Organization

Another thing I seem to struggle with regularly is to do lists. I love to make lists. I just can't seem to find a way to keep them organized and synchronized across all the devices I use. This afternoon I started a notebook in Evernote. I think I'll give that a try. I have used planners before, and I live and die by my Outlook calendar. The problem is, I just can't settle on a format for a master task list. I'll start using a system, then I will just lose track. I figure if I start moving things to a more cloud-based format, they will be available on whatever device I happen to use. Everything plays well with Evernote, so I'm going to give it a try. I've started a "To Do" notebook into which I can put all the different to do lists I have. I can break down things by long term and short term, and I've got a lot of organization options. I think this is going to work.

Productivity

I'm feeling very productive today. I find that the more I have to do simultaneously, the better I am at reaching goals. It has become evident to me today as I multitask that this is the way my brain works. I can accommodate a lot of work at the same time, but if I have a limited number of things to do I find myself becoming sedentary. Better that I have too much than not enough. I was able to go to the gym on Monday but haven't gone since. Exercise helps me stay focused as well, and if I could just get over my sleeplessness I think I'd be good to go. I feel tired right now, but I feel like I still have focus. Maintaining focus is the challenge.

It's Been a While

I just happened to notice that it has been nearly two years since I last posted. I think I need to get better about that. I started a doctoral program at Plymouth State University, and for sanity's sake I'm going to start blogging again. Maybe if I start writing regularly it will get me back in the swing of things. I have had a hard time acclimating once again to the concept of writing, and having any free time for writing fiction is absolutely out of the question. Life in general has been challenging, but it has gotten me thinking about why I do things. Ultimately, my goal in life is to be able to provide for my family and to set a good example for my children. The more successful I am, the better role model I feel I am to them. The problem is, motivation becomes an issue. I have shifted perspective, and in doing so I've found that I have become more focused on how to get things done than on why they have to be done in the first place. We tend to take things for granted sometimes, because we lose perspective. Stress is a relative thing. We have stress because we bring it on ourselves. We create stressful situations, without realizing that if we just take a step back and look at WHY these situations exist, there's a good chance that we're just bringing it on ourselves. It is a tough place to be in, feeling stuck in a given place. In my case, I am stuck because I can't move forward in my job without having a doctorate. So that covers the WHY, and the HOW simply becomes an assessment of what I need to change in life in order to accommodate it. What I need to do, though, is manage my time better in all respects. I need to focus on productivity and output. I have become sedentary in so many ways. I was keeping a handwritten journal for a while, but realized when I went back and read through some of the entries that I haven't changed much in the past ten years. Things have happened and I have become a different person, but my problems haven't gone away. I guess my main goal in writing again is to try to figure out my problems. Get them down on paper, then figure out how to make them go away. At the same time, it will be fun to just write again. I'm not anticipating much at first, but hopefully the magic that writing once held for me will return.