My 21 Day Challenge

Well, I was supposed to begin my 21 day challenge for blog and business a week ago when I returned from being out of town. I returned on Sunday, slept all day Monday, worked 10 hours each on Tuesday and Wednesday, then came Thanksgiving and the weekend. Which all brings me to today. I am not looking back and feeling bad about putting this off. I am just beginning on a different date.

My challenge will be December 1 through December 21--- 21 days. I have spent time thinking about how to define this challenge and think it will have to remain somewhat undefined. This is not meant to be evasive, it's just that there is so much that can be done. There are two things I can define though. One is that I have to blog each night about what has been done that day. The second is that I will spend at least one hour daily doing whatever I do.

Some options for activities during this challenge include, and are not limited to;
*writing a blog post, other than just a report of the daily activity
*working on my online blog class
*creating photo stationary
*creating a web page or some type of online store
*creating another blog
*finalizing my business name
*reading at least one other blog daily

So there you have it. My goal for this, my first 21 day challenge, is to develop a habit of doing something every day with the belief that even an hour a day will move me forward toward my real goal of a successful blog and business.

So stay tuned, and consider joining me in creating your own 21 day challenge. Is there something you would like to see more progress in? Tell me about it.

I'm Expanding



Cup of the Day

 I am now a member of the Whole Living Daily Challenge Community at http://www.wholeliving.com/ and have added a few blog posts there.  I have also applied there to begin two new groups; In Between for those of us who are at the in-between stage of life where we care for and support those both younger and older in our family group, and 50+ and Counting for those of us who are 50 years young, and beyond, who want to stay active and enjoy life. Both groups are awaiting approval and I'll keep you posted.

Although I have not created a whole new blog and these do not directly fit into my business plan, I do feel this fits into my overall life goals. I will continue to add blog posts and if the groups are approved, I will spend some time with those as well. And in reality, since life is not, or should not be, compartmentalized, I guess this really does fit into my business plan. Not only am I writing more and expanding my reach, I am also seeking to find ways to stay balanced and healthy so that I can work my business and enjoy all aspects of my life. So it fits.

Hey, there is that 'balance' word again. No, I don't mean balanced as in all things being equal and even, but rather balanced as in giving attention, at some regular interval, to all things that are important. I still like the visual example of juggling where you are working with many different balls, and you focus on just one at a time.  To me it is like being in the moment. There are many aspects (juggling balls) to my life, and I can not pay attention to all of them at the same time and do any of them well. Remember the plate balancing acts? Well, I used to be the person who was struggling to keep all the plates balanced at the same time and running back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and .....well you get the idea. No more of that. It is exhausting, and for me, not a healthy way to live.

So I am doing something everyday, expanding my reach (adding another juggling ball), adding another blog post here; and today I will be reading other people's blogs, working on choosing my first photo gift/stationary designs, and doing other photography related things.

Momentum is a beautiful thing and I feel mine picking up again.

Catching Up-or Picking up the Pieces

                                            

It is a cold, blustery day here in the Midwest. I got a call early this morning that the offices where I work are out of power and I don't have to come in until 10:00am.  It was nice to get a little more sleep and to now sit with coffee in hand, watching the autumn colors blow outside my window.

It has been awhile since I have looked at, much less written, on my blog.  And although I won't write much right now, I just wanted to let my readers know I am still here. Since my father's passing earlier this month, I have been spent time with memories, getting caught up at home, at work and helping my mom catch up, too. With this brief, but most welcome gift of time,  I thought I would take a few minutes to do a little catch up inventory for blog and business. 

A few things fell by the wayside over the last month and hold some lessons learned. Even though most of these are directly connected to my dad's illness over the past year and the sad events of October, I believe that some of these hold lessons that would be true, regardless.  I take on too much too fast.  A recipe for disaster. And because a lesson learned is really not helpful unless there is a plan for applying the lesson, I will include my plan, too.  And I am stopping at three.

-I totally forgot about and "flunked" my two online courses for photography and online writing.  I flunked them only because I did not finish them by the deadline.  Two online courses were too much with everything else I was trying to do, not to mention working a fulltime job.
Lesson learned; don't be so eager that it becomes too much and nothing gets done.
So, I will take them again.  This time, I will just take one at a time.  My deadline; hmmm, not sure with holidays approaching, but will have signed up by year's end.

-All my plans to get designs into an online store stopped, as did creating more designs
Lesson learned; I don't need a full line of product to begin and to open an online presence. I just need to begin with a few good choices and get the account/store created.
Choose four designs, then open a Cafepress shop by year's end with photo gifts and stationary.

I stopped doing something everyday.  That's ok, the lesson here is sometimes there are more important things in life.
No regrets, I was where I needed to be. Begin again, today. Do Something Everyday!

Now, to be fair, I have done something over the past few weeks. I was very pleased and honored to have created my dad's memorial service program. I worked hard with my new software to get it just right and learned a lot about the Serif PlusX4. The heart that went into this project will be a good standard to hold the rest of my work to.

And so today begins a new day.