Rae Roy's Blog, page 69

Fortifying Friday – Plans and Actions

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Image created using Bit Strips.

Lately, I’ve been making some changes in my life. Once upon a time, I worked as a project manager and project planner. After several years of upper management having ignored the plans despite their accuracy, my love of planning had become filled with disdain and I began winging things in my personal life. It wasn’t working.

I have a todo list in Kanbanflow. It’s so large and full of things that I’m not near to accomplishing (I swear I have at least a decade worth of story ideas), that it has become almost useless in terms of goal achievement. I will reorganize it at some point to make it useful again, but I recently started using an analog planner. I plan one week, sometimes only half the week, at a time. I don’t always accomplish the things I want to in a week, but I’m getting more done than I was while I was winging it.

One of my major goals is simplistic: Reclaim my routine. Working at home has made me really lax in terms of how long I sleep, what time I shower, how many meals I eat in a day, etc. So far, I’ve been doing terribly at it. Some days I get up at a reasonable time and get about 75% of my tasks completed. Others I struggle to just get food done.

One of my other major tasks is to get all my dishes clean. I feel like it’s pathetic that it has been so hard to get this one thing done, but something always comes up or my energy is sapped and I just can’t. The last couple of days, since there has been more sunshine, I’ve been doing better. Damn winter blues!

French is hit and miss. Some days I feel like I’m really getting somewhere and understand a lot. Others, I might as well be looking at Greek. Learning is often like that though. I know I just need to apply myself a little more.

Some days I wonder if my legs will ever be able to take the full length of class time without making me incredibly sore for several days, but this is the way it is every year at this time. I’m usually fine by the spring seminar that lasts several days. I should buy that ice skating pass because it’s cheap and will help me whip my legs into shape. Perhaps I’ll get it today, after I get a police record check done for volunteering at the library.

And there’s my writing. It seems that when I have a deadline, I have trouble writing anything at all. No deadline? Writing is fun and I’m shocked when I suddenly finish a project. Clearly planning some things doesn’t work for me.

My Alphasmart Neo2 arrived yesterday and I love it. It’s such a simple tool. I can work onto upto 8 files at once. Without all the distractions of a laptop with bells and whistles, I can just write and I don’t have to copy from paper to my computer afterwards. Because I can only see a couple of sentences at a time on the screen, I don’t get mired in rereading text. I seem to have started a YA Sci-Fi tale, but I have other projects to finish first! Naughty fingers running away on the keyboard…

I haven’t found a job yet and EI hasn’t started paying me. I’m going to hopefully get that straightened out today. Several exciting opportunities are available right now. I’m excited to see which come to fruition. Time will tell. Much to do today.

Salut,

R~

Filed under: Health & Home, inspiration, Martial Arts, Personal Musings, Writing Tagged: distraction free writing, goals, job loss, language learning, planning, sci-fi, technology, volunteering

Thoughtful Thursday – Radicalization

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The enemy wants you in a reactive state. They want you to spend so much time putting out fires that you can’t focus. They want you arguing within your group. The more divided you are, the more power they have.

This is an old battle tactic.

Musashi himself used it to anger his opponent. An angry opponent lashes out at the wrong things. The wrong people. Anger causes one to make mistakes. In battle, Musashi never let an opponent see his emotions. He won his first duel at the age of 13 because he was underestimated. His most famous duel, he rudely didn’t show up until 4 hours late. In truth, he was nearby watching as his opponent grew increasingly angry. He brought his enemy to the edge of snapping then swiftly eliminated him.

Below is just a snippet from a larger documentary. The full thing is fascinating if you have time to watch it.

Musashi wasn’t a wealthy samurai. He didn’t spend a lot of time exchanging pleasantries. Many accounts make him seem like an asshole. After defeating the best of the best, he had a bit of an existential crisis and took a break from fighting.

Calm and calculated is what we can learn from Musashi. Strategy. There has been a lot of reaction going on. We need to be in position that is proactive to win. The things they do are designed to make us emotional. Designed to wear us down.

The people always have more power than they realize. It isn’t men like him who run things. What if the water was cut off to his buildings? The electricity? A situation created where sewage backed up all over his golden palace?

