot of weeks like this one; where there’s a lot going on but nothing definitive to report. All in all I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made although I did not in fact chain myself to the desk over the weekend like I was contemplating so it is less and less likely that I’ll meet my personal deadline for the novel. On the other hand I still have ten days so miracles are still possible.

UPS should be delivering jewelry supplies today so last night I started laying out designs using some of my newly collected beach glass. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy doing that.  I also managed to finish the second of two silk hangings so as soon as I get some of the business writing taken care of I’ll have the first of three Etsy shops ready to open and I delivered bread to two more real estate offices and got very positive reception (maybe they were just hungry;-)  although still no calls.  This is where I’ve fallen off of ideas in the past – when there seems to be no action.  This time though I see nothing to lose in continuing the process and repeating and continuing.  Maybe if nothing happens in four months I’ll re-evaluate.

I’ve also been working through some exercises to help me get a handle on my variety of projects so that I’m treating them all like a business instead of a hobby. Not that they shouldn’t be fun but hobbies don’t tend to have customers who need and deserve , consistent service.  That’s a major paradigm shift for me so it’s pretty interesting to work out what that looks like.  So far it’s meant making a pattern for the silk hangings so I don’t reinvent the wheel each and every time, not to mention documenting the supplies needed so I don’t run out if an order comes in.  It’s not hard or difficult to do, but it’s certainly not my natural instinct!

Technorati Tags: business vs hobby, crafting a creative life, getting things done, Health and Happiness, solopreneur, the way to happiness

Letting go of what isn’t working

I was checking out other blogs this weekend and found myself relating with some chagrin to the latest post on Zen Habits, Productivity tips for people that hate GTD.  The chagrin was due to having recently re-added my tattered copy of Getting Things Done to my to-do pile because not much of it stuck from the last time I tried to follow it.  So this article got me to thinking about all the times we use precious hours trying to get something to work for us that simply isn’t a good fit.  Morning pages don’t work for me either (see Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.)  I know they work for others, but after three months all I got was notebooks full of nothing.  I think maybe the obvious non-working things are easier to stop doing, but how often have you seen an author address the need for more time by saying “just get up a half hour earlier in the morning” as if theirs is the only advice/exercise/task you are trying to follow.  Pretty soon you’re getting up two hours earlier, and not seeing results because you are now critically deprived of sleep, which you probably were already if you’re like the majority of the population. Maybe it’s time to pursue only the things that add the most value.

As a reminder of what’s important, I have an ideal day schedule posted on the wall behind my desk.  This is simply how I would love to spend an ordinary, everyday kind of day.  What surprised me when I put my thoughts to paper is that without keeping track, everything added up to between 23 and 25 hours a day – guess my subconscious was trying to tell me something;-)

My ideal day looks like:

• 1.5 hours meditation and visualization
• 2 hours physical activity
• 2.5 hours cooking & dining
• 2 hours with family and friends
• 6 or 7 seven hours working
• 1 hour chores
• 8 hours sleep

My real day doesn’t look like this – yet. But living a life where this schedule is a normal day represents success to me, not how much gets done. I have to ask myself if GTD or other things in that to-do pile are aiding or detracting from living this ideal day? And much as I hate to admit it the answer is detracting. I think I’ll stick with the parts that stuck with me from the first time I tried it (I have a bill paying folder and a basket for stuff I need to deal with) and leave it at that.  A new pasta recipe and an after-dinner walk are going to do more to move me towards my real goals.

Technorati Tags: achieving goals, getting organized, getting things done, ideal day, letting go, routine, time management

5 Things you can do now to reclaim your weekends

It’s easy to fall into the trap where Saturday and Sunday are catch-up days for what didn’t get done the rest of the week. But does that really give you the mental break and relaxation you need or does it just heap on the guilt for not getting it all done as you vacuum while staring out at the sunny blue sky?  There’s no one size fits all solution and you may have to sacrifice some “I should’s”  but you can keep your weekends for the other areas of your life that need your presence too.  Here are 5 simple, not necessarily easy, things you can do to get your weekend time back.

1. Divide up the routine chores among family members and among the weekdays.  Have a dedicated chore hour every night when everyone chips in and maybe even put on some great dance music.  For example, clean the bathroom on Monday night, change the sheets Tuesday night, grocery shop on Wednesday etc.
2. Stay in on Friday night and get ready for the week ahead (clothes, frozen lunches, etc.) Use that as your wind-down time from the work week.  That way you won’t sleep Saturday away and won’t have Monday’s demands eating into your time on Sunday.
3. Limit your kids’ sports and club activities to one each.  They’ll still get into college and it’s been shown that boredom can be good for kids.  If the adults in the house are hyperactive joiners; cut back there too.
4. Have some potential ideas worked out for what you want to do with all this free time. Have a tentative plan for a sunny day, rainy day, stay at home day etc. That way if your first choice isn’t quite so appealing because it’s pouring out, you won’t waste the day wandering around wondering what to do.  If you need supplies for a craft project or something, do that shopping earlier in the week. Don’t forget to leave a little free time for just enjoying the moment.
5. Lower your standards on housework, lawn and garden.  Turn your back on Martha Stewart and settle for good enough in these areas.  Your soul needs feeding even more than the lawn and if it’s an inch or two longer than the neighbors’, you’ll be giving them a chance to feel superior;-)

Technorati Tags: getting things done, relaxation, routine, time management

Spring is here (maybe)

The head cold kept me down for most of this week, enough for me to start entertaining conspiracy theories regarding germ warfare.  In between bouts I managed to do final selection for three photographs for the upcoming hospital show (see below), UPS delivered the frames, I wrote the label copy, got Google advertising set up for this site, posted all three blogs to five or six blog directories (I’ve no idea if it really helps build traffic, but it can’t hurt), and cleaned up tags and cross-references on Nurdle Net.  Not bad for a week when I didn’t get anything done…

What my subconscious really means is that I didn’t bring in any money last week, even if those activities were all critical for that to happen at a future date.  So I felt frustrated at being sick, frustrated at not having things happen immediately.  Most definitely a week of the lizard fears.  I think it’s one of those lessons that will keep repeating for me until I let go of that fear and focus on the constructive tasks.  That’s the goal for this coming week.

Technorati Tags: fear of running out of money, getting things done, time management

« Previous Page — Next Page »