be my best self

Myself – time to do nothing, journal, read, meditate, read from the devotional I created

My Health – exercise daily, cook healthy food for the week, healthy grocery shopping, walk the dogs

My Loved Ones – Spend time with loved ones, keep in touch with friends, Krysten’s wedding, Dad’s 60th b-day, Nicole’s 21st b-day

My Career – apply myself at work, finish school, write, send poems off for contests and publications

Make a difference – rescue league web site maintenance, foster dog family

My Creativity – scrapbook, crochet, paint

My Surroundings – clean, pay bills, budget

early mornings – CALM – yoga, meditate, write, prepare for the day

Morning – ACTIVE – plan, work

Lunch – CALM – away from my desk – read, walk, write

Afternoon – ACTIVE – work, plan

Early evening – ACTIVE – learn, exercise, walk dogs

Evening – CALM – read, TV, meditate

I have to remember this. I can book myself up every second and accomplish it all, but inevitably I will need a large amount of down-time in the days following it. So it all evens out in the end. I need to pace myself and allow myself the time to get stuff done more slowly and mindfully.

A small business owner who leads writing retreats a few days a week. She spends the rest of her time writing, volunteer work, spending time with her loved ones (including her dogs), and promoting her business. She keeps healthy by being active almost every day and eating whole foods. She travels and visits the ocean whenever possible.

but not with personal organizing notebooks or productivity manuals or pie charts and time checkbooks. It’s something much harder to admit to the messiness and chaos of life and how it never does fit nicely in a planner, no matter if you write in pencil or pen.

Getting my life in order for me means abandoning the excessive organizing and planning that interferes with me accomplishing my goals. I find myself spending all my time organizing my toys instead of playing with them…

I am now 27 years old and still hopeful for the future. Little things have knudged me and woken up something about me and my reality. It bothered my that I wasn’t interested in making friends or that I suddenly saw life empty and meaningless, after 5 years of that there comes a choice..either give up on life altogether (yes it’s what it sounds like) or get your butt moving and find ways to change things around. I’ve never been blessed with lots of money, good looks, or even great supportive mentors to guide me along my way. Almost everything I have learned was due to the fact that I seeked it out and went for it. Since my turn around two years ago I have had some really cool experiences and met some awesome people. Now I’m trying to reconnect with neglected or forgotten friends (not going too well) and majorly working on what it is I hold my focus on. I want to be in control of my destiny, I want to stop drifting through life, I want to look back and say my life went this way because I chose it to be and not because life just happened to me (actually by not doing anything you make a choice anyways…just not an obvious one). It helps me remember the kinda person I used to be, I don’t smile like I used to, but I can’t wait til I can do it again. Being in control of my thoughts, emotions, and desires, and making them work for me instead of against me. It’s a new delicate balance that I want to uphold, I need to re learn discipline, change old habits, and learn to forgive. This is my goal and a start at my new life.