Ten things
September 25, 2008 | ministry life, purpose
One of the speakers asked us to take out a piece of paper. Awesome. A list! I’m great at making lists.
He asked us to write down 10 things we wanted to accomplish in the next 12 months.
Here we go:
1. Speak more
2. Write fiction
3. Take a trip to D.C. with Richard
4. Make more income from my hard work
5. Lose 10 lbs.
6. Spend more time with friends
7. Sell my car and get a more economical vehicle to reduce gas spent monthly
8. Take my knowledge of my faith deeper (theology)
9. Make my backyard pretty
10. Travel to San Diego
My list won’t look like yours, but these are things I’d really love to see accomplished in the next 12 months.
The speaker went on. . .
Now circle one, he said. Turn your paper over.
Write 10 things that you can start NOW.
It was the same guy that talked about Someday Isle. He said we love to make lists because it feels like we are doing something, but really we don’t. I chose one and made my list. You can guess which one.
1. Make my home office professional. Right now it’s not, and it slows me down. I need fast Internet. I need a desk that is erganomic and that doesn’t make my wrists feel like falling off after 8-9 hours of writing.
2. I need to play Spades less.
3. I need to be wiser on what I do pro bono. I will never stop tithing my time, but I will work smarter.
4. More CWGs. (I’m on staff with the Christian Writers Guild as a mentor for teen writers).
There are six more, but this is an idea. To be honest, I’ve known for a long time that I hamper productivity because my work space isn’t a great place to work. Dial-up KILLS my productivity, as I research, or write for Momlogic or a host of other things.
My son put it like this: You invest in others, but you don’t invest in yourself, mom. You need to treat it like it’s a real career, because it is.
So, there you go. I told you I was climbing off Someday Isle. This is one of those leaps. Today I’ll call Internet companies and see if any of them will reach here. Today I’ll look for a good monitor to replace my wonderful 19 inch monitor gone bad, so I can quit working on my tiny laptop. Today I’ll consider finding a desk (maybe at a furniture store that has some scratched models that are deeply discounted - I can cover scratches!) that will not cramp my style and my body after hours of writing.
So, what about you? What are your 10 things? And then the one thing? And what will you do to get off Someday Isle to start changing it today?
Suz
RSS feed for comments on this post.
The URI to TrackBack this entry is:
http://www.tsuzanneeller.com/2008/09/25/ten-things/trackback/
Way to go, Suzie, for starting to invest in yourself! I’ll bet you’ll be glad you did!
September 25th, 2008 at 11:02 amOoh, ooh…you got the fire sparked in me now, Suzie. Now my wheels are spinning. What to do first…
Should I thank you?
September 25th, 2008 at 12:17 pmSUZIE!!!!!!
People still use DIAL-UP???????? WHAT?
Lady, get on that phone right now!!!! You are a slave to keep hooked to that old way of life! I will be praying my head off that you can leave that dude behind and see what living “online” is really like.
I love your list, too.
I think your son is precious to point out such a no-brainer to you about taking care of Y O U!!!
Set you up, sister! So you can work, work, work!
September 25th, 2008 at 1:03 pmOkay, to clarify. : ) I moved in a new subdivision. The people across the street have access to cable. I don’t. Yet. The people across the street have access to DSL. I don’t. Yet. It’s not that I don’t want it or need it, but that I have to go to alternative options which are super costly. : )
September 25th, 2008 at 3:47 pmSuzie - we live out in the boonies, and can’t get DSL or cable. Until a couple of months ago, I had satellite for my internet. It was way too expensive! We heard about the new AT&T “Data Connect” “Air” Card. (They call it different things - they haven’t settled on one marketing plan yet.) It’s a wireless internet card that you can take anywhere with you. It’s still expensive and works on only one computer at a time, but it’s less expensive than satellite. (We pay $50/month. Satellite was $80.)
I love your list. I’d love to know what kind of desk you end up with - I bought a beautiful new “exec” desk when we moved into this house, and it’s gorgeous, but it sits too high for me and causes me all sorts of ergonomic issues, so I work from my recliner. I think that slows productivity down too, so I may take your example and look for something else.
I’m so happy you are investing in yourself - you deserve it!!!
September 26th, 2008 at 9:56 amHoorah! I love my big laptop and my cool coffee table/desk. The top of the table lifts up and forward and locks into place. It totally rocks.
I have a book focus and plan to write, so I need to make my own list. Thanks for the boost! Happy writing!
September 26th, 2008 at 10:24 pmSo after reading this a few times I decided I don’t like making list, cause I don’t like getting to many goals out in the open. Mainly because I think if I let people know what I want to do and don’t do it they will think poorly of me.
September 27th, 2008 at 6:05 pmI guess I need to man up. lol
Oh Suz,
I wish I could take you to San Diego with me next week; I’m so looking forward to my brother’s wedding and being with my family. I’m totally unconnecting while I’m out there. I’m not even bringing my laptop (that’s a first!). I told all my meeting planners, I would be available via cell phone for emergencies ONLY!
And if you were closer, I would love to show you the sights and sounds of DC…my favorite place (although I hardly ever make it out of the Air and Space Museum–EVER!). My son takes field trips there twice a year with his class and I tag along. There are definitely things I will miss about the East Coast, but we’ve seen just about everything we’ve wanted to see (almost). I have yet to go to the Outer Banks (NC), but we plan to rent a condo with some friends in the spring. List complete! I’m the “Queen of Lists.” I have a theory: If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist!
Great post!
HUGS!
PS No high speed Internet? Yikes! I would get zero done. I will PRAY!
September 28th, 2008 at 1:08 amYou are so good at making me feel normal! I love checking in on your site. You are someone I admire and you are authentic. And you do all this via Dial-Up? Amazing! I feel for ya, Honey!
September 30th, 2008 at 7:49 pm