There is one of him and many of you.

Only when you are calm inside can you see all the options in front of you. When your emotions run rampant, your ability to think, reason, stay healthy, etc is diminished. This helps your enemy.

Find your calm. That is where your true power is. That is what they are truly afraid of.

Ciao,

R~

Note: I don’t have a source for the above image. If someone wants to let me know who made it, I’ll gladly give credit.

Filed under: inspiration, Martial Arts, Personal Musings, World Tagged: health, inspiration, life, news, politics

Superb Owl Sunday: An Alternative to Super Bowl

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Maybe Super Bowl isn’t your thing, but you’re craving that oneness that others achieve on this day by gathering to watch the last American football game of the year in pubs and “man” caves all around the world. I’m here to talk about an alternative.

Superb Owl Sunday is an opportunity to do the same things only centered around the noble and majestic owl. You might be thinking that owls can be rather creepy with their too large eyes. And how about what they look like without feathers? But there is much more to these birds that can be learned about and celebrated on Superb Owl Sunday. With over 200 species of owls in the world, there is a lot to learn!

A Suggested Itinerary

Eat owl-shaped pancakes for breakfast
Bake and decorate owl-shaped cookies for the evening festivities
Owl crafts could include paper mache, clay, construction paper, knitting/crocheting, macaroni, wood, costumes, painting, and more!
Make owl-related snacks. These could look like mice if you want to pretend to be owls.
Check out a documentary or visit a place where owls live in sanctuary.
You can try to bird watch for them, but they prefer the night and only the snowy owl will be possible to see during winter as the rest hibernate.
Watch owl movies. Here is a list of potential films*:

Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Grey Owl
The Cry of the Owl (1987) or its remake (2009)
The Owl (1991) or its remake (2014)
The Owl and the Pussycat
Night Owls
Night Owl
Owl and the Sparrow
Skellig: The Owl Man
The Owls
Hoot
Owl River Runners
Harry Potter series


Hold a hooting contest. You’ll have to figure out the judging criteria. Maybe whoever can hoot the most like the type of owl chosen should win.
Play an owl-related board game.

*Disclaimer: Some of these movies may have little more than owl in their name or metaphorical owls. Also, some may not be suitable for children.

So you can see there is a lot that can be done today for those that have no interest in the Super Bowl. For those that must watch it anyway, if you find men attractive, you can get through the whole thing simply by snacking and judging nice bottoms

Fortifying Friday – Rejection

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Yesterday, I received my first rejection from an agent. It stung. It wasn’t that it was bad. It was worded in a way that it may have even been personally written. Regardless, rejection never feels good unless you were secretly hoping to stay home and do nothing when a friend made plans with you. Then it feels great! I might be an introvert

Thoughtful Thursday – Helping Out

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I’m revising my stance again on nonviolence. Earlier this week, I wrote a poem for a contest. I was struck with the idea to write about the history of the world in the form of news headlines. Being a person who predominately lives in the present with an eye on the future, I had to research a lot in a very short time. Violence seems to unfortunately be the only way jerks get the message to F off. 

I learned nonviolence was first proposed by the church to control those of different faiths. Then by the British as they warred with everyone multiple times. 

I learned that protests and marches likely won’t be enough. We’ll have to do more and be more. For some, that will mean bleeding. For others, that will mean supporting troops. And some will stay to keep their countries running.

I hate that this is the future I see right now because it is so far from the future I want. 

What does that look like?

Harmony. People uniting regardless of faith, gender, class, etc. Perhaps even the elimination of classes altogether. A world where respect is paramount. Where everyone has access to the things they need and want so long as another isn’t harmed. To some degree it might not be possible as the act of eating, whether meat or vegetable, necessitates the death of something else. 

A world of live and let live.

As a martial artist, now is a time where I feel training is one thing that will help me get through the turmoil one man has caused in the entire world. Martial arts trains the mind, body, and soul if you let it. I’m frustrated that my body resists. That my tendons retaliate against what I want. It will take me longer to get where I want to be.

I can also distract myself with music, language learning, reading, fiction writing, and perhaps a new job. Forcing oneself to disengage will also help weather the storms ahead. 

