productivity: a (small) study

Last night I was telling a friend that, recently, I feel like a total world champion when I accomplish the most basic tasks. Things that should come easily to me, as they do for other people who have about 100x more things on their plates. Running a load of laundry, calling the dentist to give them my new mailing address, getting my glasses repaired, buying stamps, doing my taxes. Why is this? Why do I feel like I deserve some big applause when I have a relatively short to-do list each day, especially considering that I am caring for one, living, human being: myself. If I could make one observation, the things I do accomplish normally happen during what I call the "golden hours" - between 3 and 6PM. It's when I've always been most productive at work, and I doubt there's any coincidence that I like to finish up around that time so I can pour my first glass of wine for the evening without feeling guilty.


This tells me one thing: I need to get busy.

it's a new day, it's a new dawn

. . . .

Well hello! School's over and I'm back in the saddle. I'm happy to say that I had a very tame holiday and don't really need to dry out the way I normally do this time of year. I'm dog sitting while my parents are away, paying bills I've been ignoring, reading blogs I've missed for months, and trying to find a job for little old me. It's been years since I had to do this, but I'm feeling very inspired and encouraged by many things right now.

I'm sure you've heard or read this a million places already this week, but I really believe that 2012 is going to be a monumental year. For me, I hope it will be one of great confidence, self-discovery and transformation. I've determined that the only way I'll be able to achieve any of this is to organize my life in every category. I'm not making any promises, but these are my goals:

I will try my best to keep my living space clean
I will try my best to put my health first
I will try my best to not over-indulge, whether it's on food, wine, television, gossip, or the computer
I will try my best to get rid of what I don't need
I will try my best to give to the people I love and my community
I will try my best to read more books
I will try my best to be creative (seeing this really knocked me on my ass)
I will try my best to trust people and open my heart again
I will try my best to go easier on myself

That there is a list. Something new I'm trying.