Monday, March 17, 2008

Loving it ...

I have spent a lovely few hours catching up with all your blogs and am now feeling full of the joys of Spring and lovely warm fuzzies!

Today was supposed to be another day of not writing, but while I'm here ...

I have been writing. Every day. (So my New Year's Resolution has been adapted rather than abandoned! More about that later.)

But on Friday, I decided I needed to spend time tackling other things that have been building up:

Unread RSS Feeds (from over 300 to less than twenty, which I've read but have marked as unread for further action)

Unread emails (from 67 to none!)

Email inbox empty!

Favourites (still lots to do, but gradually a scary list is being organized into useful folders)

One 2' pile of newspaper and magazine articles filed into useful categories (still in piles on the kitchen floor, waiting to be filed and labelled)

One very messy miscellaneous pile of various forms to fill in / finances to deal with / letters to write ... now a small neat pile in order of importance

Diary up to date!

Laundry mountain cleared (until tomorrow!)

To be mended pile mended (and in some cases passed on, as they are now too small for anyone in this house!)

Two inches of muck removed from the bathroom

Recycling boxes emptied, clothes from clearout at New Year finally taken to the second hand shop

Library books renewed and all in one place rather than scattered throughout the house

Kitchen drawers tidy and fridge/cupboards free of way-past-sell-by-date stuff


I've been implementing some tips I picked up on creativity and productivity. I don't like organising, I'd much rather be doing, but I'm feeling much more clear-headed and am looking foward to sitting down to write without any nagging feelings of "I should be doing something else!"

I've done a lot of (scattered) research recently and having it all to hand will be fantastic and will hopefully save lots of time in the long run, and I've filled a note book with ideas which is a lovely feeling.

I've also been thinking about my New Year's Resolution and have amended it. I'm still resolved to write every day, but I'm going to write on here to a more focused schedule:

Mondays - The Moon (but not today, working on one for next week!)

Wednesdays - Writing (Creativity and Productivity)

Fridays - Feelgoods (Health and Wellbeing)

I'm also going to write one post a week on Student Mum (which I haven't touched since Valentine's Day!) and one brief post a day during the week on Learning Curve.

Plus I'm going to continue stretching my article-writing muscles, by writing on Helium. (I'll put a post up about Helium on Wednesday.)

So there it is ... in writing!

I have found that writing goals down on here makes me stick to them, so I'm now feeling inspired and full of enthusiasm. I'm off to do some doing now, rather than some organizing, to actually fill in forms, action RSS feeds, file cuttings properly ... and to be the first one in the sparkling bathtub!

:o)

13 comments:

HelenMWalters said...

Oh well done! What a lot of acheivements. Doesn't it feel good when you get some of those jobs shifted?

Jill Steeples said...

Brilliant, Moondreamer, what a productive day you've had. Great too that you've been getting some writing done every day. Like you, I find it helps to write down goals on the blog, I seem to get more done that way.

Now, RSS Feeds, I keep hearing about them, but have no idea really what they are and how they work? Do I need them, I wonder?

Karen said...

Blimey, you have been busy :o) I can feel a de-clutter coming on in the near future!

Pacha said...

Oh, you're inspirational. Today I too will be productive! I MUST!!!!

Moondreamer said...

Helen, thank you! Yes, it feels great ... I hadn't realised quite how much I'd done til I wrote it all down!

Although some jobs are unfinished still, and that's where I have to be careful ... I often get all enthusiastic about decluttering, then get half way through and give up!

:o)

Thank you, Maddie!

(But I fear that somehow I've misled you ... it has taken me four days altogether! So far!)

Yes, writing a goal on here certainly works for me ... I'm going to write all my goals on here now.

RSS feeds? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication - it's a way of receiving updates from blogs or websites and is very useful (though very easy to get carried away with!) I'll send you an email.

:o)

Karen, yes a very busy bee I've been!

It's that time of year, think I've been bitten by the Spring-cleaning bug ... good luck with your decluttering!

:o)

Pacha, thank you!

I think the trick for me is to start with a job and accept that it will be finished when it's finished ... I tend to underestimate the time things will take and then abandon them halfway through!

So I've given myself a week to do it all instead of the usual one day!

Have an excellent day!

:o)

Anonymous said...

Great Goals! Thanks for visiting my blog today!

May I make a suggestion? Now that you've figured how how blogging works for you, turn your "Write Here" blog into a way to push your freelance writing business.

Change the theme to show others what you've done to get your foot in the publishing world. It could be anything from listing a new publication you found to write for, to sharing a query letter that was successful or got rejected, to announcing places you've been published for pay, to just talking about the world of freelance writing.

Just a thought...

Jill Steeples said...

Thanks so much, Moondreamer, for the detailed info. on RSS Feeds. I like anything that has 'simple' in the title!

It sounds as if they'd be really useful and I will definitely investigate. Thanks again!

Moondreamer said...

DM, thank you for visiting and for your great advice!

As I've yet to be published, I didn't think I'd be able to write much about freelance writing, but you've inspired me to write about the journey, starting from the perspective of someone who knows almost nothing!

I read a lot of blogs written by experts, but haven't really come across any by someone who is just starting out, so I think it would be a great idea (and might make me take steps I'm finding difficult, like sending my first query, with no experience and no portfolio!)

Thank you again!

:o)

Maddie, you are very welcome, am glad to be of help!

:o)

Anonymous said...

I've read a few blogs by those starting out, or at least they say they are, but as you read their blogs, you come to realize that they're trying so hard to make themselves appear to be experts that the humanness of their journey isn't there. What I think will set your blog apart is the style in which you write. You write from the heart and you seem to be okay with telling it like it is--in essence, not always showing yourself as an expert but as a humble servant of God on a journey through life. And I think that will actually be a blessing to new writers--and even some of us veterans who could occassionally use an attitude check.

Lane Mathias said...

I feel more organized just reading that:-)

A good clearout, some focus and some set goals can work wonders. You've inspired me to get going.

Looking forward to your posts:-)

Moondreamer said...

DM, thank you for your lovely comments!

I have posted the first step in my journey and am looking forward to a whole new adventure!

:o)

Thank you, Lane, what a lovely thing to say!

A good clearout has certainly cleared my mind a little and I'm really beginning to find my focus. Though I have to be careful not to get distracted from the "out" bit ... am very good at moving things from one place to another (and at starting things and leaving them unfinished!)

Happy organising!

:o)

Leigh Forbes said...

My 'to do' list sounds just like yours, but without the progress!

Well done - you're a fine example!

Moondreamer said...

Haha! Still working on it ... it seems that as one list shortens, another is growing somwhere else!

I have a fridge magnet that makes me smile:

Cleaning the house while the kids are growing is like shovelling snow when it's still snowing!

That's just how it feels here sometimes.

"A fine example" ... what a lovely thing to say, Leigh, thank you!

:o)