Out From Under

Sorry it has been so long, folks.

While it is good to know that Yes, You Can, it is also wise to remember the number of hours in the day, and try not to overplan.

On the other hand, it was good to get up to the hills before the snowflakes came and just enjoy a fall afternoon at nine thousand feet elevation.

By the way, it is wise, despite time crunches, to plan some away time now and again, in order to get in touch with your soul. In my case, the mountains have been a part of my life ever since moving here at age eight. I won't say how long ago that was, but I learned to ski at Berthoud Pass ski area, and T-bar tickets were $2.00 a day.

But enough of that.

My biggest project (apart from survival) is getting my organizational plan put together. As is normal, the one most needing my advice is myself.

So, in a nutshell, here it is:

* List the tasks to be done (that's all the tasks, including sleep and meals)
* Determine importance with A, B or C (Now is the time to drop 'Watching "Gilligan's Island" reruns' off of the list, by the way. Time enough for 'D' list items when everything else is done.)
* Determine relative importance of everything in the 'A' list, and how much time it takes.
* Schedule the most important/time-consuming 'A' list item in your largest blocks of time. Follow with the next important/time-taking, then the next, and so forth.
* Repeat with the 'B' list, then the 'C' list.

It goes without saying that you may not get all of the 'C' list stuff into the schedule. It also should go without saying that the list needs to be reevaluated from time to time, remembering that 'C' list items ignored too long can become 'A' list items. Or some 'A' list items (like: "setting up the store" or "sell the property") can be moved off the list entirely.

The only thing finite and unchangeable is the number of hours in a day. Some of your tasks will end, to be replaced with other tasks, and the moving of lower priority items to prominence.

Always remember to keep your goal in front of your eyes. It is all too easy to get wrapped up in the minutiae of the day-to-day and find yourself sidetracked.

Remember the Why of the doing as well as the What.

If you can do all that, you're on your way.

Oh, One Last Thing: don't be afraid to use some paper, a pencil (with a big eraser), and a calendar. This helps you keep track of stuff, and also serves to inform when your time estimates are off.

You CAN do it.

Yes, You Can!

By The Way, I'll be moving the last posting to a new blog soon: GhOsTcAtZrEvEnGe. See it Soon!

A little Bit Behind ...

While the theme of this blog is "Yes, You Can!" it is important to remember a couple of things:

Time Management
and Sleep.

I've managed to over commit on my personal projects, with the end result of not getting any of them done. Specifically: Progress on editing Yes, You Can: the Book, writing two nutshell reviews of places I've recently dined at that were good enough to talk about, writing at least one more entry here (since the 9th), and getting to the doctor.

Note that the last item should have come first. In fact, it didn't get done at all.

So, to begin:

Time Management:
We all have a thousand and one things demanding our attention every day. As the saying goes, though, we gotta keep the Main Thing the Main Thing. Set the priorities. Be ruthless. Get the "Have-to's" done ahead of the "Want-to's."

And among the Have-to's, make sure you include your proper rest. If that means eight (8) hours to feel at your best, get your eight hours! Most of us (myself included) are "just getting by" with enough sleep to keep us functioning, but not enough to be 100%.

And along with the "Have-to's" include time for your spirit. For me, that means joining with others in worship, praise and learning at my church. Sometimes I get to help with the teaching side of that (which is good for my spirit, as I am a teacher at heart).

Reading over the above, I see that Sleep made it into the list already. No need to rehash.

Just keep the priorities straight.

God Bless!

Yes, You Can!