Whilst procrastinating (staring at a blank screen in Microsoft Word, but not actually writing my research paper), I have been listening to Pomplamoose. Not sure how many people have heard of them, but they make ridiculously awesome music.

You’ve found me!
I’ve tossed this website out to friends and family alike.
Not all of you will be interested but now you know it’s here if you ever feel like a look-see!
If you fall into the ‘friend’ category, I’m just gonna go ahead and say keep the comments relatively PG, and know that I’m trying to keep this a relatively family-friendly blog.
If you fall into the ‘family’ category and have now gotten nervous from reading the above, you’ll hear all the stories, there isn’t much to leave out, this is definitely going to keep you up-to-date, I just know that there are somethings you wouldn’t mind missing out on. ‘Cause we all know I’m the type to dance on tables and cause a scene. Diane the exhibitionist they call me.
Kidding! but we all get the idea so lets figure this out…
=]

Oh! but one last note before we start, the header photo you see above is taken from our cruise of Loch Ness. Definitely didn’t expect it to be so gorgeous, but can’t say I minded one bit.

I’m realizing that my updating ritual has essentially dwindled down to nothing. And though I don’t have any great excuses I’ve somehow managed to get to December without creating a blog to document the year. This is something I’m beginning to quite regret. So I will start today. Well, I’ll be honest, it is 2:51am  so I will start ‘this morning’ (no class on Fridays, not to worry). Seeing as my journal has become more of a to-do-list/book I figure I need a better way of keeping track of the year, and this way I can share it with all of youuuu! That’s right, no more waiting on Diane’s bi-monthly emails, in comes the blog to save the day! I’ve been studying for what feels like a month but probably boils down to 7hours or so, and I need a small distraction.
So here it begins. A delayed recount of Diane, abroad.

Please check back regularly. I plan to post at the very least once a week. I can’t yet predict what you’ll be reading, but it’ll either be about silly things around the apartment I feel are worthy of remembering, or my adventures about the town/region/country/continent. =] Sorry, I like to think big.

If you’re reading this, and have gotten THIS far, you’re probably one of those people I love mosttt and please know that I most definitely miss you right now. As I study for my Monday final and work out my 4 projects due over the next 2 weeks, know that I’m thinking of you – though maybe not as much as Jean de La Fontaine – and that I will try to keep my posts as regular as possible.

Now, I’m still new to WordPress so I’m working out the kinks, but you should be able to leave me comments on any of these if such is your desire, I’m just not yet sure, that if I were to reply to those, you would get a notice. We will explore and I will update!

And here’s a quick picture, as a sneak peek! I’m well aware that I haven’t yet let anyone in on my Ireland/Scotland adventure and this will soon be changed. Please note the guest-appearance from behind the glass. =]
Much love, and sorry for the MASSIVE delay
Diane.

Temple Bar, Dublin

I do not know about you, but for me, the time has come to set my goals and plan, plan, plan. I have some things I need to get done, and I have some things I want to get done, but somehow, these things just do not seem to be getting done. Solution? Planning ahead. No, plans do not always turn out how you want them to, but for me, it is easy to follow a plan, harder to make one. And it is not that I cannot make plans, it is just that I am sometimes too lazy to.

This laziness is also the reason why these things are not getting done. The solution to laziness? Defy it. Banish it. Do things you want to do but do not feel like doing at the moment. Do things you need to do but do not feel like doing at the moment. This laziness stimulates procrastination, and procrastination may make you feel all happy and relaxed now, but as soon as the deadline comes nearer, you will panic.

Another thing: deadlines. Having a deadline helps tremendously. Even though you may use the famous “I have plenty of time” saying, simply knowing that you must get something done by a certain time sometimes–not always–makes you do things. If you find yourself using that famous saying, push the deadline closer. Even though it may actually be due many weeks later, finishing something earlier rather than later leaves time for you to relax and be anxious-free. You may even get a head start on another project. Sure, breaks are good, but you should always have something to do. Do something for fun, like writing a novel. And then you can have your work and/or school projects.

What to do? Make a schedule. Fit everything you need and want to accomplish into this schedule and the most important part: follow through! What is the point of making a schedule if you are not going to use it?! How do you decide what should go in and what should not? That will be talked about. Here are the steps and tips for accomplishing your goals and feeling utterly better about yourself and life.

