Life . . . Keeps Going

It's odd that just because you may be having an off time, things don't stop to let you catch up. In fact, they tend to go faster. I can't believe I went so long between posts. The funny thing is that every day I get a reminder from my Google Calendar agenda, letting me know that I need to post on one of my blogs. What do I do? Archive it. Which I can do because, well, they're my blogs.

Often in life things start to get crazy. And then they get crazier. It's not a big deal. It's the way of things. Strangely, during these sorts of times, it is easy to let the important things go, the things that really bring us peace. For me, blogging and reading blogs is a way to clear my head, to process thoughts, learn new things. Since I tend to think of blogging as a hobby, I seem to let it slide when I start to get stressed. Instead, I turn to "enjoyable" things, like video games, computer games, etc. Those are all well and good, but when I'm done playing, I frequently feel as though I wasted time. This is not always the case. I do enjoy playing games and they are a great distraction for me. But when I spend all my time on mindless activities, I start to feel very bleh. I feel guilty that I "wasted time", that I didn't blog, that I didn't read.

Know when I don't feel guilty about playing games? Days like today. I worked a full day, went to the gym on my lunch break, worked out with free weights in the evening, baked cookies, cleaned my kitchen, watched TV, and spent time with my husband. And I played a computer game. The moral of the story?

There isn't one, really. This is just me noticing a part of myself. It's not necessarily a flaw, it's just something I need to be aware of and learn to work with or around. And this is me getting back to the things that matter to me.

Disconnectivity

Wow, time flies when you're having fun. Or working a lot. Or don't have a laptop so you can't get online at home very much. And if all three of those things are going on, it's all over.

I'm still without laptop. I'm saving up to buy the laptop that I really want. It's a Sony Vaio with a built-in webcam and microphone. It's beautiful. :) And although it's still a budget machine, it's a bit more than the other ones available. Still, I really think it will be worth the wait. So until I get it (hopefully in October), my online presence will be sporadic at best.

I've been working overly much lately. Since I'm doing my job as well as handling responsibilities that would normally belong to my boss' assistant, I've been a little overwhelmed. In fact, some things are slipping, which is never good. We've recently landed a huge contract (yay!), which is great, but a LOT of extra work. I'm always glad to help, but it has caused some loooong days.

Every day I seem to come up with great blog ideas. Something will happen, or I'll read something, or I'll hear something, and I'll think, "I should blog about that!" And then life catches up with me and no blogging really happens. It's frustrating for me because I enjoy blogging. Whenever a significant period of time passes without me blogging, I feel as if I'm starting over again. And that really just frustrates me more.

All of this has led me to a feeling of disconnectivity (I'm trademarking that word) with my interwebs. I'm still reading all the blogs I love and commenting when I can, but I don't feel as though I'm really dedicating the time to blogging and online friends that I should. Hopefully I can stick it out just a little bit longer and then I'll be back on the wagon with my new laptop.

Toodles!

Is the Internet Making Me Crazy?

Well . . . yes it is. I love the internet. It is a magical place full of interesting people, fascinating information, odd things, cool things, weird things. The internet has made my life better; I've learned, found my husband, networked, and started this blog all because of the internet. But lately I started to feel overwhelmed. I had SO many unread posts in my reader, SO many things I should blog about, SO many people to follow on Twitter, SO many things to do that it got to be too much. So I took a break. I just stopped. I didn't read the blogs, I didn't follow Twitter, I didn't even post on this blog. Do you know what happened? Life continued. The earth kept turning. I felt calmer. I read a book! Shocking!

Of course I can't really live without the internet. Why would I want to? But taking a few days off from it helped me to put things into perspective. It's okay to *gasp* not be online and to not necessarily know the very instant something happens. It's okay to not read every blog post in your reader. It's okay to feel . . . very 20th century.

So now that I've had my breather, I'm back. I'm loving Twitter in all it's glory, I'm caught up on my blogs, and here I am posting. But who's to say I won't get overwhelmed again? Well, you guys (yep, you, reading this) are some smart people. What do you do so that you don't get overwhelmed by everything on the internet?

I'm Sorry

I just wanted to post a quick note. I'm so sorry I didn't post my goals today. We were extremely busy this weekend and today was a loooong day. And I really haven't gotten the hang of blogging yet. So look for a real post tomorrow evening. :-)

How to Acheive Your Goals - Steps 6 and 7 of 7

I've been posting a series based on Marcia Francois' wonderful seminar "7 Things You Must do to Achieve Your Goals." If you haven't subscribed to my blog yet, then please go check out my first three posts - Step 1, Steps 2 and 3, and Steps 4 and 5. And then, go subscribe!

Step one was to know your mission. Step two was to set big, juicy goals that stretch you a bit. Step three was to write down your goals, and follow that up with sharing it with someone to more fully commit yourself. Step four was to evaluate your lifestyle. Step five was to realize that you always have a choice (and therefore can say no to things that hinder your goals). Let's see the final two steps.

