I've been reading craft books on writing. One author proposes fifteen-minute increments for just about anything creative.
Funny, so does FLYLady.net about getting your house company-ready.
I love it when I find those universal applications for all of life.
So, what would my perfect day look like? It is pretty much what I've already noted over the years. The core remains the same: writing, reading, researching, creating, with a loving supportive family unit, in an efficient and pleasing environment.
But I'm enlarging that to include that the house is fully decluttered and organized. Maybe not worthy of a magazine shoot, but an author's haven of peace and beauty and inspiration. Plus my yard is groomed, no tree limbs scratching off my roof shingles, no weeds taking over the yard or leaves preventing the grass from popping through. No dead bushes due to a two-year-long Texas drought.
As much as I enjoy working in the yard, I see delegating that at some future time. But who knows? Once I no longer need day jobs, I may enjoy a relaxed morning of mowing, edging, trimming, raking, without deadlines looming or incoming dark clouds to rush me. We'll see.
Of course, in my dream life, maybe my house mortgage is paid off early (wow!), but definitely I earn more than enough money to pay my monthly bills from my royalties. So each twenty-four-hour period is my own to determine how I spend my time each day.
I so look forward to doing what Nora Roberts has the freedom to do 24/7/365: write, read, research, create. In the meantime, I treat myself to a portion of that life daily, as much as my current schedule can accommodate.
Can you imagine a life without a To Do list? I can. And it makes me very happy to plod along, fifteen minutes at a time, possibly twice a day, to clear my list of entries. Eventually I'll get there.
What does your perfect day look like?
Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy
editor
Well, I wish I could say I don't need a to do list. I just received my first publishing contract (yay!!). Now I'm back to using a spreadsheet to organize my to do list. It keeps me from getting stressed when I get too many items to remember. Being creative gets really busy too.
ReplyDeleteDenise, you have inspired me. Since I left my day job I also un-delegated our housekeeping. But the dust is winning. It is actually THICK. But today, inspired by you, I used the 15 minutes I had waiting for dinner to took to vacuum a little and run one of those fabulous static dusters over a few things. A little every day. I think that can work for me. Great big cleaning -- tends never to happen.
Thanks for the inspiring post!!!