August Goals

I promise you that I have not been hiding or trying to avoid posting to this page; honestly, I've just been busy. Yes we are back to that same old record, but it's the truth, and I am sticking to it. 

This month is a month where I have to set goals and stay on top of them. It is imperative at this point. Thankfully Chris has set up CEDA 2 (Create Every Day in August) (It was originally April and since August also starts with 'A'... Check out Chris's blog for the details). And suggested this fabulous challenge from Laurie Halse Anderson prompting us as writers to commit to writing for 15 minutes everyday in August. Together I think these two items will help me reach my goals for the month. Chris I am on board and will you all the way!

My goals for the month are simple - finish revising my MFA Thesis (my current WIP), meet my monthly freelance writing goals (I have them set in the individual Excel Sheets where I keep track of my time and earnings = too boring to share them here), work with Chris on our co-writing projects, and come out alive at the end of the month. That's it.

So, Chris, thank you for deciding to do CEDA again this month. I look forward to a month of healthy productivity.

So It's Finally Friday!

I made it through the week! OK that in and of itself is a relatively small accomplishment. However, I feel like celebrating, so I am; sort of. I'm working while watching TV that I have had recorded for months (this also serves the alternative purpose of making room on the DVR for additional recordings that I will wait months to watch), drinking a favored diet beverage of old, despite the unwelcome side effects that my body produces as a result of this consumption and taking a moment to publish a new post. In this case, I'm willing to endure the pain and suffering of the soda. ;)

So, how about you, you also made it through the week, what are you doing to reward yourself?

Now I must get back to work. Have a fantastic weekend.

Taking Action - Day 2

Ok, so maybe it is more like day one as yesterday was more preparation than action, but you get the idea. So far, today has been relatively productive. There are still plenty of items on my to-do list, but I feel motivated to hack away at them. I hope it's not just the coffee...

Have you ever found yourself wondering about your motivations? Lately, I've been pondering the notion of how my desire and often need to get certain projects started and then completed never quite seems to match up with the time I have available to get them done. I started taking a look at my activities and I have found that if I really want to get ahead of the game, then I need to be more diligent about my hourly activities. After all, I only have 24 of them to spend each day.

A friend I have only met virtually, @viviborne (Vivi's Blog) suggested taking life in two-hour blocks of time. I have found that it really does make a difference. Focusing on two hours versus 24 gives you a better perspective on what needs to be done in a more manageable chunks of activity. I have found that my tendency to focus on the big picture has left me overwhelmed and unmotivated. The big picture presented itself as a looming impossibility rather than something within my sphere of control. So I adopted Vivi's time management technique and started working on getting more accomplished in the 24 hours I have to spend. At least in theory.

The actual implementation of this practice has proven difficult. I found my family didn't really want to adhere to a time schedule, especially during the summer, and children under the age of 5 are neither predictable nor able to be placed into a rigid schedule. So, I have needed to be flexible, largely keeping my hidden time management to myself sneaking it in here and there as best I could.

The long and short of it is, as per my post yesterday, I have spent a majority of the hours waiting for my life to settle down, waiting for my children to allow me the time to work, waiting for the right moment to begin without ever actually beginning. That ceased being the case yesterday.

I have to say that I haven't been rigid in my scheduling today, but I have at least been working, I mean really working to the best of my abilities. It is in reality all I can do. Recognizing this fact, I have gained a greater sense of sanity. I can be a hard taskmaster and I am often toughest on myself. I've decided to give myself a break, to cut me some slack and like in the rest of the working world, this boost of morale has resulted in greater productivity.

So, my challenge to you is this: How do you spend your time? What do you want out of life? Do you have a plan to make your desires and dreams a reality? Maybe it's time to start...

To Pass the Time Away

Ok, so it has been far too long since I have published a post. However, in my defense, I'd like to say, I've been busy. I know, I hear you. You've been busy too. I didn't say it was a good defense. So, you might ask, with what have you been busy? Well there is a lot to that answer, but to summarize...

My Busy List

1) Children.
2) Writing
3) Working
4) Cleaning
5) Thinking
6) Visiting
7) Errands. The never-ending-frustrating-to-a-point-past-exhaustion errands!
8) Listening
9) Creating
10) Cooking
11) Thinking. (It takes a lot of time to think about the things that I think about, trust me, I know.)
12) Revising
13) Reading
14) Watching
15) Planting
16) Driving to nowhere in particular.
17) Seeing
18) Washing
19) Watering
20) Waiting

That last one has perhaps consumed the largest quantity of time. Waiting. We spend so much of our lives waiting for something to happen. Wishing that it would happen faster. Hoping that it will happen. Pleading for it to happen in our way in our time - exactly how and when we want it to happen.

I have decided that today is the day that I stop waiting and start doing. The time has come for action. So I'm finding my bootstraps, giving them a good tug and marching onward!

A New Month - Time For April Showers

We made it to the mad, mad month of March. Thanks to Denise Jaden and crew for the March Madness Writing Challenge for an awesome month of setting goals and working together to achieve them. But just because the month of March has come to an end, our writing and goal setting needn't end as well. We all have personal goals that we have set, and Denise Jaden has extended the invitation to continue to check in at her blog on Mondays throughout the month of April. As we all know, anything that we are working toward is easier to do when you don't feel like you are left alone out in the cold dark night. Having a like-minded community to share your successes, your set backs, and your stresses with helps us all continue on the path toward reaching our goals. Thank you again Denise for encouraging us to continue working with one another.

There are so many ways that we can work together. The internet is full of chat cafes, blog-speheres, community forums, twitter feeds, facebook pages... The list could go on forever. It is important to find a group that fits your style and work together to hold each other accountable and keep each other encouraged and motivated. That is why I am working with Chris this month and beyond to co-write a screenplay for Script Frenzy. The motivation behind  Script Frenzy, like National Novel Writing Month in November, is to get kids and adults writing. The idea is to get behind an premise and simply work on it. Chris has come up with an AWESOME notion that she has titled CEDA. Chris has defined CEDA as Create Every Day in April. In her post she outlines the whys and wherefores, I suggest that you give it a read. It's an awesome idea, and I am 150% behind it. While we are not ready to extend it to a larger community, please don't let that stop you from finding a place to call home. Find a creative partner, a buddy, a community of like-minded individuals and go CREATE SOMETHING every day in April.

As for April showers, I am looking for the rain to gently wash away the snow and make everything fresh and green again. Metaphorically, I am certain that the showers of ideas that will aide me as I work through my goals for the month will help bring about the blooms of May flowers of completed (or growing) works in progress.

I will post my goals for CEDA and for Script Frenzy here in a later post. If you want to know more about my thoughts on either of these, please check back soon or check out my comment over at Chris's Blog.

What are you doing in the month of April? Do you have goals for the month? Are you the type of person who sets goals? Not a goal-setter, how do you feel about the month of April? Is spring in the air? Or are you ready for the rain to wash away the mud and grime and bring us one month closer to summer?