It’s been an interesting week – almost completely occupied with work drama. The very reason I want to avoid working for someone else. What’s interesting to me is that the explanation given for some bad behavior was being tired and stressed.  Fair enough, most of us release our inner toddler under those circumstances.  But what about the decisions that led to the sleep deprivation in the first place?  I’m pretty sure an adult made those. Consequently I’ve made some decisions of my own to stay true to my core beliefs about not getting in that state.It’s not going to go over well – another human standard. We all seem to take it personally when someone chooses not to make the choices we’ve made.

Beyond that I’ve gotten some volunteer work in. Not the most productive week in terms of output but maybe one of the most in terms of personal growth. It’s been a long week but I feel better at the end of it than the beginning and that seems like a major accomplishment.

Technorati Tags: Health and Happiness, time management

A part of getting what you want to happen is getting the stuff you need to do (but don’t want to) out of the way so it’s not distracting. Personally, I have low tolerance for any kind of medical appointment when I’m feeling well – even though rationally I know they’re a good idea.  If only they didn’t keep having to be done I’d grit my teeth and get through it.  But, like most unpleasant tasks they are re-occurring.

So here’s how I’m tackling that so it stops being a nagging thought and simply becomes a normal part of life:

1) Whenever location or insurance changes I’ll select and confirm providers in the first three months

2) Every two years I’ll set aside two weekdays and get all appointments scheduled in that space

3) Every birthday year ending in 0 or 5 will be catchup for everything else that needs doing.

That’s it – nothing complicated, no overly aggressive schedule that I know I won’t keep anyway.  Just a means to an end and breaking it down so that it doesn’t become an overwhelming thing that has to be done immediately.

Next week: Fitting writing into the career mix

Holding myself accountable:

Hate to say it but pretty much everything went on hold this week due to the day job taking over briefly.

Technorati Tags: getting things done, time management

Good friends and family members can be both the worst hindrance to a new endeavor and the best support. And what a great excuse if you want to avoid doing that scary thing like write a business plan. Picking up the phone for a minute  can quickly turn into an hour with a sibling.

So how to find and keep the happy medium? First off, let the phone go to voicemail if you’re in the middle of something. Return the call the same day if at all possible but when you’re done with the task at hand.

Second make appointments on your calendar to check in with the friends that you don’t see on a weekly basis – doesn’t have to be much; a phone call or email. Time can slip by when you’re busy and suddenly five months have gone by since you chatted – that’s no way to preserve a friendship

Lastly, let go of the guilt if your mother thinks she doesn’t see you often enough (or grandmother, or whomever) If you’re honestly making time on a regular basis, just treat it as a compliment and let go.

Next week: getting travel into the mix

Holding Myself Accountable

So here’s how things are going

Gardening – still going according to plan and the spinach is up

Photography -moving along and picture taking continues

Jewelry – baby steps but progress is being made

Losing weight – more exercise is happening but not enough

Treasure hunting – budget is growing and plans for the next weekend

Chores – settling into the new routine

Romance – breaking some old bad mental habits and it feels good!

Technorati Tags: family relationships, time management

It’s harder than you might think to figure out how to carve out some time from what’s available when there are already so many competing ‘more important’ goals.  But balance is the number one goal and all things stem from that.

I spent some time really thinking about this one -how to fit in treasure hunting which by it’s very nature is out doors and not that close to home.  I’ve looked into local clubs but quite frankly what’s available nearby doesn’t excite me that much (mostly fossils and yellow agates.)  So here’s my plan:

1) set aside $50 a month towards a fund for gem hunting trips (turquoise in Arizona, tourmaline in California, etc.)

2) explore some historic mining areas nearby to see what’s accessible and on public land – at least plan some hikes around that to see what’s there.

3) Layout the tide tables against the weekends so that if the weather is tolerable and the tides are favorable I can grab the metal detector and go – at least once every two months.

It’s a plan which is more than I had before and I think with something like a hobby that’s what it takes.

Next week: the jewelry making side of my career

Holding myself accountable

• Photography – far fewer excuses! Taking more pictures, better pictures and pursuing more opportunities to profit from them.
• Losing weight – well, there’s way too much chocolate and cookies within reaching distance at work and I keep reaching for it.  Otherwise basically okay although it’s probably time to step it up a notch.
• The garden – the plan here is also working well – not feeling guilty for not getting to everything that needs doing all at once.
• Romance – I think my thinking is beginning to shift although I can’t really describe how; continuing to work on how I think about things, before I rethink what to ‘do’ about it.

Technorati Tags: excuses, time management

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