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Re-blog – Time Management for Bloggers

Feb8

I read a blog post this past week about blogging and time management.

(I’ve included a link below.)

I found it interesting due to the fact that I’ve been studying managing my time for quite a while now.

I have a “Numbers” chart. On it I my blood pressure, blood sugar, number of steps and what I eat. (Well most of it)

I have a “Daily” chart. It is broken up into hour squares so that I can keep track of the things I actually DO every day. Some days are really FULL of progress, and other days, I’m quite humbled by my LACK of doing anything.

I’ve started listing every article or post I’ve read on this page as well. That way, I can reference back to important ideas that I otherwise might have lost. Today’s re-blog is one of those.

Third, there is the regular calendar. You know the one, the one where if it isn’t written down, it’s not going to happen. Yes. That one. It also shows me at a glance which days I have posted a blog post or a YouTube video, complete with titles and tags.

Lastly, I have a chart on my kitchen table, and on my desk, that have time slots allotted for each activity. (You can see it in the photo with yellow high lights) When I feel like I’m putzing a little too much, I can refer to it and get back on track. It has time set up for each activity, kind of like an appointment time. It is not carved in stone, but it can be very helpful on my more ditzy days.

This chart gives me a “way out” when I’m asked to do too much, and it gives me much flexibility because I can shuffle it as needed. I even have time for a daily nap, should I choose to take one.

It may sound like a lot, but once I got into the swing of it, it is very easy to do.

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So I want to share with you a post that I found chock full of good ideas and advice, all in one place.

After reading this post, I felt as though I have been doing something right, for quite a little while. I simply need to keep showing up, and doing it.

I know that you will find it useful as well.

Thank you CRISTIAN MIHAI.

Click here to read about Time Management for Bloggers.

 

 

Red Sky at Morning

Feb5

Have you heard the saying “Red sky at morning is a sailors warning?”

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Beautiful, right? But what it does, at  least for me, is to make me check the weather forecast. Today, unfortunately, it means we’ll have ice. Lots of ice. Making travel quite treacherous, and cancelling a lot of well laid plans.

So what’s next? We check our resources, and make sure that we have what it takes to be inside our homes for the next little while. Food, toiletries, books, movies. All set.

But what of those who do not have the resources we have? What we prepare for, for our comfort, they must prepare for, for survival. No doubt, the shelters are preparing as well, in mass.

Fortunately, the town that we live near, has well planned out spaces for just such circumstances. Not only paid staff, but volunteers that give of their time and talents and hearts to make sure that these folks are safe throughout these times.

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What do you do when stormy times are approaching? 

Now to switch it up just a bit – What about “Reg flags” in the morning?

When you wake up in the morning on “The wrong side of the bed”, when you are getting out of bed and just want to crawl back in? When you still feel tired, or when your mind will not focus. When the noises your body make sounds like bubble wrap?

What are the resources you use to get your day into order? Can you do it?

For me, coffee is always the first place I go. That first cup of coffee is like starter fluid. But even with starter fluid, the day can be rough. So what’s next? I have a couple of ideas that help, when I do them!

Both have to do with “Quietude”. A cup of coffee and a peaceful place to sit. (I do have a chair for that.) No words. Quiet music, but no words. If there are words, my brain latches on to them, and away I go. Not quiet.

Now, this quiet time might be ten minutes, or it could be an hour. That all depends. When I’m ready for words, I’ll take out my Bible, and read a chapter, or two. More than that, and too many thoughts start going around in my mind. Not quiet. But out of that chapter or two, I’ll have a sense of something to focus on for the day. Many times that will get written down in my journal.

Daily devotionals, journaling, morning pages; seem to have a calming effect, and are often very helpful.

Let’s face it though, sometimes that “Red sky” or those “Red flags” are pesky and want to stick around. And you know what I’ve found? That is OK. Sometimes we just have to lay low, and care for ourselves in a different way.

For example, yesterday, I did all the things. The starter fluid. The “Quietude”, the Bible reading, the journaling. I ended up having to just do my list of work around the house, and not turn on any (Well not much) media at all. A little book reading and a really good nap in the afternoon. A much needed disconnect.

Today seems much better. What about your “Red skies” or “Red flags”? Share with us – what resources can you volunteer?

A Bump in the Road

Oct10

This week heavily on my mind, is the fact that I have made some decisions, or a least I thought I made some decisions.

Decisions that pertain to the things I want to share, here, and anywhere else I’d like to share it.

I find myself out here again, on a bumpy road. Trying to traverse the landscape with a minimum of bumpage. My husband is mortified when I make up words, but bumpage is a good one right? I’m positive you know what I mean.

You’re moving right along, everything lined up straight, and BAM! A cloud of confusion, or a bank of brain fog, too many ideas to count all descend on you at once, or none at all. It’s a moment when you realize that the decision(s) you made made not be as clear as you thought they were. Without a clear purpose, without a clear focus, moving forward is depressingly difficult.

I’m not sure what I can figure it all out here, but allow me to use this space to look back and see how I got here, so that I can figure out, again, which way to go to get around these bumps.

My husband and I discuss often, the fact that in the age we live in, we have taught our children WHAT to think, and not HOW to think. When I was raised, I have no clear recollection of either. I remember in school, finishing my work, and then wandering around the classroom, disturbing the other kids. Instead of training me to THINK of something else to do, I would get whatever the punishment of the day was, and a lot of cross words about how I would never amount to much.

So suffice to say, it is no big surprise that the “Soundtrack of my life” was full of confusion and fog and a cacophony of noises.  When you receive these messages day in and day out, you begin to believe them

I remember always thinking, “I’m going to do this.” I’m going to do that.” All the while doing nothing because I did not know how to sort those thoughts out, or how to put them all together to make sense.

Several years back, every time I heard “I’m going to do this.” in my head, then right after that, I would hear “just stop talking about it and do it.” I began to discern the difference between saying and doing. It sounds simple enough, but let’s face it, when you weren’t taught to think, it is a difficult task.

Sorting those things out fell into a few different categories;

  • What people had said to/about me
    • What I thought about me
  • What people had done to me
    • What I thought because people did what people do
  • Is it possible to change these things?
  • Finally, what did God think of me?
    • How was I created by Him to be?

As you might imagine, these things took some doing to over come. It took a great deal of introspection, and internal dialogue. Separating the negative dialogue from the positive. Changing that “Soundtrack” to something that I could really live with, and then, begin to help others to walk the same way.

It is something that needs to be revisited from time to time. I’m fairly certain that it’s that time again for me.

Bumps in the road are inevitable.

How we navigate them determines our success or failure.

If you have read this far, then I imagine that this is something that plagues your mind as well.

Might I suggest, that you take just a few moments for yourself. To be quiet. To begin to sort all that has been stored inside of you for so long? I know that my “Quietude” lately has been must less than what I require. So it is time to begin again.

Quieting the heart that beats inside of us, is the best place to start.

I’ve left a video here to get you started.

I would love to hear your comments, and any other ideas that have helped you to become clear and focused. We’ll have some here on this blog, and help each other out.

How about it? You in?