Cars and drivers

How often have you been out in a car and actually told a car off because of the behaviour of the car and driver. Of course, the car cannot hear you, and of course the drive can't hear you as well. It is fun sometimes to listen to what you actually say to the cars and drivers. I know one of the conversations I had was this morning. A car was in the way and of course I started talking to the other car. “Will you just decide where you are going and go because you are in the way.”

OK, as I said, yes, I have talked to cars wanting them to behave different, and I know that isn't going to happen. Maybe what I am really trying to do is release off the stress that I could end up storing up if I didn't react in someway. Yes, I know that my husband gets a good laugh because of the one-way conversations that I have with cars. No, the car isn't going to change what it's doing because it is actually the driver that is causing the car to behave like it is. So really what I am trying to do is get the car and driver to behave in a way that I think it should be behaving.

Of course, I am not sure why the car is behaving like it is, and there could be very good reasons. In some cases, the driver may not know exactly where they are going, or they could be issues with the car that I don't know about. So, maybe I should try and not talk to cars and try and figure out other ways of dealing with the stress I get when cars are in my way.

So next time a car gets in your way, instead of talking to the car, maybe you should take the couple of seconds delay as time to think of pleasant thoughts. Now, I just have to remember to actually practice the pleasant thinking instead of talking to the cars.

Documentation and its importance

Lately I have been dealing with a major project with a deadline of the end of November. At the beginning of the project, it looked like it would be a pretty easy project, but after doing some discovery, I found out that the project was going to be a lot more work than first anticipated.

The project was to gather information together and submit it as a complete report. That sounded pretty easy until I discovered that the information was in various spots and some of it wasn't even documented, so I had to do the documentation as well. I am not complaining about the documenting because that is something that I really enjoy doing. What I did learn through all of this is the importance of good documentation of policies and procedures and the need for having extremely good organization of these documents.

Organizations have to realize that documentation is required because if it is just in a person's head it can be easily lost. What if the person leaves the organization or isn't able to work for some reason for a long period of time. It is going to cost the organization a lot of extra time and energy to figure out how something is actually done instead of being able to look at the documentation and quickly do the work required.

I have heard people say that there is no need for documentation because I know what to do, so that is what is important. Well, it's great if you plan to be around forever and never have to be away from work, so no vacation or sick days. So even if you don't want to document what you do because you feel that it could result in you being let go, I am telling you that it's extremely important to document what you do. What if the company is audited for processes, and you are asked to show documentation about your job, can you do it?

So yes documentation may be a lot of work to do it, but having it does really help an organization. With proper documentation you can show that you do what it documented and what is documented is what you do.

School schedule

When I was going to school, you were supposed to be in the school yard before the final bell rang. If you were late, you had to go to the office and explain why you were late getting to school. I don't remember having to go to the office because I was always in the school yard ahead of that bell.

What I have noticed around where I live is when the final bell rings I still see a lot of children still walking in the neighbourhood, not even near the school yard. Has society changed that much that we don't respect the start times anymore. Maybe that is why so many people today arrive at work whenever they want, because that is what they have been doing all their life.

The other thing I have noticed is that on days that there is school I see quite a few children in the neighbourhood mall with their parents during the school day. If the child is sick, they should be at home and not shopping with their parents. If the child isn't sick, they should be in school learning instead of shopping. I know if we were caught out of school, there were prices to pay because the parent was reported, especially if you were just avoiding school. Maybe part of this lack of caring is because nowadays, schools can't fail a student until they are in high school. So nowadays it looks like you don't have to really learn, and you will advance to the next grade no matter what. So many students have the entitled attitude, and the automatic passing could be part of that. There is no real cost of not doing the schoolwork, I know that when I was at school if you didn't complete all your work you failed and had to repeat the same grade again.

I guess what I am really saying is there really isn't any discipline nowadays for children going to school. They seem to get there when they want (this could be the parent's fault or the child's fault) and miss school for what seems to be no reason. Years ago, you learned early on that school had a schedule, and you worked within that schedule unless you were really sick.

So if someone can explain the new school schedule to me, it would be great because I really don't understand it. This school schedule may not apply to all schools, but I know it applies to the school near me, and that is what I can use as a reference.

Writing a bit at a time

I know that I have given myself a challenge to write 1,000 words each day, and one thing I have discovered is that it is difficult to sit and write that much all at once. So, what I have decided to try and do is try and write at least 500 words twice a day so that I can see that I am progressing. Understanding your writing style and how you can achieve your goals is something that isn't going to happen overnight. I know that I have sat for days looking at a blank page and just got frustrated because nothing would come to me. Other days I can sit down and write, and it seems that I can easily work through an entire idea and see a completed blog or article.

One of the other things I have discovered is that when I want to focus on writing, I need to ensure that I am not connected to the internet. The reason for this is if I am connected it gives me an escape, and then I end up losing a lot of time on the internet instead of trying to focus on writing something. The internet can be a great tool for writing to look up things relating to what you are writing about, but for me right now it doesn't help me get things done.

I think working on this blog entry has helped me realize why I can write when we are on an escape from home. Normally when we are away, I have limited access to the internet, so I don't have that distraction that I use when I am at home or at work. The other reason for my writing is not just limited internet access, it is also that I have limited other distractions when we are away. Maybe what I need to do is when I decide I want to write is to ensure that I don't have internet access for a little while.

I have read that you need to have an area where you do your writing so that you can limit the distractions around you. I know that I don't have an area where I do my writing because I seem to write different times and even in different places. I have tried having an area where I write, but I found that I couldn't write in that area, but could write in different areas.

So writing a bit at a time is going to help me reach my goals, and I am also going to limit my access to the internet while I am trying to do my writing. Bit by bit I will get into the habit of writing each day, and then I will be happy seeing results more often.