Self-Care will also be important. In learning to distract oneself, it will help me turn it off and get rest. Eating healthy will ensure my body performs as well as it can. 

Now is a time to figure out what makes sense for you. Maybe the answer is moving away. Maybe it’s enlisting. Maybe it’s working somewhere that supports troops. Maybe it’s reporting the real news. Maybe it’s translating communiques. 

There will be many ways that each of us can help.

Salut,

R~

Morose Monday – Sadness Abounds

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I don’t know what to say.

Why can’t all people see how beautiful diversity is? The ability to think differently is a good thing. Having diverse viewpoints solves problems more completely.

I’ve lived in Canada my entire life. Going on 36 years. I realize that this isn’t long to some, but I’ve never seen such hate. People used to just let others be. Live and let live. There’s a synagogue in my hometown of 50,000 and no one cared about it being there. It was just another church. There were many Christian churches of a variety of faiths (Protestant, Baptist, Anglican, Catholic, Born Again, etc) and everyone just did their thing. Hell, I went to Catholic school despite being the wrong kind of Catholic to take the communion host. There was a whole group of us as my first school decided to become 100% French and they sent those of us from English families to an English school. So during mass, we just sat and respectfully watched everyone else do their thing.

I even remember the first black people that came to live there. There were two families and though I was curious, having never seen one that wasn’t on TV before, I didn’t stare at them because I was taught that it is impolite to stare at someone else for any reason. I also didn’t speak unless spoken to. My parents are quite old as you might imagine from that particular rule. So I simply delivered their Sears catalogue and went on my way.

It never occurred to me that there were other people that hated others because of superficial things like skin colour or religion. Or that didn’t see them as human. I didn’t know then about the Holocaust, the Crusades, the Inquisition, Salem, etc.

I can’t even recall much violence other than bullies before high school. It was junior high that the drug dealers came, but most only dealt marijuana. Having worked at the police station there, I know there wasn’t a lot of violence happening despite having members of various gangs in the community. The cells usually either had people that were off their medication and causing disturbances, or 19 years olds that couldn’t handle their liquor. During my 4 years working there, only two murderers were ever held there and one was from another city.

So I can’t understand the need to kill another person, except for a dictator to free his people or someone who is actively trying to kill me.

People praying in mosques are not harming anyone. Neither are people praying in churches, synagogues, temples, groves, etc.

The only thing that needs killing is hate.

Salut,

R~

Merry Monday – Stress

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Image created using Bit Strips.

I prefer to live my life in the middle or Goldilocks zone. In a place of harmony. Whenever there is an argument, I sympathize with both sides because I usually see logically valid points on both sides. Social things often distress me because there isn’t a clear answer to most issues.

Life is stressful enough without people who would rather pile more on. The wrong kind of stress kills people in a myriad of ways.

Going forward, I’m not tolerating it in my life. 

But there is good stress as well. We experience this at the start of a new relationship. We wonder if the other person likes us as much as we like them. When will we kiss? Will the kiss be good? Will we be compatible in other ways?

We also experience the good stress when we’re doing a job we are passionate about. When we accomplish our goals. When we learn something like an instrument or a language. When we grow our families.

The bad stress is meant to tear us down.

People that tell us we aren’t good enough could be bad stress or they could be honest. Maybe there are things we need to improve upon. If they say we aren’t currently good enough, but aren’t saying we’ll never be good enough, they might honestly be trying to help us improve. We need to be reasonable. If they say we’re utter garbage and tell us to give up on our dreams?

They aren’t people who are worthy of holding a place in our lives.

Good stress builds us up. It makes us learn something more about who we are and what we are capable of.

Soul mates bring good stress. They push us just a little farther than where we are currently because they believe in us.

Go ahead and be ruthless about who you allow to be part of your life. Your health and happiness depends on it. There will be people who think you don’t deserve to be happy. They don’t deserve to be in your life either.

