Monday, August 29, 2016

Adventures with the Very Visual Organizer -- Week 4

Sorry for the missed week, folks.  I got caught in a rainstorm and had to hold an angry, wet dog in my lap for the almost two-hour trip home, which is usually only an hour except when you experience bad traffic.  We experienced bad traffic.  I got chilled and spent two days wearing fleece and drinking tea and soup in an attempt to get warm and stay that way.  The dog, Peanut, also got a little bit of a cold.  We napped together under blankets for those two days.  Thankfully, we are both feeling better now.

What worked?

Everything.  This is proving to be a useful and effective system for me.  I really like it. The 30-minute duration task was a very helpful addition.  I will keep it.

What didn’t work?

No problems at all.

What was annoying?

The system was fine.  I took on a new position with Park Lane jewelry.  With the new position came new tasks, and I underestimated the time they would require to complete.  Consequently, I over booked my schedule with tasks that I could not complete.  This is a habit of mine.  If you follow the blog, you’ve seen me deal with it before. 

I also discovered that the base calendar I’m using, which is the size of a desk blotter, is too small and the post-its overlap.  I will need to find or make a bigger base, especially if I decide to keep using this system.  Unlike Suzi Whitford, I do NOT have an extra wall in my space to use for this.

What changes will I make?

I will work on keeping my tasks in the manageable realm.  I think I have done that for this week – the calendar has blank spaces between post-its most days.  I will also poke at finding a different base because I really need more space some days. 

I can’t believe it is the last week of August. I hope your month comes to a close in joy.  If you have Labor Day travel plans, be safe and have fun!


You can find me on Facebook on my personal page: 

And my company page:

 I am also on Twitter:
@michelle owings-chri

LinkedIn profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-owings-christian-bbb7278

branded.me:
https://branded.me/michelleowings-christian




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Monday, August 15, 2016

Week 3 -- Adventures with the Very Visual Organizer


Hello there!  Welcome to Week Three of the Very Visual Schedule (the Whiteboard and Post-Its schedule).

I am totally confused on how it got to be August 15th already.  How did that happen? Wow!!  I hope you had a good week. Mine was less than optimal.  The heat and humidity and frequent storms gave me a four-day migraine.  Two of the four days were “I can’t move my head” days.

What worked?

Everything worked fine on the days I was functional.  And, come to think of it, the system itself worked really well.  On the two days I couldn’t move and the days I could move if I moved carefully, I was able to re-schedule my tasks very easily.

What didn’t work?

I don’t think it was a fair test of the new 30-minute task duration, since I moved many of my tasks around and some got moved off the calendar completely. 

What was annoying?

Nothing

What changes will I make?

I want to give the 30-minute duration task a fair test which it did not receive last week.


I certainly hope week four is a better week for me, pain wise.  I’ll be back next week with another report.  Have a great week!!


You can find me on Facebook on my personal page: 

And my company page:

 I am also on Twitter:
@michelle owings-chri

LinkedIn profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-owings-christian-bbb7278

branded.me:
https://branded.me/michelleowings-christian



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Monday, August 8, 2016

Adventures with the Whiteboard & Post-It Schedule (Very Visual Schedule) -- Week 2


Hello there!  Welcome to my take on Week Two of the Whiteboard and Post-Its schedule, which I have decided to start calling the Very Visual Schedule.

What worked?

Using the smaller sized post-its made everything so much easier to read and track.

What didn’t work?

Everything was fine with the tool.  It was a rough week because I had a cold, and many of the larger tasks did not get done because I slept or read during the days because I was sick.  I also had planned to visit two different people in two different rehab facilities – not with a cold.

What was annoying?

Not a thing.

What changes will I make?

Suzi uses three different task durations:  15 minutes; 1-2 hours; and 2+ hours.  I discovered that there are several tasks that, due to my physical limitations, I must break down into two or more parts.  I also like to do sprints for my writing in 30 minute intervals.  This week, I am adding a 30-minute duration task.

I’ll let you know how that works next week.  Have a great week!!


You can find me on Facebook on my personal page: 

And my company page:

 I am also on Twitter:
@michelle owings-chri

LinkedIn profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-owings-christian-bbb7278

branded.me:
https://branded.me/michelleowings-christian



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Monday, August 1, 2016

Week 1 -- Adventures with Whiteboard and Post-It note Calendar and Accomplishments for July and Goals for August




What worked?

I could certainly see this calendar when I needed to do so.  The colors were eye-catching.  I had several sleepless nights followed by rough days – and I could always keep an eye on my events and tasks, and was able to reschedule them easily.  That was a huge difference from the digital calendar/task list I had been failing at for several weeks before.

What didn’t work?/What was annoying?

I only had post-its that are twice as wide and half again as long as the spaces on the blank calendar I had.  That looked cluttered and made each individual one difficult to see.

What changes will I make?

I knew I would have to use smaller post-its – and I was completely and thoroughly correct!! Last night I was able to find some dribs and drabs of smaller post-its.  They were sufficient for the calendar for this week.  I will need to buy more before I do the calendar for next week.  I used them for the calendar for this week and it looks so much neater and it is easier to see what I have scheduled.

I am cautiously optimistic about the coming week.

Since we just ended one month and are starting another, I will share my accomplishments in July and my goals for August.

JULY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Writing

My total word count for July
was 68904 – including the blogs, my journal, and any other miscellaneous work – AND 51095 for the Camp NaNoWriMo challenge for the month.  Considering that my original goal was 30K and the final goal was 50K, I feel pretty good about 51095.

(If you don’t know what Camp NaNoWriMo is, check out this link from the Wordcrafter Blog on July 1st.    http://cedarwordcrafter.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-nanowrimo-verse.html )



Developed Tentative Writing Plan for 2016 & 2017



AUGUST  GOALS

Writing


--  Essence of Life (WIP) through the end of the action for “Night and Day” by 8/15.
      --  Finish typescript in word, WriteWay, pdf, jump drives, and send out for comment by 8/31.

--  Current Commenters:  KLS; FLB; Ann Koles; Stephanie Giaquinto; and PSM (in typescript)

--  Journal at least 3x / week

--  Blogs – Monday; Roots & Branches; Wednesday & Friday; Wordcrafter

Reading About Writing


The Complete Book of Novel Writing – Read one chapter per week and take notes

Organization


--  Visual calendar for next 7 weeks

--  Mind dump

--  Learn/Do/Become

--  Buy “Getting Things Done”

--  Order Scrivener

Reset my internal clock

--  Set daily alarm for 11 AM for 2 weeks

--  Set daily alarm for 10:30 AM for 2 weeks

--  Then reassess

I hope your first week of August is a joy and a delight.


I hope your first week of August is a joy and a delight!



You can find me on Facebook on my personal page: 

And my company page:

 I am also on Twitter:
@michelle owings-chri

LinkedIn profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-owings-christian-bbb7278

branded.me:
https://branded.me/michelleowings-christian




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