shopping – Darlene Steelman McGarrity

I don’t know why I always put a spin on song titles.. perhaps it is my love of music. Yeah, it is.

Some things that happened this week:

I put my first draft of my NaNoWriMo work in a drawer until the end of December.

I decided to start another WIP.

I ran on the treadmill! 😀

I got a few Christmas presents.

I have been having some really whacked out dreams. I mean, so crazy I feel compelled to keep a notebook by my bedside to write them down because they will make interesting stories.

In NFL news… I have been doing the Fox Pro Pick ‘Em and I must say.. I am doing very well. I have loved football since I was about eleven years old (thanks dad!). I do love to watch the games,.. it just makes it a little more interesting to pick which team I think will win.

I have been reading many blogs and commenting on a most of them.

Got some of the Christmas shopping done. Anyone else finished shopping? Anyone that didn’t start yet?

Santa!

Getting Through The Day

Today we have way too much to do. We have our career, and some of us have a second job on top of the demands of the career. Some of us have children while some of us do not. We have our routine, from which we rarely deviate. Some of us have gone back to school either to get a degree or to get a better one. We do the laundry, shop for groceries on a budget, make the meals, help with homework, do our own homework, meet deadlines, write blogs, go to yoga class, do laundry… well, you get the idea. We do too much.

Where is our “me time”? Where is the payoff? When are we going to say, “I am taking the day off” and actually take the day off. Not sort of take the day off. Not “only work a little bit” ( we know this never goes the way we planned!). When are we really going to learn time management and make it work to our advantage?

I have found that in order for me to get through my day I must block time. No, I don’t mean squint your eyes really tight and pretend like time does not exist. If there is anything I’ve learned (begrudgingly) is that no one, not even me, can control time.

But we can monopolize it to the fullest extent and get what we need from it.

Sunday is my only day off. But it feels like I never sit down on Sunday. I have a lot of chores to do, rewrites to write and new articles to post. I have pets that need attention and I have to take care of myself.

So when I have to make a meal, do the laundry and go food shopping, I need creativity. I throw the laundry in the washer. While the clothes are washing, I make the shopping list and do some tidying up. After the clothes go in the dryer, I go to the grocery store, stick to the list I wrote (important to stick to the list), get out of there and get home. I usually have about ten to fifteen minutes left before the clothes are ready to come out of the dryer. I use this time to put away my groceries and start on a crock pot meal that will cook for a good 4-6 hours leaving me time to fold the laundry, jot down some ideas for articles and maybe (if I am lucky) take a twenty-minute nap.

On top of everything in my week day, which is Monday through Saturday, I need to recharge. Recharging gives me the energy I need to get through the day. Recharging will give you energy too!

I recharge during my work week by making it a point to take twenty minutes for myself. This means no cellphone, no kids, no work, no boss, no television. It is walking in a park (I am fortunate to have one close to my office) and thinking of nothing. I breathe deeply, look around inquisitively, and leave my mind blank. That is when the ideas come. That is when I am able to truly be grateful for things I may otherwise take for granted.

After my walk, I am able to finish my day. Satan could come up from the bowels of hell, an after my piercing scream I’d say, “I got this.”

Find your “me time”.. you’ll love how much more you can accomplish.