Saturday 18 July 2015

As you blog, so you are...

I need to get organised, have a routine, all that sort of stuff.  I'm intermittent with my blog posts just as I am intermittent with all the essentials in my life.  I write to do lists but I don't follow them.  

I read this post today from zen habits, and I'm going to give it a try...starting here with my blog. One post once a week.  Not too hard, right?  Wrong!  But I'll try it because if I can do that, then according to this post I'll gain in confidence and feel better about myself and so habits will become easier to follow.

So.....today this is what I noticed as I went about my day....













Do you have trouble with doing the things you need to do on a regular basis
 or are you an organised person?
I'm really interested to hear because it is something I struggle with
so any advice would be warmly welcomed!



28 comments:

  1. Dear Jane - I was looking through some of my old diaries from twenty years ago, and was astounded to note just how much I would achieve during a week. I was hardly ever in the house, on several committees etc and every other month I seemed to be travelling abroad. Now my diary is virtually empty and I too find it difficult to fulfil all of the tasks that I should really do. My attitude is to deal with the essentials, and then spend the rest of the time endeavouring to do what I really want to do - life is just too short.
    Loved seeing so many of your photos shown here - I don't have a problem with blogging twice a week - essentially I enjoy the creative and often learning side of blogging, and of course the wonderful communications with fellow bloggers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Rosemary, I agree, how did we do all that stuff?!! I also agree, life is too short. I think instead of feeling overwhelmed I need to down tools and get the necessary done quick and like you say, enjoy the good things. I love blogging too, but then I feel guilty about doing it when there are important things left undone. I will take a leaf out of your book this week and let you know how it goes.

      Delete
  2. Snap!! I just about manage a weekly blogpost and you can too, because you have a regular practice with your photography, so that's all it takes yes? Once I have the photos the rest follows. So go for it but without pressure, what's the point in that?? Love your green photies today !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your enthusiastic but gentle encouragement Catherine! I agree that there should be no pressure, but at the same time, I seem to be the sort that needs a bit of a nudge. So here goes!

      Delete
  3. Jane dear, I love these pix - the shots of the water with reflections are really beautiful. The sleeping calf is adorable and so peaceful-looking, I could just hug it and stroke that silky hair!

    I am somewhat organized when it comes to daily chores, appointments etc., but nowhere near as much as my husband - he works from lists, reminders and notes and is definitely proactive in most things, getting them done on time, never procrastinating etc. Whereas, since retirement many years back for me, I have slacked off because often I know I always (hopefully!) have tomorrow to do what I can't manage today! I do write lists and reminders too, but sometimes can't find them haha!

    Currently I'm staying busy trying to downsize the 'stuff' around the house - guess that comes under 'organization' too. I would do better if the husband would stay out of it - he holds on to too much stuff and has problems with throwing out/donating items, whereas I'm just the opposite. I could never be a real minimalist in my clothing, home decor etc. but I would like to have less of everything now I'm older - life needs to be simpler when it comes to bulging closets and housework.

    I hope you will blog weekly - you always have such lovely things to share here and I do miss you when you're away for lengthy periods. My problem has not been actually blogging except when it comes to keeping up with commenting on others' blogs - just too much traveling time which I hope to cut back on after this year . . . . .perhaps!

    See you here next week I hope!
    Happy weekend - hugs, Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Mary, I know what you mean about wanting to simplify things. I think that's one of my problems, just too much stuff to do, too much stuff around...simply too much! I have a husband who hates getting rid of things as well...but at least he is organised!
      I look forward to the challenge of blogging once a week, and now that I have said it here, I will have to stick to it...(for one week anyway!)
      Hope to see you then.

      Delete
  4. Hi Jane, as always I thoroughly enjoyed your photos. You see beauty in everything around you and that is a very precocious gift. Love the photo of the calf . . . she looks so calm and relaxed . . . totally enjoying her day:) I am very good about getting what needs to be done, done, and in doing for others. My problem is that I rarely do for myself and then sometimes I resent it. Steve is always after me about it . . . he says we all have the same amount of hours in a day and that if I don't take care of myself, it's my own fault. I absolutely hate hearing him say that. He doesn't understand how I can't put off the necessary to indulge in fun. I guess it is the way I was raised. Work before play . . . that was my childhood and the motto of my life. That is something that I really need to change before I don't have the ability to play anymore. We went camping a month ago. I was so looking forward to leisurely times and enjoying time with my granddaughters, but between Steve, two grown nieces (in their fifties and sixties, but younger than I) I was waiting on and cooking for everyone. They sat around the campfire laughing and telling stories and I was in and out of the camper fetching everything they needed. By the time our camping trip was over I was having knee pain from all of my climbing in and out of the camper. Seems that everyone knows that I'm the workhorse and so it's okay with them to work me . . . and I know I'm the workhorse, so I do what any good workhorse does. If I complain . . . I'm told again about how many hours we each have in our day and that I make my own choices. Oh, I am so sorry . . . you didn't need to hear all of this. We all have things we need to change about ourselves and our behavior. I'm trying to work on mine, but i've been trying for so many years, I don't know if I'll ever change. I just don't want to be an old lady sitting in my rocker, thinking that the world passed me by while I was being a "Martha . . . buzzing around doing my chores." Wow! you set loose a hornet's nest in me! I guess I just needed to let off some steam . . . I'll bet you're wishing you haven't put the kettle on, LOL.
    Have a great week and I'm wishing you success with your new positive plan. You go girl!
    Your blogging sister,
    Connie :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My dear Connie,
      I hear where you're coming from and you are always such a diligent and generous friend in the blogging world.
      That kettle's boiled so why don't we sit back, relax and enjoy a nice cup of tea?
      It's hard to break out of a mold we've lived in all our lives isn't it? But they say that recognising that we need to change means that we are already half way there, which is encouraging!
      According to the article I linked to in my post we have to set ourselves up for success by choosing one very small thing and sticking to it.
      Like you, in years to come, I would like to look back from my rocker with a feeling of contentment. So finger's crossed!
      Best wishes,
      Jane xx

