Was it really just last Wednesday that I was posting about my EC Life Planner and related transitions? Well, I have now jumped in to Bullet Journaling with both feet! I discovered Midori (traveler's) notebooks. It is truly a match made in heaven. I made this case/cover for my notebooks. The inside is fabric, which I sewed and embroidered to meet my needs and make it pretty. I made the outside out of leather. So far, it just has a simple tie on the outside. I decided to hang out with it for a few days before I trim the edges and make the final fastener. I am not sure if I will go for the natural look or hemmed lines on the leather. I have four notebooks inside:
I have joined a couple of challenges already. Check out #PlanWithMeChallenge and #RockYourHandwriting on IG. I look forward to sharing this adventure. I will post a full detail of my July spread as soon as it is fully developed.
Happy Planning,
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Am I the only one that has a love/hate relationship with my planner? I bought my first Erin Condren Planner for 2014-15. A perusal through the months will show that some months I vigorously planned, tracked, decorated, and generally used my planner; while other months will go by with nary a doodle being added, as if the planner were lost in my backseat for a month (hey, it happens!). Earlier this year I read Sarah Centrella's Hustle Believe Receive. Wow! What a great book. She got me back on the wagon with my productivity in a big way! I highly recommend this book for anyone who isn't content to stay where they are in life. She will poke and prod you into action! I have toyed with various ways to use my planner. I pretty much always track my workouts. Sometimes with cute little custom stickers. . .and sometimes with a simple note. The monthly pages are great for an overall schedule, but what about the countless tasks that need to be done in a given week or month? They are not appointments. They do not need to be done on a certain day or at a certain time. I know myself well enough to know that I cannot schedule down to the minute, or even the day when tasks need to be completed. I will miss one, and then either resent the list and lose all track of progress. . .or beat myself up and lose all track of progress. So, scheduling is out, but things still need to be done. Progress must be made. The solution? Bullet Journaling. I resisted bullet journals when I first saw the concept. I really like my pretty Erin Condren Planner, and my stickers and colorful pens. All of the bullet journals I had seen were very "brass tacks". How could I integrate this strategy and still color outside the lines? Enter the Monthly Hustle list. I use the lined page just before the monthly layout. The idea is to list out all of the things I need/want to accomplish in the coming month. This month I started breaking it out by category (side hustle, declutter, blog, wellness, Norwex, & square dancing). I am sure categories will get added over time. As I am typing this, I realize that I need a garden category. . . and maybe one for routine cleaning, ugh. Some of these items simple get checked off/filled in as I accomplish them. Others get transferred to the weekly view. The "notes" section has become my "Win the Week" section. This is where I list out the important things from my #theHustle list and add action steps for the week. I still flip back to my #theHustle list for most things. This is just one more layer for breaking it down into actionable steps. These strategies help me move forward towards my goals. Some months I am better at them than others, but I am learning to be gentle and keep moving forward. How do you get your #theHustle on? Please share any strategies that help you. Disclaimer: The Erin Condren link is a sort of affiliate link. If you follow that link, and order your first planner, I will get a $10 credit. . .which I much appreciate! The Sarah Centrella link is not an affiliate link. I receive nothing if you go buy her book. I just happen to believe in it and want to share it with you.
In the wake of the tragedy in Orlando, what are we to do? Donate blood? I can't. (long story that has to do with Red Cross rules and the amount of time I have spent in sub-Saharan Africa). Post a rainbow on Facebook? Send money? Pray? . . . I am admittedly in an undefined and odd place with my spirituality at the moment; though I must say even at my most fervent, having someone say they would pray for me was never much comfort. Today, I consider said prayers more critically. You are praying? What is your prayer? Who is it to? Are you sure you know that the victims pray to the same god as you? Does it matter? I feel sure that the perpetrator(s) of this attack prayed to that same God and felt perfectly legitimate in his (their) prayers of hate and destruction. . . Just as fundamental Christians pray to that same God to "cure" what they have decided ails myself and others. It seems to me that the hate stems from religion (both Christian and Muslim), Case & point, a picture from my local Pride event last weekend. All of that to say, you'll have to excuse me for not praying. According to recent Facebook posts, that makes me basically akin to the devil. But please don't confuse my lack of praying with a lack of caring. I care very deeply that all of those innocent people were terrorized and gunned down for nothing more than the fact that they happened to be celebrating who they are and honoring the generations of LBTGQ warriors that have come before them, making such events possible. I care very deeply that this could have easily been me & mine. I spent the day at Pride KC just last weekend; where my daughter, my bestie, and other dear friends were present. That. Could. Have. Been. Us. I am not uncaring. I grieve. I find this painful and infuriating. I mourn. What do I have to say? Clearly. Something. I wouldn't go to all the trouble of setting up this site if I didn't have something to say. Right?
I have so much to say that it is almost mind numbing. . .all of these topics floating around in my head and keeping me awake at night. Yet, I am standing here wondering what to type and hoping that inspiration will come. My main focus these days is on reinventing my life. What form will that take? I don't really know. When will it happen. . .hopefully in incremental changes over the next four years. Within that time I hope to change EVERYTHING. Yes, everything about my life. Locale. Profession. Lifestyle. Budget. Carbon Footprint. Eye brows. Yes, Eye brows. It is a funny thing to wake up in a life that you are not sure is your own. To be sure, I made the choices that created the life I am living today. I have to ask, what the fuck was I thinking? I live in the mid-west (land-locked, conservative, humid, mid-west). My career, over the course of a few missteps, has become something I begrudgingly endure. My house is a source of angst like no other. My family. . .ah, my family. . .that's a blog post all it's own. Suffice to say, I am at that place of discomfort that requires reinvention. But the universe has always made me feel a bit like a kid in a candy store with all of the brilliant options out there. I mean, WOW, there is so much. So I have to focus and spend time figuring out not only what I can do to change this life into one that I am more immediately comfortable with; but (more importantly) which changes will lead to a long term future that I will be content with. It's kind of like trying to see around the corner before deciding which way to turn. . .except it's not a four-way stop. It's a roundabout with a zillion different off-ramps. Here we go. |
Jules Warner - AuthorThanks for reading my ramblings. Archives
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