Step 1: Distinguish between the needs and the wants.

Make a list. Find out what is absolutely necessary and what is not. Necessities include things that are necessary for daily function. Wants include things that you can live without. Sometimes you may feel a need to do something, but be careful, because it actually might be a want disguising itself as a need to attract attention.

My Needs:

1. Sleep more
2. Eat 3 meals a day
3. Exercise
4. Do school work

My Wants:

1. Finish my novel
2. Sleep earlier/wake earlier
3. Get A’s in all classes

Step 2: Categorize what type of goals they are.

Is it a year-round goal? A lifetime goal? Or a goal that can be achieved in a matter of months? It is important to categorize so that you can find out what is more important and what is not. Sometimes, the couple-of-months goal would come first. You would take steps everyday to accomplish it, while you may take steps every week or month to accomplish the others, depending on the goal.

My Categorization:

1. Finish my novel -  couple-of-months goal
2. Sleep earlier/wake earlier – lifetime goal
3. Get all A’s – yearly goal

Step 3: Identify the priority in the wants.

You should not be finding the priority in the needs because no matter what, all of those should go in the schedule. Not every want can go in, though, depending on how many you have. Distinguishing what the most important is depends on what you would like to do more, how long it should take you to accomplish it, et cetera.

My Priority: finishing my novel

Step 4: Make the schedule

While making the schedule, you should consider each thing that is going to be in it. When can you do them? What times are most appropriate? Do not forget that unexpectancies may pop up from time to time and do not get upset when something else comes up. Simply make up for it later, or continue where you left off. Do not overload you schedule! It is best to do it weekly, and set a time to come up with the next week’s on the weekends. You do not want to plan too much ahead. Also, do not forget to allow breaks everyday.

Step 5: Follow through

Your schedule is complete, now what? Follow through. It is simple as that. It may be hard at first because you might want to do something else, but just do what the schedule says. You made it, so you follow it.

As long as you allow breaks throughout the day, you should not feel overwhelmed. Also, time your breaks. It may be hard to stop doing whatever you where doing during the break, so will yourself to do it. I know it may sound corny, but will is a powerful thing. As long as you set your mind to a certain task, you can do it. As long as you believe you can, you can.

P.S. If you are a technology freak, you may want to set aside a certain time each day to check your e-mail and blog, et cetera. It should be no longer than an hour though.

P.P.S. If you are doing something that involves the computer, close your Internet browser and keep it close. If you need the Internet, do not open any other tabs or windows not pertaining to the task.

How easy it is to forget about things when you’re busy. I have forgotten about my writing, about my meetings. Can you believe that last night I didn’t even realize that it was Wednesday and the thought that the meeting would be that night didn’t even cross my mind? I felt guilty afterward, but I guess all I can do is try harder.

With school stuff taking over, I hardly write anymore. Right before I fall asleep I have words all over my head. And I recite phrases that are really unlike me to think or feel. It’s weird. It’s like when I’m about to go to sleep or when I’m in the shower, or cooking or doing random stuff, I have the most inspiration of all. Maybe not inspiration. Maybe it’s just talent. I’d like to think so.

Anyway, I plan on writing much more from now on. But sometimes my hand is afraid to touch a paper. I’m afraid of knowing my thoughts are sad again, that deep inside, I’m not ready to face what I am old enough to face now.

I was telling a friend the other night that I am afraid of how I’ll end up. That I might get a crappy career that I’m not happy with. That I’ll marry the first guy that comes along and treats me right – just to make my parents unworried about me, just to check another thing on the list of my senseless illusions. I don’t want to live my life on auto-pilot anymore, you know? I want to know what I’m loving and put all the passion I can into it. I want to do better and wish well for others. I think I’m not doing so bad in trying, but for some reason, I’m just not succeeding.

I want to move away, far away…I want to go to a place where I can be me all over again. But then I remember one of my favorite but most true lyrics…”every step that you take could be your biggest mistake; it could bend or it could break, but that’s the risk that you take”. All I wonder is, should I let that truth cripple me while I try to make decisions, or should it make me strong? I think it’s telling me to be strong. I think it’s saying that no matter what you do, it’s all hanging on a piece of thin wire, and your life could change for the worse or the better….so I might as well do what I want the most and see which way that takes me.

