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.

    

    

Are You Happy With The Nominees for POTUS?

Are you pleased with the way the primary elections ended?  Are you happy to consider the three candidates for President?  Do you realize that there is a third candidate?  Do you believe anything anyone is saying?

I watched the primaries faithfully.  I have watched the GOP and DEM conventions faithfully.  What have I learned?  I have learned why I should not vote for Hillary.  I have learned why I should not vote for Trump.  What I have not learned is how are the problems we face as a nation going to be resolved?  From whom will the money come for all of the grandiose promises being made so enthusiastically by so many?

Are you hopeful for the future?  Do you have confidence that any candidate can and will keep the promises being made?

I currently am like Doubting Thomas.  I want to hear solutions with specific details as to what will happen, who will be responsible for what actions, when actions will occur, and who will be accountable if promises are not kept and actions are not taken?

Tonight President Obama and Vice President Biden will speak on behalf of Hillary Clinton.
It is difficult for me to reconcile all the praise they will heap on her with all the dreadful things they had to say about her when she was campaigning against Obama 8 years ago.  Are they really such fans of hers now, or do they just want a Democrat President in the White House?

I find I am feeling a bit cynical and hope that between now and November someone will rise to the top as a candidate whom I really want to vote for rather than feeling once again that I must vote for the lesser of evils.

How do you feel?  Have you made your decision?  

2015 and 2016

2015 will soon be over, and I am sorry to say I accomplished very little during a rapidly passing year. I am feeling much better after prolonged illness, and I plan to reinvent my Internet business Malcolm For Tots in 2016.  I will resume my blog, re-do my ETSY shop, and create a new website. These are very ambitious plans for this 76-year old, but I am determined and ready.

Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I am fortunate to have my daughter and good friends to share the season with me.  My son and his family live on the other side of the world, and I wish they could be with us........but thanks to SKYPE we will see them and talk with them.........I wish I could hug them but for now I am thankful for and satisfied with the technology we have available to us.

God has blessed me richly, and I am thankful and praise Him for the many blessings He has bestowed on me.   I hope you had a wonderful year and that the holidays will find you sharing the warmth of home and family.

Wishing you a Blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

A TIME FOR THANKSGIVING AND REMEMBERING OTHERS - CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS

Because of the holiday I am taking a few days off from blogging to spend time with my daughter who just arrived this afternoon from New York.  She lives in Manhattan, and I live in California so it is always a wonderful blessing to have her visit.

I have so much for which to be thankful, and I hope you also do.  Let us also remember those who are less fortunate as we start off this wonderful holiday season.  Each of us can do something even if we cannot do everything.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOUR AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

ARE YOU A COPYCAT? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 181

As children we often try to emulate our parents, teachers, friends, siblings, athletes or stars.  That is a natural part of growing up, and it is how we experiment to learn who we truly are so that as we grow older we will become our own persons.  As adults some of us become leaders and some become followers.  Are you copying a celebrity's style, a star's choice of clothing, some one's choice of automobile, a colleague's choice of a good neighborhood, a friend's decorating style, or the lifestyle of your parents? Be aware of how much you may be copying the choices of others, and ask yourself if you are doing it because you truly like the choices or if it is just easier to be a copycat.

It is okay to copy some things in life, but I encourage you to try very hard to march to your own music and to make your own choices.  In other words,

BE ORIGINAL!

DO YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO THINK FREELY? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 180

As children we allowed our minds to be free from restrictions.  We used our imaginations, and our thoughts ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime.  As we grew up some of us were able to retain that flexibility to permit our thoughts to take us at certain times from the wild and free thoughts to the conservative, practical and pragmatic thoughts encouraged by parents and teachers.  For adults who continued to be creative thinkers society labeled them "free spirits" meaning that they were not confined by customs, mores or other people who had authority over them.

While we all have to grow up eventually, we should still take time to allow our thoughts to wander.  Who knows what great ideas, marvelous inventions, or works of art have been created because of free thinking? You might be the next great scientist, painter, doctor, philosopher, or anything else if you sometimes allow yourself to still

HAVE CRAZY THOUGHTS!

ARE YOU A GOOD NEGOTIATOR? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 179

Chaos enters all of our lives, some more frequently than others.  What do you do when you find you are in the midst of chaos?  It can be personal, professional, or general chaos, and it can be miserable and stress producing.

Rather than succumbing to the chaos, you can take action to escape from it and not just by leaving the place where it is currently reigning.  If your home life is chaotic do you truly know what is causing it?  Do you feel it is the fault of another person living in the home, or is it caused by something as simple as lack of planning or oversleeping?  In your business life do you feel the chaos is caused by a superior or by subordinates?  Trying to end chaos caused by a superior is not as easy as ending chaos caused by subordinates for obvious reasons.

If you hate chaos and prefer peace and tranquility then you must take it upon yourself to learn to find the source and find the solution. Either learn how to do it yourself or avail yourself of one of the many resources of professional help available to us today.  Whether on line, in a book, on TV, or in person there are people who have mastered this and you can learn to do it. You can and will be able to do that if you learn to

NEGOTIATE CHAOS!