A bright & shiny New Year....the possibilities are endless.
This is why I love the New Year holiday. 2012 could be my absolutely best year ever. Probably not, but I am the eternal optimist. Even knowing that things will go wrong, I will get behind, stressful situations will pop up that I don't deal with in the best way, I will get my feelings hurt, I will hurt someone else's feelings, I still love the fresh start.
The pessimist I live with always tells me "You just set yourself up for disappointment by believing everything will be wonderful". I can't help it. I love to expect the best from myself & others. I wouldn't want it any other way.
So here is my list of things I am hoping for in 2012.
- Reduce the drama/stress/turmoil in my everyday life
- Keep up with daily chores that I dislike
- Organize the compartments of my life so I don't neglect any particular section
- Be positive
That's it, just those four things. Seems simple enough, right? So how do I accomplish them?
- Well, I started with Facebook. I have tons of friends, acquaintances, business contacts and family on my Facebook friend list. I have found that just reading about other peoples stress & drama affects my mood quite a bit. Seems like a simple solution for that....just don't read it. Easier said than done. So I have been unsubscribing from friends who habitually make these type of posts. I don't wish to deny them their right to post anything they care to but I also have the right not to have to see it. By unsubscribing I am not deleting anyone from my friends list. They were on there for a reason. I can still visit with them, check out their pix, play games etc. I am just not too involved in their daily life. I do love that Facebook allows me to connect with friends & family everyday but I probably don't need to. I wouldn't dream of calling all my friends & family once a day to find out what's happening in their life. So my Facebook time will only consist of the parts I want it to contain now. ps. If we are Facebook friends and you urgently need to contact me......Facebook wall posts are probably not the best way to do that. Direct message me on Facebook or Twitter, text me, or call me. (HaHa, You didn't think I would be crazy enough to post my phone number on my blog, did you?)
- On to keeping up with chores. I have never been a fan of housework. There are always so many other things I would rather be doing. So to inspire myself, I have been utilizing the free FlyLady System. She offers a series of emails/posts etc that break chores down into 15 minute segments. I can do anything for 15 minutes, even if I despise it. She also stresses how de-cluttering can be done quickly & efficiently so you don't get behind. Hopefully no more "CHAOS" for me. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)
- Next is organizing my life better. I felt like this past year in order to accomplish something in one part of my life, another part suffered. Now that I have cut back on clutter & am getting my chores done more efficiently ( see how this is all tying together) I should already have more time to devote to other segments of my life. I have 3 main compartments of life: Household, Family, & Business.
- Household can be further broken down into cleaning, cooking, caring for relatives, paying bills, anything that has to be done to make the household run smoothly.
- Family is quality time spent with all my family. Time spent just relaxing, visiting, playing without being so focused on everything I have yet to do.
- Business involves everything to do with my fiber arts business. It needs to include first & foremost, time spent in the studio without distractions making the actual products to sell. Followed by dealing with all the lesser parts that together add up to make or break the business. These include everything such as promotion work, blogging, taxes, paperwork, scouting shows and vending at shows.
Theoretically, since there are 24 hours in a day I should be able to devote 6 hrs each day to a compartment of my life & still have 6 hrs for sleep. They obviously wouldn't be 6 consecutive hrs (except the sleep part). Now I know everyday is going to be different. I am not going to need 6 hrs of family time everyday, some will be much shorter and some days (like when the grandchildren are here) will require more. Likewise I won't need to clean 6 hours everyday but occasionally I will have heavier chores that will require lots of time. The business part will usually require all the time I can allot to it. I am still finding my way in this new adventure. I haven't built up my inventory to an acceptable level and I have so much more to learn about having a successful, creative business.
- The last goal is to BE POSITIVE!! I normally don't have much trouble being positive. I wake up every morning expecting my day to go great. Now many times it certainly doesn't go that way but I think as I achieve the first 3 goals, then staying positive should be much easier.
These are my goals for 2012. I believe they are attainable. I am quite sure I will need to refer back to this post occasionally as a reminder but hey..........
It's a bright & shiny New Year
My Helix Scarf byStephenie Gaustad. This is a very relaxing knit. I pull it out when I need to knit in times of stress. It's also a great project for knit groups & knitting in public places as you can never really lose your place. I am using Ella Rae Lace Merino in color 103 purchased at The Fiber Closet in Rockville, IN.