Organzing my thoughts

One of my challenges is finding a method that I can keep all my different ideas organized so that when I want to sit and write they are all quickly available to me. The biggest challenge I have with this is I end up noting my ideas in different notebooks and different devices, so the ideas end up all over the place instead of in one spot. Ideas happen when they happen, and I am not going to stop documenting them, I just need a better way of keeping them available to me.

I have tried writing them on paper and keeping a file handy, but there are times that I don't have the file with me, and I want to sit and write. I have also tried to keep the ideas on my iPad, and again I don't have it with me when I want to write, so the ideas aren't there. How can I keep all my thoughts with me all the time? What device or method can I use to achieve this? I have tried Dropbox to store ideas, but it only works when you have internet access and an electronic device handy. So, this is one of the challenges that I am currently facing, too many ideas and no one method seems to work for me.

If I could find a tool that would help me keep track of my ideas and always be with me, I think I would do more writing because I don't have to rethink ideas. I know a lot of people can sit and write something from start to finish, but I am not one of those. Sometimes I can write something all the way at once, and other times I get an idea but can't seem to find all the words to put it together into a complete thought. Another issue is sometimes you get an idea when you can't sit and write due to other commitments.

So, the organizing of my thoughts and keeping them handy is what I am currently dealing with. Yes, way too may ideas and I need a way to keep them organized.

Writing with a purpose

Today I decided that I am going to try and write at least 1,000 words of something. I am not sure what I am going to write about, but at least it is worth a try to see how much 1,000 words actually works out to be.

Setting goals. I think it's great when people have goals that they have set for themselves, and they can achieve them. I think I need a goal for my writing so that I can ensure that I actually get some writing done most days. I have read a few blogs, and they have mentioned that to ensure they get writing done each day they have set a goal of 1,000 words each day.

In my previous blog I was mentioning that for me, I always find a reason not to sit and write instead of trying to get into a habit of sitting down each day and working on something for a little while. One thing, I have come to realize is that I need to set aside some time each day no matter what. Yes, I have a busy schedule, but I need to ensure that I have taken some time to work on the various blogs and articles that I want to complete.

The actual habit of writing each day is something that I am finding so hard to do, and I know that once I make it a habit, it will be so much easier for me to do. Even yesterday, after writing the blog about the challenges of writing, I found that I came up with a lot of different reasons why I couldn't continue to write. So here I am sitting in front of my computer today, determined that I am going to at least spend some time working on my writing instead of checking out the various websites and blogs that I easily distract me from what I originally sat down to do.

Why is it that so many of us have such a hard time writing, but we have lots of ideas running around in our head that we want to get out onto paper. I know I have a habit of writing down all the little ideas that I have that I want to expand on, but it's the expansion of these various ideas that I find so challenging. In some cases, I find that I can write at various events that I go to even if there is a presentation going on in front of me. Yes, I go to events and try to listen to presentations, but if the topic isn't of interest to me, I can block it out and actually get some writing done. In some cases, I am writing down ideas and in other cases I can complete an entire blog entry or article while at the event. In some cases, I think it's because I don't have all the other things around me distracting me, and I can focus on a task at hand.

Where I can write. Some of my longer writing has been done when we are taking an escape from our normal schedule, and I am relaxing. I know that I have been able to write for a few hours at a time during this time, and it is so rewarding when I come away from an escape with articles and blog entries that I am very happy with. For me, I love to be able to sit and look out at different scenery, and it seems to help me focus on different ideas. Some of the blog entries refer to a sound I have heard or something I can see, and other times the blog entries have nothing to do with where I am.

Now, I am feeling a lot better about my time today because I am actually seeing that I can sit and work on a subject for a while and actually see results. Lots of ideas have come into my head while I have been writing this blog entry, and I know that I am going to continue working on the ideas. One thing that I have fighting is the feeling of checking different things on the internet instead of continuing my writing. So you can see that it is possible to focus on writing if you really want to and get something down instead of finding a million reasons why you can't find the time to write.

I am going to continue working on my writing and I know that some days I may not be able to write 1,000 words and other days, I know that I am going to be able to write a lot more than that. The other big thing is finding a tool that shows you how many words you have written instead of trying to guess. If I can continue to write each day and see that I am achieving my goal, I think I am going to feel a lot better about my writing. I am going to track how many words I write each day for a while because it's important to see days that are very good and days that aren't so good.

Not everyone can write easily, and I understand that. For me, I want to express some of the ideas and feelings that I have, so my writing is how I can do it. Some people can draw their ideas and others can vocalize their ideas; I can write them. So here I am knowing that I can actually write 1,000 words and have to admit that it hasn't really been that hard to do.

So, thanks for reading this entry, I know it is a lot longer than a lot of my other entries, but I really wanted to see if I could do it. The word count of this document is now 990 words, so I can safely say I have written my 1,000 words.

Bye for now.

Writing

I am sitting here thinking about all the different blog entries that I want to complete. Yes, lots of ideas and of course now I just need to sit down and write all these different blogs.

One of the biggest challenges about writing the blogs is actually sitting down and writing. I quite often say I am going to write, and then I let something else get in the way. I keep saying I want to write more, but I am the one that isn't letting it happen.

It is amazing to read blogs where others are saying exactly the same thing. People want to write, but of course we let things get in the way. I have so often said I was going to set aside an hour each day to write, but of course other things come up, and my own writing gets put aside.

I know I have some goals that I have set for myself in regard to writing, so the other way I am going to achieve these goals is to write.

It's time for me to start putting my writing back on the schedule instead of letting it slide off. Now I need to remember that writing is a part of me, and I do want to achieve me writing goals.

Time to go and write for a bit longer and maybe see how much I can accomplish today.