Of Time and Space

That sounds a little like I'm going to delve into Einstein's theory of relativity, but I'm not qualified for that so I'm keeping it simple.

Recently, a friend mentioned making space in her life for a creative project. Although I've heard that expression, it resonated with me like it hasn't before, and I realized that I've been too focused on "making time" in my life. 

We can't make time. We can manage it, allocate it, save it, fritter it away, but there's only so much of it to go around. And honestly, I have enough time to accomplish what I want to accomplish, so I should have no excuses, right?

But mentally and creatively, I haven't made the space. Thinking of it that way feels like a huge shift in perspective for me right now. Space opens up room for possibility. And possibility makes way for probability.

I'm hoping Einstein (seen here in a portrait from the Museum of Illusion in Chicago) would agree.

Enjoy the last week of March. See you next month!

Weekly Roundup 47: 12/12

Yes, we've reached the last month of the year, the twelfth of twelve. I do like the feeling of a dozen months that can be neatly split into halves of six. Like an egg carton. 

January is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, whose two faces look simultaneously at past and future. But I don't like to look back when the month of January arrives. I prefer for the New Year to feel like it's brimming with forward momentum. So I do my retrospection in December.

I have already identified some very specific disappointments courtesy of 2024, but this year I also learned some lessons about the importance of pivoting, of staying nimble and realistic in regard to expectations. I tried to embrace a new mantra (which I guess I borrowed from Frozen, despite having never seen it): Let. It. Go.

As my husband could tell you, it's a work in progress.

So am I. So are we all, really.

As we stampede toward Christmas and New Years, I will try to make space for some quiet moments to be generous with myself about how this year played out on the large and small scales. And I'll try back off on the overthinking and my ever-so-slight tendency to be controlling.

December is already shaping up to be a the speediest month of the year--kind of like the anchor leg at the end of a relay. In the words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." 

See you next week!

Weekly Roundup 25: Mid

You cool kids already know this, but "mid" is a slang term that means mediocre, of low quality, inferior, boring. We've reached the midpoint of 2024, and if the first half of the year felt mid, the internet is full of suggestions for a mid-year reset.

If you have a chunk of time and really want to be intentional about the process, this post from Living In Her Moment has a 12-step life-audit plan. Be prepared to spend some quality time with your journal, evaluate your habits and routines, and tidy up your space.

10 Questions to Ask Yourself for a Mid-Year Reset will also get you thinking about where you've been and where you're going. I particularly like "What is the best thing that has happened to me in each month of this year so far?"

If double-digit tips feel overwhelming, 3 Techniques to Regain Motivation and Move Forward is short and sweet but no less helpful. It addresses some of the science behind our often contradictory behavior around setting goals and taking action.

The internet being what it is, there are thousands of books, articles, podcasts, and videos addressing this particular time of year when we might feel at once stuck and re-energized. I had to be careful not to fall down that rabbit hole, because I might not resurface for a week. (It's kind of funny how reading about productivity feels productive in a way.)

I sometimes get frustrated and ask myself how many times I'm going to hit the reset button. I guess the answer is "as many times as it takes."

Welcome to July! I hope the month is fruitful for you!

 

Weekly Roundup 2: Cold Snap Edition

It feels like January around here! We've been below zero and in the single digits for a few days now. Not as bad as some parts of the country, but it has definitely put me in hibernation mode. 

The question of value: Since the new year, my husband and I have been working on clearing out things we no longer have a use for. This has forced encouraged me to think about what I value and why. Is it practical value (things I use and/or enjoy regularly), sentimental value, or actual (monetary) value? I'm surprised at how often I feel a sense of obligation to an object, usually because someone gave it to me, sometimes because I've just always had it. The process is occasionally challenging, but at the end of the day, it feels good to be able to let go.

Writer to-do list: This is not really a new year thing, because I always have a to-do list going. The current one includes finally doing a proper website, continuing to slog my way through a challenging (but mostly fun) first draft of a manuscript, working on picture book projects, connecting with various writing communities, and of course submitting, since this is my word for the year. I still struggle with time/life balance, so I'm hoping to pick up a few helpful tools and pieces of advice along the way.

Death of Peregrine: The Peregrine moon lander had a successful launch but has been doomed by a propellant leak. Instead of the planned lunar touchdown on February 23, it appears that Peregrine will reenter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up. It's carrying (among other things) pictures of footprints, messages from children, and human DNA samples, including one from science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke. RIP Peregrine!