      Delete
  5. Oooo, this is so beautiful. The colors and the ripples in the water......., but I love most the picture of the calf snuggly in the sun.
    What concerns my daily chores I'm rather organized, I don't work with lists but the to do list in my head is always too long for the day,
    I think I must have a life three times longer than now, may be I get finished then. I really have to make choices but that's too difficult,
    so let's just go on and enjoy life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What great advice Janneke, to just enjoy life. It makes such very good sense!

      Delete
  6. I to don't seem to have enough hours in the day, I fit in all the essential, but still not all I think i I should. Maybe by looking at your beautiful peaceful pics of nature, who cares if not all I think needs to to be done is done, maybe life is for enjoying and living not watching the clock and cramming everything into a day. Longer walk today, longer time to myself,just longer whatever I want to day. Well I hope anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like a plan! More time doing what we enjoy and less time going crazy with things that are perhaps not really important.

      Delete
  7. When I started blogging I was given an advice to blog three times a week. The pressure! Now I'm down to once a week and it works for me. I think that once you find what is right for you, it is easier to stick with it. But having said that, some weeks are busier than others :-)
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Amalia, I think all good plans are there to be broken! Three times a week sounds a very big ask, but once....well here's hoping I can manage it too. xx

      Delete
  8. I always wonder why good habits are so hard to keep up while bad habits happen effortlessly!

    When I started blogging my head was full of all that advice to blog every day, or at the very least, several times a week. All I can comfortably manage is once a week so I write longer posts and just try to concentrate on making it as good as I can. As Amalia says, above, it's a case of finding what's right for you.

    As to other habits, well I have mixed success. Sometimes I think that it's all very well to be told that X will only take 10 minutes a day, but when you have a lot of X's to do the time adds up. Yes, you can manage 20 minutes of yoga a day, but perhaps not 20 minutes of yoga, half an hour of meditation, an hour to cook a healthy meal, and another half hour to go for a walk - every day!

    Good luck, and I hope you manage to keep up with the blog posting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's so true that the bad stuff is too easy Gilly! I think you have found a very good balance with your blog posts, one very informative and one interesting Miksang photo each week. But also, I know what you mean about other habits, those little blocks of time soon add up to being overwhelming. I am going to keep the bar low for a while.

      Delete
  9. Dear Jane
    Well your post certainly provoked some thought amongst your readers. If it makes you feel better, I am so disorganised and put things off till tomorrow. I do try to blog at least once a week, otherwise it would just drift and drift and be forgotten altogether. Your photos are lovely, particularly the calf, which everyone seems to like - so glad you were organised enough to take the photos - ha! Enjoy your disorganised week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Elaine, I think cultivating the habits we want is close to everyone's heart. I'm winding up for another post on Saturday, so we'll see how I go! I am certainly a bit of a drifter, and a hopper from one thing to another. Nevertheless I did manage to enjoy my disorganised week and I do hope you did too!

      Delete
  10. What a beautiful day you had - so a good habit to record, remember and savour.
    I remember staying with my grandmother when I was young. In the morning she would do all her chores and then after a late lunch (her main meal so no more cooking for the day after that) would take a bath and change into her 'afternoon clothes' for more leisurely activities. That's what I'm going to do when I'm old.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the way your grandmother organised her day, chores in the morning and a bath setting the scene for a leisurely afternoon ~ it sounds like something to definitely aim for, the sooner the better!
      Also Anne, thank you for re-publishing this comment...I'm not sure what went wrong.

      Delete
  11. Hello Jane,
    I love all your images today. They describe a perfect summer. Once a week blogging is a target that is attainable for many. Life and my painting has kept me extra busy this summer and I am not blogging as frequently as I would like. I will continue to blog when I get time. I am saddened to see so many interesting writers who have discontinued and I miss them.

    Helen xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Helen, blogging is indeed a personal thing and we all have to do what works best for us. I hope you are busy enjoying your beautiful summer and I look forward to seeing some of your paintings on your blog when you are ready.

      Delete
  12. Your noticed so many beautiful things through your day. The images of the water are fantastic. It is so easy to be too busy to notice the beauty around us! I'm afraid I am not very well organised I start off with good intentions but I don't carry them through although I know if I was better organised it would save me time in the long run! Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words Sarah. I understand your good intentions routine completely...much like mine! Mind you, as far as blogging goes you managed to do a beautiful job there. x

      Delete
  13. Dear Jane, one post a week, that's a beautiful present!
    I'm in love with your water pictures here. And the sleepy calf enjoying sunshine!
    I'm afraid I'm not a very well organized person, with far more projects than I can manage!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Amélie, I know what you mean! So many interesting things to do and so little time!

      Delete
  14. I am always striving to be more organized! But time just slips through my fingers! I am a list maker, but sometimes the list seems to press down into my day and it can be difficult to breathe creatively. So many details! Your photos are vibrant and a sublime reminder that life is in the living!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you are right Deb, life doesn't happen in list form does it?!

      Delete

I love to hear your comments and thank you for taking the time.
I really do appreciate it.