Day 1: 9 Ways I stayed Sane (and productive) while not working!

Hello Quirksters, and welcome to Day One of:
Staying Sane (and productive) while not working. If you don't know this already, let me introduce you to a sneak peek at my life, or at least what has led me to this point in time, and this glorious list of suggestions and reflection.  (feel free to fast forward through this part if you are, oh, my daughter, husband, mother, long lost relative or best friend...trust me, you really already know this stuff, and you may want to skip the next 2 paragraphs, just sayin').

For the past several years I have had goals that I have been working toward. Our 2 daughters are grown and have flown away, building their own nests, this has provided us with 2 sons-in-law and grandchildren of which there are three. So at this point, my children are very much on their own and any goals that I was "saving for later" have now entered the realm of "later" and I both relish and , admittedly, slightly fear this "later" point in my life. I've always wanted to finish my Bachelor's degree that I had been working on class by class for a million and one years throughout the growing up years of our children. Now that I had the time, I continued a part-time job and managed to do on-line classes to obtain my degree. Then I decided that I would really like to be a Special Education teacher, a couple more years of classes and now I am in a holding pattern. I have to pass a certain test (CSET, just the math/science portion, everything else was fine...does that help? not really...). While I am waiting (and studying) I have certain deadlines that I need to meet in order to do my student teaching. At this point it's looking like it will be about a year before I can go down this road. So meanwhile.

This leads me to the question of what now? I am so used to husband, family, friends, school, church, hobbies (of which I am guilty of A.D.D. in this particular area...crafts, music, art, writing, not.enough.time) that I find myself flailing a bit. The house is quiet, I have no one to be accountable to, if I want to just hole up and bon-bon binge on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, who would know? Yes, you guessed, I WOULD. So this is where I pose the question; to job or not to job? or do I consider that for the moment this IS my job. So I will share with you my list for for DAY ONE of this very odd space and holding tank in my life...ahem...

DAY ONE:
Devotions and take care of the dog. These are just part of the DNA of the day, no matter what. 

1. Get up: Try to make this a normal time, not too early or too late. Your life rhythm is important. Whether you are earning a paycheck or sitting in the "waiting room" keep your rhythm. Get up, get dressed, do breakfast...routine establishes the day. Change is great, but too much change will derail your emotions (which are probably already taking a bit of hit right now).
So this morning I got up as usual, but then I went outside and did a little bit of prettifying my backyard. Not my usual routine, but it was plunked into the middle of a morning that would otherwise have been spent staring at some type of media. Get.up.
 
2. Find your "space".  Visual clutter can be frustrating and make you feel anxious, but so can trying to do it all in one fell swoop. Pick one area to de-clutter and feel very accomplished when you complete this task!
So this morning I found my dining table. This particular area is like a landfill in our house because it is close to the front door on the way to the living room. So I took it down to the bare bones and cleaned it up. So satisfying! and we may actually use it to serve a meal:) 

3. Get Creative! Do something with this time, it really is a gift (it may feel like a burden, but let's try to look on the bright/half-full glass/side). For some reason we feel it necessary to hamster wheel our lives, busy, busy, busy. But what if instead of circles we create pockets of purpose, creativity can be purposeful, but take it out of your head and play!
So today I sat down and worked on some music and lyrics, drew some doodles and looked at the clock and low and behold 2 hours had flown by... this is not wasted time.

4. Plan: Yes, a "to-do-list" is a wonderful thing. It allows us to have a visual of what we want to do without wasting memory space in our brains. We have enough to be thinking about right now without having to "think about what I should be doing right now". Let a sticky note, reminder app, bell, whistle or whatever you have that allows you to complete a task be your visual (or audio) and move.on.
So I wrote a check list that I put on the kitchen table. I had to walk past the table between chores and running in and out of the house? it was right there. No going around it.

5. Do SOMETHING on your list. Make your list, but do not count making your list as part of your "chores" on your list. (those of you looking for loopholes, and you know who you are...). This list is almost like an Amazon Wish List. If you were to get absolutely everything on your list you would be incredibly surprised and beyond elated. If you get one or two items? now THAT's still a WIN.
I completed everything on my list except for one, for Day One? I felt extremely productive. I went to bed with a smile on my face and klunked out like a drunk (although I really don't know what that's like, no seriously). Needless to say, a sound sleep.

6. Get to the Gym: Exercise, whatever gets your blood going, get those positive endorphins coursing through your bloodstream and into your cranium... I say, or rather Nike says,  "Just Do It". Hmmmm, there's a reason why that slogan resonates with people.
I managed to squeeze in a workout that actually burned some calories and got my heart-rate up. It was not the most notable of workouts, but some workout is better than none workout. Oh dear, we are getting all slogany here, and grammar is the one taking the hit. Anyway, I got it done and felt exhilarated to boot.

7. Run errands: that to-do list will not take care of itself. But do yourself a productivity favor and schedule your errands so you feel like you are blazing a trail in your community. I truly believe in right hand turns and if you have a route that will allow you to make right hand turns all the way back to your home? Challenge accepted.
Challenge met  (not one left hand turn in a 3 mile radius AND I didn't backtrack, oh the pride) and accomplished plus soooo many check marks on my list when I got home.