Sometimes we do this to ourselves though. I’ve realized lately that the things I’m spending time on are not the things that make me happy. Getting deeply involved in anything political eats me away inside like a cancer. Spending endless hours on Facebook doesn’t make me happy. Working in an office makes me deeply unhappy. Being under writing deadlines makes me dread writing and I actually write more when I’m just doing it for myself, so other than the two short stories I currently have on my plate with deadlines, I’m not going to do more of those this year.

Last weekend, I made a list of what makes me happy and what makes me unhappy. I’m spending far more time on things that make me unhappy than I should be. I’ve also been dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is annoying as there are tons of things I want to do, but I just can’t always bring myself to do them.

So my plans include a therapy light, more exercise, a distraction free writing tool, and spending more time doing things I love with the people I love.

Salut,

R~

Filed under: Health & Home, inspiration, Personal Musings, Writing Tagged: change, happiness, health, stress, wisdom

Fortifying Friday – My Stance on Violence

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Image from quotationof.com

Today, I feel like I just want to be a kid and let an adult take care of the mess. But I can’t do this. I’m the adult. So I started the day with dishes. I hate dishes and laundry the most of all house chores. They’re never ending like an MMORPG that isn’t fun, but is only a grindfest.

Lately, I’ve been struggling a lot as my newsfeed fills with disturbing information pertaining to Trump’s America. I know I’m not the only one.

I’ve been struggling to find words at all for this, let alone the right ones. I’m unsure if I’ve found them or not, but I’m trying.

Largely, I’m a believer in peace. I believe life is precious. Maybe because my mother was told to abort me. Maybe because during my childhood, I attended my first funeral at age six and nearly every year after that I lost another family member and sometimes more than one. I’ve experienced the deaths of friends who should’ve had many more years as well. I’ve witnessed bloody disputes in high school and at parties. I’m talking heads cracked open, blood dripping on the school floor, kind of violence.

I understand fighting back. I understand the need. Even more so after reading this. But everytime I’ve fought back in a violent way, injuring another person has filled me with emotional pain. This is not me telling anyone else not to use violence. I’m simply stating how it makes me feel to do so.

A friend suggested to me that no one actually supports mobs singling out a man, beating him, and stealing his car. That no one supports trashing a home and setting children’s beds on fire. Or other such acts. I hope that’s true because the alternative scares me.

All of the different protests are more complicated for me as I have friends on both sides of the debates, though I don’t *think* I am actually friends with any Trump supporters.

On Black Lives Matter

Here’s a place where I have difficulty. I worked at a police station early on in my career. Yes, I know many cops are huge fucking assholes. But there are good ones too that I would hate to see harmed. My friend’s dad is a police officer. I don’t want anything to happen to him either.

I have many friends on the other side as well. I don’t want them harmed either.

I can’t fully pick either side because it is asking me to potentially choose the death of someone I love.

On Women’s Health

I’m a woman. I have both benefited from and been harmed by birth control. If not for birth control, I might have a 17-year-old right now with someone who I don’t believe will ever make a good parent. I might never have gotten my degree. I might never have left an abuser had we had children either.

There is a vast number of women, including myself, who have also had a lot of trouble with birth control. It tends to magnify depression and mental health symptoms for some. I haven’t found a pill or patch that hasn’t been a problem for me. The shot was good in terms of not affecting my mental health, but I kept bleeding on it and not with any kind of regular schedule.

For some, birth control is necessary to treat things like endometriosis, which I hear is often exceedingly painful. While, I don’t believe abortion should be a default method of birth control, I do believe it needs to be an option. Given my current age and that I was supposed to be aborted, I don’t feel it an option I would pursue unless I was either raped or it was medically necessary.

The fact that they think women don’t need vaginal checkups after the babies are done being born is so idiotic that I can’t even.

The fact that men want to legislate this is ludicrous. Especially since they haven’t a clue what women face in pregnancy or throughout our lives. The fact that their wives are still with them is even more ridiculous. I bet they’ll be happy to pay for an abortion when they knock their mistresses up.

On Trump’s America

A lot of people are experiencing hardships. This is what I believe got Mr. Pumpkin Head elected. Trying to tell someone who is having trouble eating and paying bills that their experience is wrong because statistically their part of the country is better off doesn’t help them put food on the table or keep shelter over their heads. Facts are very important, but what people perceive as their reality is important too. Pain isn’t diminished by numbers in a spreadsheet. Voting in someone who plans to fix it is what rational people do in a democracy. Yes, we even do this knowing they might be lying. Every election is a gamble to a degree.