Most of us have felt lazy about something, at one point or another in our lives. But for those who suffer from ‘Chronic laziness’, it is a way of life. This chronic laziness can kill everything that makes life worth living. So it is very important to identify, understand and finally say ‘good-bye’ to chronic laziness. Let’s look at the 3 stages that help overcome laziness. Read More…

Lazy you!

I’ve never been an outliner. I would consider myself, at least at various times in my life, an avid writer, but never an outliner. I never cared for the school exercises in which you were forced to make an outline and then adhere to it. I’m sure this is a very helpful tool for many, but it has never been a part of my process.

I had never been a procrastinator. Not that I remember anyway. I was the kind of student that would finish homework on a Friday so that I could have the rest of the weekend carefree. I was more like that in high school than I was in college, and now as a graduate student it’s a wonder to me that I was ever like that.

As I writhed in agony last weekend trying to prepare a fifteen-minute presentation for my class, I wondered at what point procrastination had crept so sneakily into my life. Lately, I have been feeling the pain on many school assignments and professional assignments and even my own personal assignments, though I’m still not one to wait until the last minute to start or finish something. I understand there’s a deadline ahead, and I start early, leaving me more time to agonize that I should be working instead of playing bejeweled for the hundredth time.

It finally hit me that I was not and am not a procrastinator, I am simply an agonizer. I remember it well from high school and college, the absolute dread that I was going to have to do a bit of work, maybe exert some effort, and all the bitching and moaning about it until that miraculous point at which it is done. It’s all part of my process. What a terrible process.

Still, any attempts to change the process – to outline or in some manner sstreamline things – have been feeble and abandoned quickly. I take a kind of evolutionary approach to my topics. I know how I want to start and if I’m lucky I have a few ideas in my head of what I want to hit along the way, but where it ends up is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. Editing is a different (and much bigger) process entirely, in which I take my beginning and put it in the middle and rearrange all that word vomit I puke onto the page into something…well…edible. (See, I told you I didn’t know where I was going.)

Though I think I could improve my processes vastly with only minor attitude adjustments, I have to say that the bitching and moaning part of the process, when done correctly, can be quite lucrative. And no, I won’t tell you how to do it correctly because then it would be less special when I do it. I also think that the older I get, the more schooling I have and the more things that I successfully complete lead to this kind of subliminal logic that if all that stuff got done before, it’ll somehow get done again.

I can’t say that I love this process, but I continue with it because I like the results. I always do pretty well. In fact, I found out just yesterday that a paper I wrote for a class I took summer quarter was one of the example papers for the same class this quarter. Not too shabby. And though I was extremely doubtful about the presentation I prepared, it was received extremely well. I’m not entirely sure if I can put that in the win column, but that part after the class is over and everybody comes up to me to tell me what a great job I did – I LOVE that part. It makes the whole process worthwhile. The only problem is it’s only retroactively worthwhile. It’s impossible to carry that feeling over to the next project or presentation because you just can’t be sure how it will be received.

I fell off the wagon. Because of some personal issues in my life, my debt diet has been completely derailed, and luckily I’m starting to get shocked back into action. My spending has been really reckless over the last week. Or, it would be more appropriate to say that my spending habits have reverted largely to what they were before I started this little project in September.

My primary attitude towards my spending over the last week has been: I deserve this. I had a near-catastrophe in my relationship (that still has the potential to become a full-blown catastrophe) and my attitude towards meals out, extra coffees and pampering beauty items has been, “I need this because I need to feel better about myself right now.” But in stopping myself from the last week it’s like, wow. I was doing that for YEARS. No wonder I’m in this position right now!

The one thing that’s put me back on track is remembering how good it’s felt to accomplish my goals. I looked back and realized that I’ve put $3500 towards one particularly nasty bill in less than two months, in addition to all of the other bills I’ve paid on time. And that’s pretty satisfying. Can you imagine if I keep doing that over the next 10 months like I set out to do? How can I even think about stopping now?