8. Fuel yourself: I cannot emphasize enough how having the right fuel around can encourage and motivate you throughout your day. There is a very simple phrase that people use nowadays for a reason, it's true, "comfort food". But try to remember that comfort food may "comfort" you in the short term (and trust me, a little comfort never hurt anyone) but a little can go a very long way. Try not to deprive yourself, but try not to go overboard. I just gave you a whole basketful of "try" so here's how I did it... and yes, this is Day One.
I made sure I had a good breakfast. I also made sure that I didn't get overly hungry. I usually have quite a few snacks on hand; popcorn, nuts, things that have some "chew" to them. Then I made sure that I did not have these right in front of me. If I was doing something,  I needed to get up and go get whatever snack or meal, I had to think about it and put in some effort. Also, water, good old H20, hey, if we're at home we can at least take advantage of easy access to our facilities.

9. Evening routine: Have your check in time with your significant other (mine is named Timmy, he's the best...), go over your day, pat yourself on the back for your amazing accomplishments, persistence and follow-through skills. Revel in the fact you have made it through a day. Go to bed at a decent time that allows you to do this all over again tomorrow.
So I managed to sit down and talk over my day with my husband, exchange stories and dream dreams about our future endeavors as retirees (and what exactly am I retiring from right now? let's not go there...) I was not successful at going to bed early, because of course I started reading an amazing book. But I do know that I have another day to "practice waiting", so for now?

I just need to listen.
More on this journey in days to come...
xoxo r

it's not the end:)

I'm pretty sure the whole world is thinking about the end of 2014... maybe it's with relish, "phew, that year's finally over, it really STUNK!"or maybe it's with a bit of a "meh" there was good, there was not so good, but I'm looking forward to that fresh start. Maybe, just maybe, this was the year of success, change, motivation and exciting journeys, maybe all of the good that happened FAR outweighs any inconvenience, sadness or depression.

As with every year, there are always ups and downs, (understatement, I know) some of those downs can be overwhelmingly life changing and so challenging that we don't know how to maneuver to the "up". But I want to go back to my roots when I think of being down and getting stuck there, my mom always told me to "do something for someone else". No, I have not had a lot of personal experience with extreme struggles, trials and tragedy, but my mom has! and frankly she truly walks the walk and talks the talk of how to crawl out of those dark places in life. (shameless plug here). She recently finished a book called, "He Leadeth Me", by Charlotte Halsell Bradshaw (you can find it on Amazon, wink, wink). This little book chronicles how God has led her through some mighty fine times, but also how His voice guided her through some trials that would make the strongest soul crumble if they didn't have the Creator of the Universe talking them through it.

My point here is, and as usual I DO have one, we have 365 days within a year. But who says that December 31, 2014 at 12 midnight has to denote "the end". Yes, it is the actual end of 2014, (thank you to any doubters out there about my "point"), but it is NOT the end of trying, striving and attempting to make a difference. We definitely have to start with ourselves and what daily attitude we will put on, but if our circumstances are less than stellar, sometimes the circumstances may win. So what do we do? Choose our attitude, choose to step outside of our circumstances, choose to see the glass half full, choose to forget about ourselves for awhile and do something for someone else. There are 8,760 hours in a year and they can begin at any point, there really is only one "end". So until that day comes? Maybe you can make some conscious choices to move forward, it may be inch by inch, but
 you'll get where you want to go eventually. Because it's really not the end.

Let's continue this conversation in the next several days with some practical "how-to's"
Hope all is well with you my quirksters
Talk to y'all soon
xoxo
r

just a little bit.

I wonder how many of us when we consider accomplishing a task, whether it be glaringly creative, like a mural that spans the side of a 747,  or attempting to keep our yard from becoming an Amazon jungle (unless you actually live in the Amazon jungle, this is probably not your landscaping goal…) What I'm saying is,  that no matter what we do, instead of being overwhelmed by a task or project , maybe we can break it down. I am verrrrrryyyyyy slowly learning this lesson and actually having minor  success, of course it IS day by day, so hey, fingers crossed.

First, what do you want to do? Do you want to re-organize something? do you want to paint a picture? do you want to write a song? maybe you want to start a blog, run a marathon, train your dog.  The possibilities are endless and time can really be your friend. 

So you might ask, 

"Hey Quirkified, if I'm gonna  run a marathon, how do I start?"

and I will readily answer,

"with the first step and eventually you'll hit that 33,000 steps that will equal 26.2 miles"

(yes, this is an approximation but I did look it up)…;)

But seriously, the first step in anything, is the smallest form of forward that YOU can handle. This is very individual, maybe you're a list person, maybe you're a "get up and do it" person, maybe you're a muller and you need to let everything compile in your brain or maybe it's setting a specific goal and time to accomplish what you want to do. 

So? begin. Whatever you want to do, do just a little bit and those little bits will add up to a finished product. Think of a beautiful Monet painting full of dots and colors on a large canvas. That didn't just miraculously happen. Each flick and dab of his paintbrush was a forward step in completing his masterpiece.

What's your masterpiece going to be? What is your smallest form of forward? Do just a little bit. every.day. 

xoxo

r

2 Chronicles 15:7 But as for you, be strong and don't give up, for your work will be rewarded.