Summer Madness

The month of May moved at an enjoyably slow pace, lots to do, but lots of relaxation as well. June passed like an out of control freight train. And July? We'll have to see whether the time drifts like a slow, lazy river or like a madly, rushing torrent.

I'm a sporadic goal setter, occasionally on fire and on target with my plans. Without actually intending to, I have set up a painting goal this summer. It all started with my daughter getting married and moving out. We decided to make her bedroom into an art studio for my husband. Since her possessions were (mostly) out of her bedroom it seemed like a great time to paint and put in new flooring.

That's when I got this crazy idea of painting this summer. The amusing part is that I don't

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really like painting, but my poor beleaguered husband has many other home and car repairs keeping him busy so I felt guilty asking him to take on painting as well. Not only is he a fine landscape painter, but he's great at painting walls too.

One of my sons has been unable to find a summer job so far, therefore, I figured I had built-in, free labor. He and I have turned out to be a decent painting team. We have finished two bedrooms and one closet. The to-do list includes the kitchen, another bedroom, three (possibly four) closets, and the baseboards and chair rails in the dining room, living room, and hall.

An ambitious project for a non-painting, ambivalent goal setter. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you just jump in and get started.

In the meantime, the front and side gardens are full of flowers and weeds and our former vegetable garden (which may be one again next year) is rampant with everything but vegetables. You just can't get to everything, you know?

While the photo illustrating my paint-a-thon, isn't my own. it's a great representation of what my home looks like. It would never occur to me to take pictures of painting-work-in-progress. Probably because my hands are always covered in paint.

Job at Home/Job at the Office?

My main reason for adopting literature as a profession was that, as the author is never seen by his clients, he need not dress respectably.

George Bernard Shaw

Isn't Shaw's quote great? For some worker bees, the best job in the world is one they can do from their very own home. Night owl, early riser, work in your bed, work at a desk, work from the park,  be your own boss, choose your clients, no commute, wear your pajamas or dress professionally - these might all be possibilities if you work from home.

Of course, if you work from home, so much depends on whether you are self-employed or work for someone else, not to mention probably another 100 variables.

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Self-employment or telecommuting isn't everyone's dream, though. Some people enjoy the presence of coworkers. They are energized and stimulated by the exchange of ideas and enjoy the liveliness of a busy environment. Your achievements are recognized by others, promotions are available, you are not responsible for generating business. These are a few of the advantages of not working from home or being self-employed.

I have done (and am doing) both and there are strong points in favor of either. What do you think, would you rather work at home or away from home? Let's hear about your experiences.

What's Time Worth?

I said, "Adios," a couple of weeks ago to a part-part-time job I held for six years.  Part-part was not a typing error.  I shared the job with two other women and we rotated the job among us every three months, one month on, two months off.

That doesn't make sense, you might think, knowing that I am actually planning on working more now that #3 son will be graduating homeschool next week and be off to college soon.

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The reason for my unplanned and somewhat impetuous resignation was due to time. The job description was recently and drastically changed with increased hours and responsibilities, but no increase in wages.

Not a big issue when the job was only a few hours a week and I viewed it as a way to earn a little extra cash, but suddenly a very big deal when I was now required to re-apply for the job, fill out a multi-page employment application, find a notary to witness something (I don't know what, I didn't read that far), jump through some other hoops (nine in all) and take a drug test.  A drug test?  For a part-part-time job I accomplish in my home?  That I have already performed for six years?  And I am expected to do all this on my own time without being paid?

That's why I said I quit because of time.

What value does your time have to you?

I realized that this job was not one I particularly enjoyed nor was it in line with some tentative goals I have.  Realistically, the time it would take to accomplish the work would be better used working toward long-term plans.

Even though this means a loss of income for a while, I think using my time to take steps to achieve other ambitions is worth it to me.

With every decision we make, we need to count the cost not only in terms of time and money, but satisfaction, peace of mind and fulfillment.  So, what is your time worth to you?

Procrastination Redux

What a boring blog, writing about procrastination.  Again.  Au contraire, this is the conclusion to my Eat That Frog! post.  Despite my procrastination tendencies, I actually finished the book.

Brian Tracy, the author of Eat That Frog! gives us 21 techniques for overcoming procrastination, but because you may be a procrastinator too and never actually get around to reading it, let me share some of what I gleaned.

• Write down your goals.
• In the evening, plan for the next day and write down what you need to accomplish.

• Prioritize your tasks.
• Determine the three most important tasks and do those before any of the rest.
• Do the most difficult and most important task first. 
• Stick with that task until it's completed before moving on to the next.
• Clean and organize your work environment and keep materials you need to do the job accessible.
• Make a list of all the steps needed to complete the job and do the first step now.

• Continually upgrade your skills and knowledge, don't let your lack of ability hold you back from achieving your goals.
• Identify what you do well (at your job) and put all of your energy into doing that thing the best you can.
• Identify what it is that holds you back and determine how to change it.
• Put pressure on yourself and set deadlines, make task completion a kind of game.  
• Working long hours doesn't produce more results, productivity diminishes after eight or nine hours, so don't pull all-nighters.
• To stay motivated, keep a good mental attitude.
• Look for solutions rather than spending time complaining.
• Don't become a slave to technology.  Turn off all of your electronics sometimes.
• Arrange your day so you have large chunks of uninterrupted time to complete tasks.
• After planning and prioritizing begin working quickly and try to avoid interruptions.

Tracy indicates this is a book that teaches you to overcome procrastination, but really, it is also a book about time management and improving your productivity at work.

Like any good advice, it only works if you use it.  I have a lot of frogs in my life that I need to eat so it's time for me to put all of this information to work.

The letter for today's Blogging A to Z Challenge is P

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