by jphilo | Aug 22, 2016 | Daily Life
Last week was one of those weeks. The kind where I looked at my goals on Sunday and thought, “Piece of cake. I can blaze through this list by Wednesday. Thursday at the latest. Just in time for company.”
Monday reinforced that forecast. I finished a week’s worth of Different Dream posts by noon and spent the afternoon revising See Jane Run! I didn’t get quite as far as I’d hoped, though I worked steadily, but it was only Monday. Not to worry.
Tuesday was when I remembered what I’d forgotten to put on the week’s to do list:
- The 10:30 AM Tuesday appointment to look at a property.
- CSA pick up at 4:00 PM the same day.
- A stop at the Heartland AEA to drop off worksheets for an upcoming Educator’s Guide to PTSD class before visiting Mom on Wednesday.
- Wednesday grocery stops after visiting Mom at Costco, Baker’s Pantry, and possibly Trader Joe’s if Costco didn’t have their amazing dairy free chocolate chips in stock. (They didn’t.)
- A Friday afternoon date at the State Fair with our son and a friend.
- Saturday lunch with the fam at Hickory Park to celebrate my 60th birthday. It was last month but this was when we could all get together.
At which point the mystery novel became the top priority, with peach pie and muffin baking close behind (because food is always high on my list), and cleaning the bathroom in third place. Only because it was getting too fuzzy to be ignored.
The next four days went like this:
- Wednesday morning at the AEA, followed by being trounced by Mom at Uno, and grocery shopping at Costco, Baker’s Pantry, and Trader Joe’s.
- Thursday morning working on novel revisions and the afternoon getting ready for and enjoying company.
- Friday morning novel revisions and a sweltering afternoon at the State Fair.
- Saturday morning muffin-making, lunch at Hickory Park, and final mystery revisions in the afternoon. Yes, they are done. Happy Dance, Happy Dance, Happy Dance!
- Peach pie making before church on Sunday, and the new week’s goals already plumped up and in place because last week’s to do list didn’t get too done.
The new to do list? It’s a cinch. Because other than Connection Group, CSA pick up, and a party on Saturday (for which I volunteered to make three pies), absolutely nothing is going on around here this week. Nothing at all.
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by jphilo | Nov 7, 2014 | How to Use the Caregiver's Notebook
In case you didn’t hear the big YAHOO at our house on November 1, Discovery House Publishers has officially released The Caregiver’s Notebook: An Organizational Tool and Support to Help You Care for Others. With the cat book officially out of the bag and caregivers can actually purchase the book online and at bookstores, it’s time to offer even more support.
What kind of support? How about a vlog series that walks caregivers through each section of the notebook? Think of it as week-by-week virtual hand holding sessions that allow you to complete the notebook at your own pace and according to your own schedule. Today’s vlog introduces the series. It offers information about what’s in the notebook, who it’s for, and when to begin using it. That gives those who don’t yet have the notebook time to purchase it before the next vlog post goes live next Friday. Sound good? Then let’s get started.
To watch the first Caregiver’s Notebook episode, click on over to DifferentDream.com.
by jphilo | Aug 29, 2011 | Book Updates
For years and years, I have been queen of the planner. But lately, I’ve sorta dropped the scepter. I blame the problem on this summer’s series of tight book deadlines, speaking engagements, and family life changes.
After all, a planner isn’t all that necessary when the week’s task is COMPLETE THE FIRST PROOFS BY FRIDAY or PREPARE TO SPEAK AND SCHMOOZ IN KENTUCKY or HELP YOUR DAUGHTER AND SON-IN-LAW MOVE TO OHIO or WRITE AN INDEX BY AUGUST 17 or ACTIVATE MOM’S IN-HOME HEALTH CARE POLICY. With things like that on the top of the to do list this summer, all I had to do was start running with them every Monday and hope to to reach the finish line by Friday.
But now the deadlines are met, the daughter and son-in-law are moved, and Mom’s in-home health care should activate soon. Which means life includes some breathing room, at least for a few weeks. Which means all I want to do is sit on the couch and breathe while watching DVDs of all the family unfriendly TV series we couldn’t watch with kids in the house. Which means I need to start making to do lists again, or I will get absolutely nothing done until there’s another deadline breathing down my neck. But there will never be another deadline breathing down my neck because I’ve done absolutely nothing to create one.
So it’s time to polish up my queen-of-the-planner tiara and start sparkling again. Except that I’m way out of practice when it comes to picking and choosing a few items from the long list of what needs to get done this week and transferring them a daily to do list. Tell me, which ones would you choose from this list for your Monday morning?
- Update blogs
- PTSD research for book proposal
- Get started on items in book marketing folder
- Get ready for company on Labor Day weekend
- Send stuff to Wanda for new ones sheet
- Send updated bio and interview questions to publicist at Discovery House
- Contact university and community college about available interns for tech projects
- Update speaking topics on website
- Grocery shop
- Finish influencer list for publicist at Discovery House
- Email people about participating in the blog tour for my new book
- Call people about being part of the special needs ministry planning team at church
- Call Steve
- Transfer Mom’s car title
- Write two Sunday school skits
- Run stuff for Monday evening board meeting
Sure, the last item on the list is a given since Monday evening is almost here. But other than that, where would you start? Seriously, could you add “make a comment on Jolene’s blog” to your to do list and then send some advice really soon. Because until somebody provides some direction, this former queen of the planner will be sitting on the sofa watching DVDs while polishing her tiara or looking under the sofa for the scepter she dropped back in June.
So sad, don’t you think?
