Two Random Thoughts Which Motivated Me (and Hopefully Will Motivate You Too)

Here they are:

• Fear and Anger: Both are normally touted as "bad" emotions. But I propose that each have a good side as well. I know, for me, anger motivates me to plunge ahead with a goal, regardless of any perceived fears. Granted, if it pushed me to resort to violence, that would be bad anger at work. Just make sure of your motivation, your goal. And some fears need to be faced to find the silver lining inside. Same with procrastination. What are the top three things you are putting off? Those are the very things that should be the top three items on your To Do list. Once you accomplish them, you'll feel so rewarded, so free, so productive, so happy. Try it. I dare you to spend fifteen minutes on your biggest procrastination, whether decluttering, exercising again, taking a hard look at your finances, whatever. So, like carbs of late, look for the good fears. Look for the good anger. Both should urge you on to success, to finding your purpose in life, to living a fuller life, to experiencing true joy daily.
• Baby Steps; You Can Do Anything for Fifteen Minutes: These are both sayings oft repeated by FlyLady.net and others. While easily applied to reinstate daily exercise routines, I applied it to my big nonfiction project of assembling a cookbook from the paper copies of recipes in my home. I've got three banker's boxes full, unless I've forgotten/misplaced other such boxes (which is totally possible), with an estimated 2,500 individual recipes in each box x 3 boxes = 7,500 recipes. Not counting those I've saved on individual recipe sites online, like Pioneer Woman and Delish and Yummly and others. Not counting those in my email folder labeled Recipes. Yes, this is a growing addiction of mine, collecting recipes. But last night's insomnia from 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. yielded me twenty pages of the start of my favorite recipes book, ones I use often, limited to 100 max. Baby steps in motion here. Now I'm making some traction on this beloved work-in-progress project. Wish me luck.

Welcome to My World, Where Every Day Is a Saturday

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)

amazon.com/author/denisebarker

https://deniseannbarker.com

The Best Ways to Have a Great Day

These are axioms that I use to have a great day each day. Hope some of this list prods you along this path as well. Add specific ones for your lifestyle and delete any that don't resonate with you. But keep on trying to have great days.

Believe in yourself. Inspirational books guide your dreams. Tonight's dreams determine tomorrow's actions. Tomorrow's actions create your reality. Avoid negative people. Especially those related to you. They'll squeeze your dream right out of you. Get motivated. Books, mentors, quotes, pictures, audios, movies, the Bible are all great motivators. Visualize your perfect day, perfect career, perfect mate. Take action. Daily. Forgive others. It has nothing to do with releasing them from their consequences. It has everything to do with not poisoning yourself. Write down your goals. The writing down helps you achieve them. Get quality sleep each night. Help someone else. Laugh. Eat healthy foods like fresh raw veggies and lean protein. Smile. A lot. Exercise more. Breathe deeper. Get outside and absorb some Vitamin D. Drink clean water. Shower in clean water. Cook with clean water. Take time out for you, even if only the first fifteen minutes of each day. You'll feel less like a martyr. Stretch more. Even if you interrupt your work every twenty-five minutes or so for five side bends to the right then left, it'll do your body good. Relax more. I have downtime each night except for those rare occasions where I pull a twelve-hour day of marathon copyediting. Don't take life too seriously. Dance. Even if it is alone in your kitchen. Have fun. NEVER give up on your dreams or yourself. May many successes fill your days.   Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor http://bit.ly/DeniseBarkerBlog http://bit.ly/AMAZONDeniseBarkerEbooks http://bit.ly/BNDeniseBarkerEBooks http://bit.ly/SMASHWORDSDeniseBarkerEBooks http://bit.ly/KOBODeniseBarkerEBooks

The New Math, by Denise

I recently gave up a day job and gained thirty-two hours plus some transit time.  Which I have allocated to about forty-five hours of weekly To Do items.  Yeah, I know.  The math does not work.

However, I am not numbers-challenged.  I am dream-driven and madly pursing them this month.  Amid NaNoWriMo.  Along with my copyediting jobs (love to read and get paid for it!).  Doing some belated spring-cleaning, step-by-step.  Making progress.  Not as much as I would like to see, but it still makes a smile overtake my face when I pass by one spot that is organized or glimpse a cabinet, knowing behind that door is less clutter and more useful "stuff."

Last night I went through two Banker's boxes of paper I had saved.  I tossed a bunch of old receipts, filed the others, but really, I was mining for the gold--pictures that prompt a novel in me, wisdom that could be the theme for my next book, goal-setting tips because I'm always reaching higher, humorous quotes to guarantee me at least one hearty belly laugh.  We all need more belly laughs.

One thing I realized about my boxes.  They are all To Do items awaiting action.  Instead of throwing in another great article about one single Bible verse that I want to add to my latest volume in my collection of favorites, I should really just stop and type it in a Word doc labeled so.  Back it up weekly.  Voila.  Handled once.  Less stuff in a box for me to review later.  And a quick fix.

I know.  Not enough time in the day to do all our tasks perfectly.  Sometimes it is added to the box(es) marked "Later."  Still, me and my systems are improving.  And it puts my mind in that alert-warning spot where it now looks how to streamline my old processes.

Works for me.

Today, I've got NaNo (of course, this IS November), two copyediting projects to spend some hours on, a few loads of laundry, my Final Edit of my debut novel--twenty-five pages or so for the next nine days would do it--and homemade spaghetti to tackle.

I don't make all my deadlines, but I like having them.  They motivate me.  What motivates you?