A Beautiful Day For Thinking, Planning, Calendaring And Relaxing

     In spite of seriously high temperatures and stifling humidity here in the desert today,  it is still possible to have a beautiful Sunday inside our house with the air conditioning keeping us cool.  After some very busy days last week it is nice to have a day to spend time thinking, planning, calendaring and relaxing as well.

    For months now due to ill health I have been unable to plan or execute plans.  I am a person who loves planning, list making, updating to-do lists, and calendaring everything. As much as I love seeing the pretty planners that so many creative, clever people offer on their websites, I prefer a calendar or planner that is functional more than decorative. 

     Planning is important, but a person like me has to guard against getting too caught up in the planning and not spending enough time executing those plans.  Because my business is product based I have to allow time to actually produce the clothing and accessories in addition to all of the other tasks and duties of life.  I must allow sufficient time to photograph the clothing and write great copy to tempt customers to purchase the merchandise.  My photography skills are limited so I must take time to concentrate on improving the end results.  Writing copy requires time and practice to achieve the desired results, e.g. customers purchasing the merchandise.

     Dividing the days to allow for regular exercise, merchandise production, photography, copy writing, order processing, appointments, occasional classes and sundry other tasks can be quite a challenge.  At least it is for me, and I have to set a timer for each activity as I can get so engrossed in one thing that I end up not moving forward to do the next thing(s). 

     I have tried many different types of calendars and planners and have yet to find the perfect one but I keep looking.  A to-do list is a must for me.   I am pretty good about updating my to-do list every Sunday for the week ahead.  It always feels so good when I can check off a completed item.

     The GOP and DNC Conventions took a lot of my time, but I felt it important to watch both and listen to both parties.   I also will plan time to watch the debates so when November rolls around I will be able to vote intelligently.

     What about you?  Are you a planner?  Do you like certain types of planners?  Do you make your own?  Do you decorate your planner?  How do you calendar your activities?  Do you have a specific amount of time you allocate for creating digital products or handmade products?  Have you found a formula that works for you?  If so, please share your answers in the comment section below so we can benefit from your expertise.

     May God Bless all of us.

    

    

Mondays! Are They Beginnings or Endings?

September always feels like the beginning of the new year to me (I guess it relates to the start of many new school years). It is the time when I want to get organized and regain structure and routine to overcome the chaos and messiness that somehow crept into life during the lazy days of summer. I feel the same way about Mondays. I never think that Sunday is the first day of the week, but rather Monday. Mondays are when life gets back to normal, schedules exist, schools are in session, appointments are made and kept, and routine household chores are repeated. There are feelings of stability and security that can accompany structure and routine when so many facets of the world in which we live seem to be spinning out of control. Fresh, blank calendar pages quickly become filled with both the mundane and exciting events of our lives. Work weeks generally begin on Mondays, and most of us look forward to Friday nights to start two-day weekends. If I think of Sundays as the beginnings of each new week, then somehow I feel deprived of weekend time. I also like to have Sunday as the end of my week so I can attend church and make my apologies and attempt to wipe the slate clean of that week's mistakes and misdeeds. Then on Mondays I feel as if I have a new opportunity to try to be a better person, to be more organized, to accomplish more, and then to the reward of another glorious two-day weekend. Am I fooling myself? Perhaps. Does it work? You bet it does!