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I do not respect the egg timer

July 16, 2007 By 4 Comments

I try – I really do try.  Lani had an excellent suggestion in time management. I read her schedule with great envy.  So, employ the egg timer technique. Simple genius. With one flaw. I do not respect the egg timer. I set it, I work, it goes off, I continue to work…just a few more minutes. Failure.

Athol is very correct in his assessment of my love of my life. It is busy.  It is chaotic. It is beautiful. But, it is not as productive as it could be. I am grown up enough to admit some serious short falls in my management plan. I am sure there are a gazillion wasted minutes because I fly by the seat of my pants much of the time. I almost feel like I have to as the life of a wife/mother/daughter/friend/realtor/self leaves infinite amount of possibility to change, last minute reschedules, and immediate needs.

But I also know I am making excuses.

Filed Under: Day to Day

I am Bruised but not Beaten (AKA – my fight with my Inbox)

July 10, 2007 By 1 Comment

I am making a rule right now – there will never be more than 10 sitting messages in my inbox. OMG!!!  I cannot believe I let it get so carried away (I deleted all the extra “ooooo” on the end of “so” – I am not a fan of a lot of creative spelling.)

There had to have been a hundred messages in my inbox.  That is unproductive, irresponsible, and just plain lazy!  Luckily, I did not discover and smelly socks (read as “crap I forgot to do”).

I use Outlook because it is easy.  I can organize my junk stuff into neat little trash cans folders.  Then I have all the stuff I don’t need for a time when I am not going to need it.  No wonder my house is always cluttered…I can’t stand to throw stuff away. 

I might need that email coupon from that one store…that doesn’t even do business in the Savannah area – I would have to drive to Jacksonville.  I might decide to go shopping, in Jacksonville, two hours away, with my four kids…right. 

Or that link to that one site that tells me about that one product that I might buy, one day, if I need it, but I am not sure that I do…ok.

And I can’t part with the email from my friend that contains her vacation pictures, of palm trees and water, which I downloaded so that it is not only taking up room in my email but also on my hard drive…madness!

So, I am setting out to conquer the clutter and my husband has joined me.  We agreed that I can’t do the house until he does the garage and the attic (yes, “I”, yes, “him” - I am that kind of wife and he is that kind of husband and we like it that way.)  But, that is a hard task during the week, so it will have to wait.

That’s okay – there’s more than enough ”throwing out” to do right here on my laptop.

Filed Under: Day to Day

Constant and Creative, or Hiatus and Honest

July 9, 2007 By 2 Comments

I am stealing a Lizism and I hope she doesn’t mind.  In fact, I am hoping she will be so flattered that she will dispense her expert advice on a question I cannot answer.

I have been thinking about (there’s the stolen item) blogging:

There’s not many folks in my area that blog on a regular basis.  We are still stuck in myspace (understand I love myspace – but as far as blogging goes, there has to be a time when the training wheels come off.)

 Some that do blog view it as literally an online journal. Thanks, but no thanks – I am not putting that stuff online – I may be crazy, but I am not stupid. This is the internet.

A few use it for purely marketing purposes, and it’s okay – not real exciting, but it has a beat and you can dance to it.

Then there are the ones that have it down. Personal and charming, yet informative and professional.  That’s the blogger I want to be…then I get asked the question – what do you do when you don’t feel like writing?  Worse, what if the only thing you feel like writing comes from a bad day (week, month) and you wouldn’t let anybody read it anyway.

I dunno – haven’t been there yet.  Early blog life was myspace – nobody cares how often you blog. This new stage of blogging is different.  It is apart of my goal structure. A brick in the idea that I am building.

So what happens when your cat dies, your car won’t start, or your heart breaks? What do you do then? Do you stay the course with a creative (albeit not honest) voice to cover the personal from the professional? Or do you take a hiatus (how long could you do it) in order to protect your privacy and honor your voice? I don’t see the third option (loud and losing it) as a viable one for me.  I love to blog and I am fairly transparent, but there are somethings I don’t make public, and I think we all enjoy that bit of privacy – I am certain our friends and family do.

Filed Under: Blogging

Intention vs. Expectation

July 6, 2007 By 3 Comments

I am getting used to my funky music affirmations I downloaded from ipopin.  I don’t feel quite so weird hearing and repeating to myself these little one liners about how great I am gonna make life. Maybe because it’s working (not quite ready to release the possibility of coincidence.)

There is one on there that I really like. The music is strong, the voice empowering, and “I step into the flow of intention,” and she means it, therefore, so do I.

There is one that confused the whole thing for me.  She is setting her intentions and releasing expectations.  Huh? I thought the point was to expect goods things. Now, we are here releasing those expectations and concentrating on intentions.  My brain chewed on this thought for a while.  I am always uncomfortable with things my head can’t understand it, but it still rings true to myself.

Aha! I can’t explain to you the entire thought process that lead up to this moment (you would be confused and asleep before I finished).  So let me give you just the end result.

Intention- a determination to act in a certain way, resolve.
Expectation – the act or state of expecting (to look forward), anticipation

There’s the difference acting vs. looking.  Resolve vs. anticipation.  Action vs. Inaction.

That’s why it rang true to who I am.  I am a personal responsibility kind of girl.  I believe that  if you want it – work for it, if it’s hard – be harder, scary – do it scared.  Non voters don’t get to complain about politics. Non exercisers don’t get to complain about feeling weak. Non runners don’t get to complain about being slow…you get the point.

So now, I set my intentions and let go of expectations. Expectations always messed me up anyway.  I would have how it “should be” so firmed up in my planners brain, that any deviation (even good ones) would wreck the whole endeavor. Expectations are fine, but understand how little control you have over their materialization.

I expect to be productive today – if those around me don’t have the same expectation, I’ve got problems because I can’t control them.
I intend to have a productive day – nobody can touch that.  I own it. It has everything to do with my resolve and determination.

I have left behind expectations…I really like this intention thing.

Filed Under: The Journey

Now that you are another year older…

July 2, 2007 By 6 Comments

’twas my birthday on Saturday :) And we all know how much I LOVE birthdays. This one was no different.  Husband strategically placed a wonderful card, lots of kisses from the girls, full inbox of well wishes, myspace was hopping, and mom made dinner. Did I mention I had to work? Even that went well. Birthdays seldom disappoint.

My birthday is like everybody else’s traditional New Year’s.  I spend some time reflecting on the past year and planning the next. I never make resolutions. I used to develop expectations. This year I exchanged them for intentions (look for that explanation later in the week).

What went great:

  • We welcomed Morgan into the world!
  • Then I got off the baby weight ;)
  • I got comfortable in my writing skin and developed my blogs and website.
  • I became more involved in my community, both business and personal.
  • I have made some great friends.
  • My career is taking off.
  • I learned to create goals and think in a different way.

What didn’t go so great: 

  • WHO CARES?!?! It’s my birthday! This is a whole new year.  I am a busy woman with no time to dwell on past mistakes, hurts, or missteps. I am here in the now, excited about tomorrow and having the time of my life!

That’s what it is all about after all. Recognizing that all the “errors” in life are only fatal if we let them be, hurtful if we carry them around, painful if we repeat them, and failures if we refuse to learn from them.

Happy Birthday!!

Filed Under: The Journey
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