So my goal is to get back on track. And that one big, ugly nasty bill? It’ll be gone by the middle of December. I’m just going to keep plowing through and doing that debt by debt by debt until they’ve all been slayed. It’s such a good feeling! Moving onward and upward!

(I just figured out how to link my blog to my facebook profile, so if any of you find this on FB and don’t know what it’s about, you can go to the link below that says ‘read original post’ and that’ll take you to the site. Welcome!)

4 days left. I could stretch it to 5 if I had to, but I want to be out of my apartment on Sunday night.

Yesterday, on top of my regular (somewhat nutritional) daily meals, I ate the following:

• 4 Peak Frean jelly cookies
• 1 large bag Hard Bite potato chips
• 1 full tub Mayan Chocolate Haagen Dasz
• 1 bag Jelly Bellies
• 1 McChicken

Not all at once of course, but still… that’s excessive, right? It was when I finished the bag of potato chips that I realized what felt so familiar about it. The last time I ate a whole large bag of chips at one sitting was when I was past-last-minute cramming for an exam at UBC. I think maybe it’s stress?

I’m not consciously worried anymore, in fact I think everything’s pretty much on track. And I think last night I might have even crossed a threshold, where so many of the essentials are gone from my apartment that now my van is the more comfortable place to be!

Well, now that the junk food’s all gone I can get back to sorting through stuff. There’s a pile to keep with me in the van, a pile to keep in storage (many thanks to all who are helping out with that… Jodi, Vero, Ocean, Erica, Kristie & Russ), a pile to take to Gather & GIve (they put together packages of household items for people with low incomes that are starting a new home from scratch), a pile that’s true garbage.

(sigh)

okay, okay, back to it…

Last night, I fell asleep crossways on the very top of my bed. And by that I mean with my entire body smashed flat against the headboard, on top of all the pillows and on top of the covers. I was tuckered out. I slept a paltry 5 hours the night before, and had meetings, meetings, meetings all day. My MacBook was open and Safari was navigated to a new Pro-Pro post, and I fell asleep with nary a title. Then, I proceeded to be lazy about, well, pretty much everything today. Sheesh.

The meetings all went great yesterday. During the first interview, I had the realization that I actually had more relevant policy experience than I thought, only now I can’t for the life of me remember how or why. The second interviewer was a delightful Irish woman. I interviewed at the very end of the day, so thought she was walking out of the building with me. Turned out she was just walking with me to the elevator because she wanted to finish our casual chat. Lovely lady, and definitely a good sign. If it’s even possible, I want this internship now more than ever. Can I keep you for my own? Pretty please?

Sher and I got some high-quality GRE studying done last night. I’m better with the verbal and he with the math, so we compliment each other nicely. He’s really not lying about being good with math – he was pulling theorems and equations out left and right. I held my own by contributing, “2+2=4.” Good thing, too, because it turns out that I’m not as good at the verbal as I thought, but mostly because their logic is ridiculous. Tooth : saw as cog : wheel, right? Nope. It’s bladder : body. Okay, it’s not, but the real answer was equally ludicrous (note my stellar usage of vocabulary). Their rational is so peurile.

So, today. What’s with today, today? I did a bunch of odds and ends, like finally mailing off a bunch of things that were long overdue. I went grocery shopping (ready for Thanksgiving!… now I just need to cook). I’m in the middle of laundry. I really should do more productive things, but I just don’t wanna! I am going to make a deal with myself. Tie up all my loose ends on WF stuff, and then I can fly free as a bird, upon which time I will reward myself with delicious Cheeseboard and drinks with Peggy. Fancy!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  Jamie and I have some very accommodating families, so we will be having a huge lunch with his fam followed by a huge dinner with mine.  Scary for my calorie-counting ways, but every now and then it’s okay to take a day off and indulge.

So, in the spirit of indulgence (and finals studying procrastination), I’ve prepared a berry pie and some mini pecan tarts for tomorrow’s dinner.  Here are some pictures of my work:

Berries in the pie shell, pre-gel

Mini (“taster”) Pies

Pies w/ gel: all done!

Homemade Dough for flaky, buttery tart cups

Baked almond tarts (yum)

Back to studying for finals, now.  Can’t wait for tomorrow’s family + feast fest!

