Happy Do-Over

I love New Year's and Resolutions.  I usually have several pages worth under a variety of headings including Art & Writing, Spirituality, Relationships, Completing Incompletions, Health, Wealth....among others.  I don't always hit the mark and complete every single resolution under those topics, but I do almost always make progress in each area.

Not every hit is a bullseye.  Practice gets the mark.  

What I really love about Resolutions is that once I have missed the mark, I am given cart blanche to a "do over."  It is a chance to renew my commitments to activities or behaviors that I've found helpful in the past.  It is a chance to renew my vigor and energy around specific areas of my life.  It is a way to reconnect when I think or feel I've somehow lost my connection.

I know that New Year's is a very arbitrary "setting" for beginning resolutions--and in fact, I tend to renew my resolutions at least quarterly and definitely review my progress at the end of each month so I can keep on track with creating the life I want and also the person I am and want to continue to improve upon.

Regular attention WILL result in improvements and change.  Love the change.

I've always been a "lister" so resolution making is fun.  And I love imagining not only the outcomes of my goals but the road to getting there...like learning to golf and getting back to working out regularly.  Or completing several art gallery shows in a year accompanied by magazine articles.

Or writing my blog three times a week.  Honestly, sometimes I wonder at those who do it every day.  But then I realize a lot of them only write one or two sentences or paragraphs and add links or photos.  Perhaps I shall strive to take a page from their books and just keep things light more often.

With that in mind, if you haven't been or are not a resolutions or goal setter...here is a terrific link for goal setting with some suggestions.  If it all seems like too much...try just doing a short list of the major three things you want to improve in your life. And then work on each a little every day.  If you want to keep track of your goals and resolutions by phone, here are some suggestions for apps.

And just for those of you who might not be sure, you can find the definition of resolution here.  Besides actually following through every day, the most important things to do when creating your resolutions are:
1.  Write them in a positive way i.e., not "quit smoking" but "be smoke free!" and
2.  Write them down and view them regularly.

Happy Do-Over to you.

What to do when the heat hits?

It's not as hot here in Florida as it is in say, Phoenix, Arizona, but it's hot and humid, my studio has no insulation and only a small A/C and fan.  It's too hot to run a kiln (I ran the enameling kiln at 1500 degrees Fahrenheit last week and it was no fun!)  Though I will be getting additional AC and insulating...

IN THE MEANTIME, what to do when the heat hits?  As a believer in the idea that a messy mind = a messy workspace and vice versa (notice I didn't say dirty mind), I decided to beat the heat this week by getting my desk organized.  It was heaped at least two feet high with magazine clippings, file folders, jewelry and art items that need photographing and posting on Etsy, proposals for classes and calendars.  And sometimes one or more cat. I had lots of plans I wanted to work on but it was impossible to get started, much less begin to focus.  Messy desk = messy mind.

I discovered yesterday that the majority of the mess on my desk was paper that fell into these categories:

1.  To Put on PC Calendar/Tasks and To Do list

2.  Possibilities for my Art--this is an all encompassing idea, some of which of course could be put on the To Do list but which is meant to be a "tickler" file--places I want to investigate as a co-op member, locations to propose a show, places where I want to teach classes, etc.
3.  Classes--this is a file just of already prepared proposals that I need to be certain that I have electronic copies, as well as to write notes about how I need to adjust the proposals for new locations
4.  For Pinteresting--websites I want to spend some time exploring or things I've culled from magazines to explore
5.  Scan--immediate documents I need to scan so I can shred and NOT FILE.
6.  Magazines--the writer's guidelines for each magazine I want to query.
7.  Will/Funeral--okay, morbid and not necessarily work related but it is something I know I need to take care of...cuz you never know.
8.  Put on TO BUY list on my PC.  Through Post-It (TM) Digital Notes, which I love--a software program I got last year, ironically, to keep my desktop clearer.  It helped with the sea of tiny post-its I used to have every where. I have a running bulletin board list of things I want/need to buy--this can be specifically for the house, personal purchases, gifts, and art/business related.

(c) SZing The desk, post cleaning.

Once I got things filed into a vertical filing system with these folders, my desk was almost cleared up--just my address book and Rolodex that need to be culled/updated and updated to my PC for mailing lists, a couple of pieces of paper that I MUST file (unfortunately there are just some papers that I feel need to remain papered and not electronic) and a small pile related to a very important project I need to work on today.  It's amazing to be able to see desk in more than a small 4" x 4" area, and to feel like I'm actually organized.  And I'm actually not sweating it.

Next step?  Put up some artwork.  Then go through each file and do what it says to do in it, i.e., put on to do list, etc.,--I'm gonna do that today.  Get my calendar updated.  It'll be a relief to know what I need to do.  And a relief to be able to stay out of the heat.

The cats and I are in negotiations.