The most wholesome thing I saw this week: Tidy Welsh Mouse

Fourth Quarter Game Plan

Hi everyone, here we are in the fourth quarter of 2022, and much like a football coach who is trying to sneak in a win before time expires, I'm looking at my game plan for the rest of the year.

My writer word for 2022 is grow, and I've done some of that. I've also spent a lot of time feeling like a seed, waiting. And waiting. But unlike me, a seed doesn't worry how long it will take to sprout. If the conditions are not right, a seed is perfectly content to remain dormant. Likewise, a seed does not worry about what it will look like when it sprouts. It just does its thing.

Methinks I need to be more like a seed.

So, back to my fourth quarter game plan. Coaches talk about returning to the fundamentals, and that's what I'll be doing for the rest of the year. I'm going to focus on what's important to me (more writing, more reading) and less on the stuff that takes up time and energy but results in very little forward progress. Clock management is very important in football, and as it turns out, it is important in life, too. 

Whether you're driving hard for the goal line or just trying to hold onto your lead, I wish you all the best with your fourth quarter game plan.

And when all else fails, bring in the marching band!

Roadblock Season

Every spring, when we're (mostly) done with snowy weather, road construction season begins. Orange traffic cones pop up as prolifically as dandelions. Unexpected road closures and detours make getting from point A to point B a little more challenging. 

This is customary and expected, and it doesn't stress me out too much, unless I'm running late. My real problem this year is that the biggest roadblock in my life right now is...

Me.

Yep, I'm standing in my own way, impeding my progress as effectively as any "road closed" sign. Have you ever driven by a highway construction zone, creeping along behind a giant RV from Oklahoma for miles and miles, and it doesn't even appear that there's any actual road work being done?

That's my writing life right now!

To stretch this road metaphor, I've found myself at the intersection of discipline and passive resistance. Every time discipline gives that polite "go ahead" wave, resistance says, "no you first, I have (insert nonessential task here) to do." And on it goes.

I have things I need to do. Thing I want to do. I'm just not doing them.

Partly, I blame the enticing spring weather, which is a most welcome relief from pandemic winter. Growing season in Colorado is fairly short, and I have been working on getting flowers and veggies planted. But most of the blame rests squarely on my not-yet-sunburned shoulders.

Time for me to dust off 2021's word of the year again. The good news is that just as every ending can inspire a new beginning, every stop can inspire a fresh start.

How's your productivity these days? Are you running into any roadblocks?

It's Not All Phone and Games

I've always been a little smug about the fact that I'm not the kind of person who can sit around and play video games for an hour. But I apparently have become the kind of person who can sit around and play games for an hour on her phone--in twelve minute increments. I'm kidding myself with that work-around. The rules of time are pretty unambiguous: one hour = one hour, no matter how you spend it.

Angry birds or crushed candies aren't my thing. I'm all about the card games, of which there are more than enough in the app store to last a lifetime. Someone just keeps inventing different ways to play solitaire. (In an alternate reality, that would probably be my dream job.) I wonder if the folks at Microsoft, who introduced computer solitaire in 1990 as a fun way to teach people how to use a mouse, had any idea how insanely popular the game, and its many offspring, would become. 

This week, I said no to those nefarious time-wasters and their come-hither sound of shuffling decks, their daily challenges, their celebratory animations after a win. I said no to the quick card breaks between chores and tasks and errands. I said no to one more game before lights out. I said no, no, no.

And I discovered something better to fill that gap: pretty much anything. Leaf through a magazine, read a few pages of a book, strum the ukulele, wipe some crumbs off the kitchen counter. This year of Take It or Leave It--which I can't believe is rapidly drawing to a close--has really been all about managing habits. Trying to make good ones and break bad ones. In all honesty, a week isn't long enough to make or break a habit. But it is long enough to shine a light on it and do some evaluating.

Did I miss the card games? I did. And at the end of the week, when I deleted (most of) them, it felt a little weird. I'm not saying I'll never play another game of phone solitaire, so I suppose this week isn't a true Take It. But those games are going to be much fewer and farther between.

Now it's time for me to shuffle on out of here. Have a great week, and I'll see you next Wednesday!