Why am I sending Christmas cards this year? It could be that I want to use up my postal stamps of various values instead of viewing them as constant clutter in a drawer. Why not just throw them away? Well, that would be wasteful!

Hmmm, procrastination could be a factor. While writing and sending cards, I am avoiding other tasks, like shampooing my carpets. I won’t mention the clutter in the basement that is meant to make its way to Good Will or the laundry that’s waiting for a flight to my closets and drawers, after a layover at the washing machine and dryer… Did I tell you that two years ago, I had my laundry room moved to the second floor, second bedroom of my townhouse? Now it’s right up there with the beds and clothes closets!

I call that second bedroom a work room. No bed. It’s fitting, since besides clothes, there are boxes of papers piled for my perusal before recycling or filing them. Did I share that I’m a perfectionist? Yes, that’s an excuse I use for some delays in my accomplishments…

The best reason for me sending Christmas cards with personal comments and a poem I wrote as well, is that I’m feeling vulnerable. September, I received a diagnosis of breast cancer. I’m reaching out to hug family and friends with words, if not in person. I know that the only time I can be sure of is the NOW. By the way, after I used the assorted postal stamps, I bought three pages of the forever breast cancer ones.

I’ve been working on my last paper, and as per usual, I will hand this one in late.  The only difference is that this time, I’ve accepted and know that I will hand it in late.  Every single time I write an essay I tell myself that “you WILL hand this in on the deadline!” But I never do.  Well, maybe twice.

But on Monday, I knew I wasn’t going to finish my paper by tonight, and I am very relaxed.  I have about 1 page done, and need 5 more.

I have a problem with deadlines and planning my time, and I’m okay with it.  I’ve accepted it.  I’ve made it to my last year of university with decent grades, so I must be doing something right.

Other than that, I made some awesome chicken noodle soup today from scratch.  It was so delicious.  Mr. Noodles would be proud.

I have a 5-minute presentation tomorrow where I have to present the work I’ve done so far in my art class.  I’m not really looking forward to it, so luckily its only 5 minutes.

I need a sugar-reduced Redbull and Dare’s Ultimate Cinnamon Danish Cookies.

I was just reading a friend’s blog about avoiding procrastination, being organized, and good home management.  What struck me immediately was the total lack of ambition I feel for such lofty goals.  I’m impressed with myself if I manage to get the kids fed and my dishes done by the end of the day!  Oh, and baths once a week are good…and I do enjoy a clean floor now and then.  But really, with four children 5 and under, I don’t expect a whole lot from myself.  Is that good? bad?  indifferent?  Time will tell, I guess…..

Over the past three months, I’ve found myself falling victim to a peril of college life that most don’t consider an issue until it hits them. It’s that feeling of uncontrollable anxiety when you realize you have three papers, several long reading assignments, classes, TA sessions, club meetings, play rehearsals, study sessions, and exams (breathe) all happening in a very, very short time span. And in said short time span, you are simply incapable of getting it all done.

Yep, I guess you could say I’ve been experiencing a bit of a time management crisis.

I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later, since I’m pretty compulsive when it comes to my work and I have a hard time saying no to an extra-curricular opportunity. But, then again, it seems counter-intuitive that I, a devout non-procrastinator, should have trouble budgeting my time. Aren’t procrastinators the ones who usually feel the crunch when 500 pages of reading come crashing down on them at 3 in the morning? Since when does actually completing all the work assigned to me do more harm than good?

On the verge of a meltdown and a stress-induced chocolate binge, I turned to my college-grad-turned-medical-student brother for advice. I told him what my weekly schedule was like and asked what – if anything – I’m doing wrong. Much to my surprise, he told me that I’m actually doing much more than is necessary to do well in my classes.

Huh??

According to his – erm – medical advice, skimming readings here and there doesn’t hurt, nor does skipping some readings altogether when I just don’t have time – prioritizing, basically. It turned out that I was also studying far more than necessary for my exams, starting my review two weeks in advance in some cases; although I was getting good results, I could’ve cut my study time in half and still have done as well, as long as I had a structured and effective study plan. He also suggested that I cut back on my dozen or so extra-curricular commitments, at least until I get my bearings in college and can balance my schedule better. It was difficult for me to do so, since I have an interest in pretty much everything my school has to offer, but I trimmed down my schedule until I was sure I could handle the load in addition to my classes.

