A Reflection On Time

I read an interesting article by Anne Lamott the other day, that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. (If you don't know who Anne Lamott is, she's a writer and she teaches classes in creative writing as well.)  It was all about time and how it is so hard to find the time to do things we want to do.  How crazy is that?  If we really want to do something, we should be able to find the time.  Right?

Well, I have to admit, I have a huge "to do" list that only seems to grow longer and longer.  I was on vacation last week, with a goal of accomplishing all those little things that have been on my list for way too long.  I'll admit, I caught a cold in the middle of my week and it set me back.  I don't know about you, but I really don't want to do much of anything when I don't feel good.  I did, however, manage to get some of the things crossed off my list. Most of them didn't really take much time either. But then it dawned on me, that I had found it necessary to use my vacation to get these things done....and some of them were "wants" not "have tos".  That's just plain crazy.

What has happened to us that we are so caught up in the day to day that we have trouble stopping to smell the roses?  My daughter found a sign she wants for her kitchen.  It says something like: 'Pardon the mess, memories are being made'.  I want to go shout that message from all the rooftops.

The article that started all this thinking asked some key questions to help us find time such as:  Do we really need to watch 30 minutes of news ever day? As a former news producer I first found this to be an horrendous idea.  But then I thought, is it really necessary to be caught up on all the robberies and fires?  Would we be okay if instead of watching the news, we worked on a creative project, or played with our kids?  How about what time we get up in the morning?  If we get up 10 minutes earlier, will we really notice the difference other than have10 minutes to for instance pack our lunch, instead of hitting the snack machine during our lunch break.  I know many people find facebook and twitter fun, but do we really need to post and check status updates several times throughout the day?

The Flylady website starts people organizing their messy houses by using bits of 15 minutes at a time.  It works.  So why can't we use the same 15 minutes to be creative, do projects, or just have fun?

August is just about over.  Perhaps the Dog Days of Summer add to our lack of productivity at times, or is "it's too hot" just another excuse.  As for me, I'm ready to manage my time better.  Wish me luck.

31 days of change

It is said that to give a habit a month, and you can keep it forever.  I don't know if I believe that, as I've started many things and stuck with them for a month only to have them fizzle after awhile longer.  But I think it's a worthwhile endeavor, none the less.

 Last year a group of bloggers got together to do 31 days of blogging.  Here are some of the topics/bloggers that committed to writing for the month of October:

:: 31 Days to Stress-Free Entertaining from Sandy at The Reluctant Entertainer

 :: 31 Days to a Better Photo from Darcy at Life With My 3 Boybarians

 :: 31 Days to More with Less from Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

 :: 31 Days of Autumn Bliss from Melissa at The Inspired Room

 :: 31 Days of Living Simply from Emily at Remodeling This Life

 :: 31 Days of Grace from Emily at Chatting at the Sky

 :: 31 Days to an Inspired Table from Kendra at My First Kitchen 

Some of the topics were of interest to me and I followed along with Jen, Melissa and Emily.  The others I admit I never read.  Well, the group is doing it again this October, with the overall theme being 31 days of change.  There is an interesting caveat they've offered this time, and that is to allow other bloggers to link to this party.

I'm seriously considering doing this.  I think a commitment of a blog a day for a month would be good for me. I've thought about topics, and in doing so, I've thought about what I personally would like to work on.  Afterall, I don't have very many readers (mostly just friends and family) and I blog primarily for my own creative/emotional outlet, whatever that means.  Anyway, the topic I'm considering is something that I know very well,  but it is also always elusive...and that is creativity and ways to expand our creative souls. What do you think?  Should I do it?  I suppose you'll find out if my courage, time and patience matches by ideas and desires come October 1 when you will or won't see my first post of 31 days.