New Year, New Possibilities

I both love and loathe this time of year. As a hardcore ESTJ, I do adore all the planning and possibility inherent in the this beginning (also, like many, in the late summer/early fall of the academic calendar). However, as someone who has NO patience, all the planning bums me out because I want those projects to be completed immediately!

My daily planning sheet

This past fall was difficult for me: with all the transitioning going on I lost a lot of my daily and weekly routines and constantly felt behind on everything. I was stressed a lot more than usual, snapped at my family, and basically quit exercising. So the big thing I'm working on right now is getting my 50,000'-20,000'-descent views (otherwise known as monthly-weekly-daily) in good working order and INTO THE DAYPLANNER.

One of the "Getting Things Done" info posts I ran across said: "If it's on your mind, it's not in the right place." I chuckled because it's true. You can't do the higher order, longer term, strategic thinking necessary to get ahead in [insert your particular dream or field here] if your brain is constantly cycling through how dirty the house is or did you do enough research for the paper or have you followed up with your donors lately. This is where the written-in-some-form, time-bound routines come in. Even for those of you who may not like routines, who like to flow with the wind in your daily life, making some sort of plan for your time will help you achieve your goals.

I am not one to say "my way is the best and you should do it, too." Friends have looked at my dayplanner before and literally shuddered at the overload. But it works for me. Find what works for you.

A small phrase I'm carrying through 2014: Carpe Diem! Seize the Day. Trust the Universe and make things happen.

How do you organize your day? What are your big and little goals for 2014?

Comments

Hello Again! My 2024 Reading List

My final read of the year (oh, wow, I didn't realize I hadn't done one of these since 2020's list. What is time.) I read 48 books in 2024, slightly off my goal of a book a week, but not too shabby over all. As always, some books that will stay with me, some that were meh-for-me, and a bit of "book candy". This list is not the complete list (you can check my Ig highlight for that) but instead, the ones I really enjoyed or meant the most to me for this time of my life. These are in chronological order to when I read them. Memorable: Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes by Morgan Housel This new book is a fantastic antidote to our current chicken little the sky is falling media culture (which he actually talks about it "Crazy is Normal. Calm plants the seeds of crazy.") The chapters are short, so overall a quick read, but one packed with thoughtful points. I'm pondering writing my own post about "The grass is always greener on the side fert...

New Year, New You Vision Board

VISION BOARDS! Let's get a couple of things clear, right at the start. THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO MAKE A VISION BOARD. THIS IS NOT SCIENCE. You believe that putting pieces of pretty paper on another piece of paper calls into your life your deepest hopes and dreams, then you believe it with all your heart and soul. These are inspirational devices, not architectural blueprints. Ok, now that we have some caveats taken care of, the briefest of background before we get to the supplies and instructions (OH MY GOD THIS IS WHY THE ONLINE RECIPE BLOGS ARE LIKE THIS) I've been making vision boards consistently every year for my birthday (ish, usually on the new moon closest to my actual natal day) for a decade and before that on and off since college. I've always considered paper art as my chosen visual artistic medium, so vision boards were right up my manifestation alley. At one point in my life I wanted to work in magazine publishing (scratch that, I still do) so buying and keeping...

Death & The Theater

I was listening to a recent episode of the Tim Ferris podcast and the guest, happiness scholar Arthur C. Brooks, was discussing death meditations. And the little lightbulb in my brain turned on with the thought, "We need to talk more about death in theaters." I know, I know, that seems like an illogical statement because it feels like we're always talking about the death of theater. This whole summer has been filled with articles and op-eds from across the country about how large regional theaters are dying in major cities. But that's not the kind of death Brooks was talking about, and in reality, it isn't death these articles are complaining about, either: they are trying to stay alive in a “E’s just resting” fashion, to find some kind of life-support for the theaters, to keep them going, receive new money from new audiences or donors, new shows, new gimmicks to draw more or different people in the door. Anything to keep from dying. We don't talk about death...

Perpetually Curious

Search This Blog