I’m also discovering ways to maximize my working time and minimize time wasted. To keep myself from getting distracted while I work, I’ve been hitting the library without my laptop, since I tend to fall prey to the allure of e-mail/Facebook/Twitter even when I’m in my most intense work mode. Also, instead of going on the Internet multiple times throughout the day, I’ve started setting aside time in the morning and the evening for that business so that I’m not breaking my focus every twenty or so minutes. That’s been the hardest habit to kick, given my love for being wired every second of the day, but it’s been paying off in efficient studying.

Still, there are certain weeks when I find that everything seems to be converging at once. An English paper due here, a history research paper there, an article for the paper and an exam to study for and a club meeting – all going on in the same weekend, usually a weekend that is also hosting the opening of a student play or a concert that I’m dying to go to. That just seems to be the nature of college, though, and one of the many reasons I just love being here. At least now, thanks to a little help from my bro, I’m better equipped to handle these tougher times.

What are some of your own time management tips for the busy college girl?

Not got time to post much this evening, as I’ve got to finish off my laundry, pack and generally tidy the flat up a bit. Maw Paddymade is coming over for the weekend, so tomorrow I’m off to Glasgow! I’ve got £60 to spend in Borders and I cannot wait. I’ve also finally started reading Twilight. So far not completely gripped, but I’m only a few chapters in so I’ll see how it goes.

Lush as it will be to see my mum, being out on Thursday does mean I’ll miss the first episode of the final (sob) series of Gavin and Stacey. Thank God for the iplayer. If you’ve got no idea what I’m on about, check this out. Tidy.

When did Noah build the ark, Gladys? Before the rain. Before the rain.
- Nathan Muir, Spy Game

In recent months, I’ve become acutely aware of how life and business can easily conflict with each other. It seems that the work involved in creating a successful business is never done, and if there’s an avalanche to come in life, it’s going to happen when there are deadlines looming and there’s a mountain of work to be done.

I’ve had a series of avalanches lately, which reminds me:

• There will never be perfect balance, peace and harmony between work life and personal life. Adjust accordingly.
• It’s important to avoid procrastinating and allowing things to pile up, whether that be work-related to-dos or the laundry and dishes. When avalanches strike, you’ll appreciate not feeling more burdened and overwhelmed by those little reminders of chaos and unrest.
• Try (at least the majority of the time) to honor a daily routine, a daily practice that keeps things humming along slowly but steadily. When things get crazy, the cushion built by that daily practice will allow for greater flexibility.
• Take regular time away from the business. Mental and physical stamina comes in handy during times of stress or when there’s more work than usual to be done.
• Remember that it’s not the big stresses, but the ongoing daily ones that cause more harm over the long term. The work will get done, eventually, so ease up where possible.
• Build (and learn to more steadily depend upon) a team of people to keep the business going, not only during challenging times but every day.
• Time flies whether you’re having fun or not, so why not have more fun?

Entrepreneurs, frelancers and small business owners have a tendency to run at a dangerously fast pace all the time, forgetting how important it is to step back and look at the big picture to make sure it resembles the vision and life they intended to create for themselves.

We can try to run at high speeds all the time, but life will inevitably throw up walls to slow us down. It’s important to intentionally steady the pace to account for those unexpected obstacles and be able to safely navigate around them. For me that means starting with a few simple steps:

• Being more selective with my work and obligations and saying no a lot sooner and a lot more frequently.
• Becoming diligent about honoring a regular stop time for work and learning to shut the office door behind me (and leaving it closed the entire time I’m off).
• Incrementally delegating routine tasks that tend to pile up and leave me strapped for time to focus on the most important things in my life and business.

It’s easy to ignore the rate at which we work and then become overwhelmed when the unexpected inevitably occurs. The easier option is to start making changes now to prepare for those times when you need more flexibility and wiggle room. While it’s impossible to plan for everything, it’s helpful to have a few safety nets in place to support you during challenging times.

How do you accommodate for the avalanches in life while still steadily building a successful business? How have you learned to prepare for rainy days while the sun is shining?