Step 6 - Plan your goals. In project management, you spend three hours planning and one hour doing. Why? Planning saves you time. Take a look at your big, juicy goals you've written, and formulate small action steps. This will help you not be overwhelmed. Write down eight to 10 action steps. This puts thing in perspective. You can realize that these small steps take just a few moments, but which contribute to the large goal, the big picture.

Step 7 - Prioritize your actions. Now that you've written out your action steps, you need to prioritize those actions. When you write your to do list, you know that some things are more important than others. Most people spend their time on low value tasks and never get around to do high level tasks that support their goals. She suggests using a four-quadrant system of "Do It Now," "Got a Minute," "I Really Should," and "I Really Shouldn't." This will help you make sure that the most important, urgent things always get done. The box, "I Really Should," is the box that always gets annoyed. We know we should write that post, join the gym, buy healthier food, etc. These are things that are going to contribute to our goals. We have to focus on these items to make sure you attend to them.

Whew! Marcia has really put together a great system here. To recap: 1. Know your mission. 2. Set big, juicy goals. 3. Write down your goals. 4. Evaluate your lifestyle. 5. Realize that you always have a choice. 6. Plan your goals (action steps). 7. Prioritize your actions.

Now that I've listened to all seven audios, it's time for me to put these things into practice. On Monday I will post about the major goals I set and how I plan to accomplish them. You guys are going to be my involuntary support group. ;-) I promise not to dwell on my goals, but do stay tuned to see how things work out.

What goals are you planning to work on?

If you would like to receive a free copy of Marcia Francois' series on 7 Things You Must Do to Achieve Your Goals, please click here. To learn more about Marcia, her qualifications, and how she can help you, please visit her website by clicking here.

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For My Lovely Readers

Thank You! This may seem silly, as all posts are technically for the readers, but I wanted to make a special one for you all. When I began blogging, I wasn't sure what my mission was. I just blogged. But since then I am beginning to realize what a great community blogging is and what wonderful opportunities there are. And of course I enjoy it. It really warms my heart to know that people (a) read my blog and (b) enjoy it enough to subscribe.

So, thanks to all you readers and subscribers! Remember to pass on my blog to your friends, families, and coworkers! And if you don't already subscribe, follow the link at the end of this post to learn how.

P.S. Don't forget to also hook up with me on Twitter!

Talk About Tuesday - New Things Afoot

Hi everyone! It's once again time for Talk About Tuesday! (Weird how Tuesday comes once a week, but seems to come so quickly.) Be sure to follow the link and check out everyone else's posts.

Happy April Fool's Day! I have to say that I was not really raised with fooling others on this day and when things happened to me I always ended up feeling very dumb, so now I shan't be doing any April fooling. But kudos to all who have fooled in good fun (especially Darren - read about it here).

As organized as I usually am, you would think I would have this meal planning thing down. Right? Wrong! I tend to be very sporadic. I'll adopt a practice and keep it up for a couple of weeks, and then suddenly it's gone. So this weekend, in the midst of cleaning house, I suggested to my husband that he cook two meals a week and I would cook three, and then the weekends could be left overs, frozen foods, or (gasp!) take out. We decided to give this a shot. This means I really only have to plan three meals a week. Not that I have planned them. Well, he makes dinner on Mondays and Thursdays so I have to do Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'm planning on making "Pollo Bowls" tomorrow night. I see Friday as being a crock pot day. Wednesday I'm not so sure about. We'll have to see.

One of the new things going on is my desk! We have a small, one-bedroom apartment, so there is not a lot of room. But I felt that I needed a desk, and my wonderful husband humored me. He found me this adorable desk, went to the store with me to buy it, and then put it together for me. He's so handy! :-) Anyway, so far it's working out well. I have my computer and a couple of essential files on it along with a couple knickknacks. The best part is that it gives me a place to set my things when I come in my door. This way I know exactly where they are and I won't have to move them later. This is key! For a place that only has two adults and two small cats, it's amazing how things move.

Last, but certainly not least, you may have noticed that I've given my blog a face lift. I went over my accessories and got rid of some, added others, and gave my "About Me" section a much needed overhaul. I plan to add some video or audio soon, just to make things a little bit different. As always, I welcome everyone's comments and suggestions.

Thanks for reading my blog and have a beautiful day!

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My Blogging Goals

I'm super new to blogging. I really enjoy it, and I've realized that I'd love to grow my blog. I love reading The Lazy Organizer. When I saw her post announcement for Talk About Tuesday, I knew I had to participate.

I've been reading a lot of articles about how to grow a blog. So many articles, in fact, that I'm extremely overwhelmed. But I have learned something key. I need to figure out my goals for my blog. At this point, it's just an outlet. It's something fun I can do. It's relaxing. But I'm not necessarily sure that everybody wants to read about me. So, PLEASE, help me. How did you decide what you wanted to blog about?