Another year coming to the end

Want to wish everyone a Very Happy 2013.

May next year be a great year and will be posting my 2013 goals in the next couple of days along with how I did in achieving my 2012 goals.

If you are out tonight, please be safe and see you in 2013.

Busy time of year

For most people, this is a busy time of year.  Besides balancing the normal daily routine, there are so many other demands on our time.  Besides the extra demands on our time, there are all the different family commitments that go along with this time of year.

How do we juggle all the extra demands on our time when we are busy enough normally?  Well, it comes down to setting priorities and sticking to these priorities.  I know that I have lots of demands on my time at this time of year, but I figure out what needs to get done and what can wait until after New Years.  I may not always be able to keep the items that can wait off my mind, but at least I am able to remember they aren't urgent right now.

Over the last few days, I have figured out what I can set aside and what still needs to get done.  It's amazing when you realize that there are tons of things on your to-do-list, but so many of these items can be put on hold for a couple of weeks.  Of course, putting the items on hold means that they are going to be there in the new year, but at least for now they become a little less important.

Of course, there are still the family and friend commitments that are on the list for the next couple of weeks, but at least knowing what needs to be done and what can wait is a start.

So remember, go over that to-do-list and see what can wait and what needs to get done.  The goal over the next couple of weeks to try and relax a bit and not be stressed out about the items that remain on the to-do-list.  Now take some time to relax and enjoy being with the people you care about.

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.