Image from Flickr by Joe Shlabotnik

(from August 16th, 2008)

Relying on others is a sure fire way to disaster. It takes the pressure off of ones self, placing it in the hands of someone else who may/may not be as capable as yourself. It also leaves someone to blame when it all goes belly up.

And when the band you’re in starts playing different tunes, I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon…

Steve Powers (via Meighan)

# I think yes.

This is an open experiment.
A putting in words of what is already in the air.
The more this declaration is being read, thought or spoken out, the more its energy will manifest in our world and in our society.
If what is written here resonates with you, make it your statement.
Find ways to read it, share it and put it into action.

# Focus on Food from The Society For Curious Thought.

# Emily Strange goes organic and I want this one. Zombies recycle!

# Seven Ways to Kill an Idea

# I usually skim over Stepcase Lifehack articles in my feed, but this one about Taking the Long View is pretty damn inspirational if you feel like you’re not achieving or changing anything with what you do.

Creepy/beautiful sculpture from Kris Kuksi

# Beware of The Decapitator!

#More Parisien street art.

#The Difference between Fake Growth and Authentic Growth really hit home for me.

# There’s always enough time to help the animals!. Reading the cvs of geniuses is, in equal parts, inspiring and demoralising!

# Treehouse! TREEHOUSE!. The Swiss fmaily Robinson ride/walk at Disneyland was always my favourite. Treehouse!

What have you all been inspired by lately?

Amelia

… is the express service to Procrastination Central.  Calling at: Fiddling With My Iphone, Make Another Cup of Tea, Avoid The Ironing, and Facebook.

Yup, that’s been my week so far.  

I heard on Monday that one of the school governors I’ve worked closely with for the last four years had died on Sunday (cancer).  She was a real example through her long illness, very brave and a real character.  The last time I saw her (less than two weeks ago at a committee meeting), she made me laugh out loud with her dry wit, which will be how I remember her.  So sad.  Candle for you, Stella, to light your way.

And I have been giving far too much headspace to the thing with my ex sister in law which I mentioned earlier this week.  It’ s been troubling me.  Mostly because I feel guilty about William’s relationship with his cousins.  I am happy to discontinue contact with Sarah – it had been getting less and less, anyway.  But I feel bad for William.  However, Ashley and his brother could make the effort to get the kids together (which they never have done.  Ever.)  Or indeed my mother-in-law could do so.  Why do I feel the need to take responsibility for this?  I don’t really know, but it seems to be nagging away in my head.

So, here’s the thing: I need to GET STUFF DONE (copyright Mo!).  I am going to list ten things here that I want to get done today, and I’m going to do them.

1. List six things on Ebay.
2. Make Nigella Breakfast Bar recipe (Will wants to help, so will have to be after I pick him up from school).
3. Go through two boxes of clothes which have been sitting on the landing since Dickens was a boy.
4. Wrap up ten more Christmas presents.
5. Hoover and dust my bedroom, and tidy large pile of clothes, too.
6. Tesco Wine order (v v v important, this one – must get it done TODAY!)
7. Filing (pile is possibly going to be vying for a place in The World’s Top Ten Highest Mountains if I do not tackle it.
8. Do a load of washing and get it dry.
9. Make a start on a project that I can’t tell you about because it’s for somebody who reads this blog: I bought something yesterday which is going to be an awful lot of work but will be absolutely fabulous when complete.  Couldn’t resist it.
10. Clean and polish kitchen worktops.

Wish me luck.

i started the day just needing 4,905 words to hit the 50K winners mark.  i thought i would surely finish today.  i slept till noon, walked to the store, did some things around the house, and putzed around online for a while.  i’ve since been chipping away at the nearly 5K words i needed, & now i’m at 47,095.  that means i still need 2,905 words.  it’s after 10pm here & i have a long day tomorrow out of the house, so i need to get an early start.  i’m not sure if i’ll be able to finish tonight, but if i don’t i will def finish tomorrow night.

ok, just hoping to motivate myself a bit with that.  not sure if it worked, but now i guess i should get back to work.  if i work steady i bet i can cross that finish line by midnight & be able to verify & get my purple badge:~D