Tag: journal

what i’m into – keeping me sane {October 2020}

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what i'm into - keeping me sane {october 2020}

October is a weird month for me emotionally.  In Alabama, it’s doing the “is it summer; is it fall” thing but there are days that are very winter-esque which doesn’t bode well for my psyche. But I am reimplementing last year’s plan with a caveat: to hibernate as much as possible this winter, which with COVID will be pretty easy for me.  But instead of just hibernating, I am attempting to lean into the weirdness of this time of year and embracing what is coming.

At the beginning of the month, I was feeling very overwhelmed and unorganized with work, educating at home, my writing, etc. So I watched a few videos on YouTube about productivity which sent me down a rabbit hole of productivity gurus, books to read, etc. Did you know that there are ways to get more done and organize your task list, email, etc. and that these ways are systematic?

The first step is to take all of your to do’s (all of them) out of your head and onto a Task Management system, which could be an app or a bullet journal.  I had a bullet journal in 2019 but stopped using it for some reason; I can’t tell you why.  Well, I have brought back the bullet journal and have really harnessed the power of Apple Reminders and that’s been a great change for me.  Right now, I’m am trying to decide if I should have one Task Management System for everything or split my tasks and systems by my life areas: work, daily life, writing, etc.  If anyone has any ideas, pop ‘em in the comments below. After I figure that out, the next step is selecting a calendar to use and I have the same question: one main one or different ones for different life areas?

Since I was feeling very much overwhelmed I decided to declare Fall Break for the Buddy Man.  I had initially thought that we didn’t need one, but he was trying hard not to throw temper tantrums at the idea of having school AGAIN the last few days and I was throwing my own temper tantrums in the bathroom where he couldn’t see me.  So as teacher, principal, and the Board of this particular school, I declared a week of Fall Break.  I also took a day off work.  And I do mean a complete day; I didn’t check email, Slack, etc., I turned off notifications and I read books.  It was awesome.

Speaking of books, my selections this month have reflected my intentionality this season to lean into the strangeness but I will talk about that in my Quick Lit post in a couple of weeks.

I also ran my first virtual race this year, the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run. I beat my anticipated time by almost 5 minutes! I couldn’t believe it!

I voted early!

That’s a good summation of what I have been up to.  Let me know what’s been keeping you sane in the comments and if you have a post on your blog, summing up your month, feel free to link to it below.  We will do it again next month,  Wednesday, December 2.

enjoy life…

now i get it {winter 2020}

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I’m linking up with Emily P. Freeman and the What We Learned community to share what we learned this winter.

Now I Get It. Winter2020

Photo: Secret Garden by Pexels

Ahh, my favorite season of the year. NOT! I am so ready for Winter to be over! I am beginning to see hints of buds on tree and bushes, as I write this, and that makes me pretty excited.  All that being said, I learned something this winter.

There are many different types of flowers in the world.  Yes, I know, mind blowing right?  But think about it: there are the kind that need next to nothing to bloom (cactus flowers in an arid desert, dandelions between concrete cracks).  There are the kind that need a little bit of care and then, once cut, with a little water stay pretty forever (carnations and daisies). There are roses and hydrangeas.  With care they will bloom beautifully but once cut, don’t last long at all. Finally, there are orchids.  Ah, the orchids. I have killed about 5 of these gorgeous flowers. They required very distinctive care: 3 ice cubes, not too close to the window but close enough to get enough light but only if the temperature is right.  Just the right mix of humidity: not to dry but not to wet.  Not really dirt but some special dirt and moss blend – the list is endless. And move them an inch in the wrong direction and they are doomed.

People are just like that.  Some of us, through our DNA and/or life circumstances and our sheer will, have been equipped to bloom through the concrete.  I say us, but I don’t mean us, in the literal sense.  I am not one of those; I am an orchid.  I need just the right mix to bloom at all and then only for short periods at a time.

What does my mix look like? I have been working on that this winter.  A morning reading, followed by a half hour of journaling.  Meditation and prayer is next.  A podcast is good also and I have been diving into back episodes of Emily’s The Next Right Thing. Then a morning run tops it off nicely. To keep up with this extensive morning routine, I require a bedtime no later than 10 PM.  And all of this just to get a good start to the day.

I lamented my neediness for years! Why did I required all of these things? There must be something wrong with me? Why was I such a pansy? Which, by the way, isn’t an accurate cliché seeing that pansies can survive temperatures below 32 degrees. Then I realized and now I get (with the help of friends and the Hubby) that the orchid doesn’t wish it was a dandelion.  It doesn’t look at all of its requirements, fights against the grain, threatening not to bloom. It is what it is – an orchid – and it needs what it needs for it to offer it’s best to the world.

We are the same way.  We are what we are and we need what we need to be our best for our world.  Now I get it. I’m an orchid and now it’s time for me to get ready to go to sleep.

What do you need?

enjoy life…

this is me {january 17}

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One of my intentions for 2020 is to post to this blog every Friday.  There, I said it aloud. Oh boy! Already this appears like it’s going to be a challenge.  I’m writing this, Thursday, January 16th and I don’t have a clue what I want to say.  Or maybe the more accurate statement is that I want to say a lot of things, none of which are coherent or necessarily anything that you would want to read.

So when all else fails, I can always post a picture or a quote. I love quotes and this one pretty much sums up my internal struggle the past week.

 

I’m trying to make the best of it and the music that happens to be playing is kind of nice.  I am going to take a moment and enjoy it.

enjoy life…

P.S. I saw the quote/pic on Becky Glaze’s Instagram this week.  I featured her last year in one of my Enjoy Life Interviews.  If you haven’t read the interview, check it out and check out her Instagram here.  It’s full of good things.