The first time Stephen Harper was elected in Canada, I was one of the people who voted for him. It was the first time I had ever voted Conservative. I did so for two main reasons. While in university taking a business degree, I took several economics courses. Harper’s platform seemed economically sound. The other reason? I was married to a man who worked for a department of defense contractor and really wanted him to keep his job, so we could keep our home and put food on the table. I wasn’t deliberately trying to fuck over anyone else. I didn’t vote for him the second time he was elected.

What I’m trying to say is that I don’t believe the only people who voted for Trump were racist, sexist, homophobic assholes. There were definitely a number of those people, but there were also regular people who believed Trump would help him. Yes, they were duped. I know a lot of us, especially those not in the thick of it, wonder how the hell the Americans didn’t see him for who he is.

If you’ve been through an abusive relationship, maybe you see exactly how it happened. Abusers typically seem like wonderful human beings. They’re charming, friendly, and great to be around. They do good work and may even be active in the community and very generous to charities. At home, they are monsters.

I don’t feel bad admitting that I thought Trump may have just been playing a sick game. That his platform seemed too farcical to get him elected. I even thought perhaps he was just saying whatever he needed to in order to get elected. I didn’t really think he was Hitler 2.0.

I am scared that more people are going to die. I’m scared they will be people I love. While I know they will have died fighting for something they believe in and that it is an immensely worthy cause, it won’t take away the pain that their death will bring. I don’t want to think of a loved one’s bloody, broken, and lifeless body lying in a street somewhere. I don’t want to think of their children trying to make sense of it all. I’m worried that the cycle of hate and violence won’t be broken because we haven’t found another way that works. I’m worried about them becoming the monsters they are fighting against.

All I want is for people to see how differences are what make the world beautiful.

We have many stories that show this, both real and fictional, yet we always end up in the same place. It feels like the same battle with different actors. As if we’re stuck until we find a way to get it right.

Then there’s the dark side of me that says people like Trump don’t deserve the valuable gift that is life. That they should face a firing squad for being an awful human. But killing all the assholes can’t be the answer either, my heart implores me, because that may have a price that is steeper than weathering The Jack-o’-Lantern judging by all the other unsolved wars on the planet.

So what now? I honestly haven’t a clue beyond continuing the current resistance efforts of sharing the information he doesn’t want out there. And those efforts give me such hope.

Scientists continue to solve problems. This week, advancements were made in the fight against Leukemia to the point that a cure may have been found. They’ve also been able to produce a metallic form of hydrogen.
People climbed a crane and hung a sign of resistance.
Government workers and scientists across the nation are refusing to stop tweeting and putting accurate information out into the world.
More marches are being organized. Hell, the apolitical scientists are going to march too!
The rest of the globe is proceeding with their efforts in switching to renewable energy and acceptance of all humans no matter race, country of origin, religion, gender, or sexuality.

There are at least three things I can think of that we can do:

Continue making him feel inadequate, incompetent, etc.
Bring those that have admitted their mistake into the fold to help.
Remember to take care of yourself, so you’ll be ready to fight.
If they go for the Internet, go to analog methods. There are many ways to communicate.

Long live the resistance!

Ciao,

R~

Thoughtful Thursday – Cake and Other Bullshit

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There was an article that recently came out where a restaurant claims that they can’t keep their business open because of people bringing their own cake. A shit storm has followed on social media about whether or not it is right to bring any outside food to a restaurant. People on both sides have good points. Some say those with food allergies should be exempt. Others say diners don’t have the right to expect that they can have dessert even if there isn’t something on the menu they can eat. Others say people with food allergies don’t have the right to eat anywhere but their homes (Ignorant much?). Oh, and still more say dessert isn’t necessary, so just go without or eat something when you get home because that’s what they do.

I think it’s absolutely fucking ridiculous that people are wasting their time on this for a number of reasons.

In many non-American countries, they’re happy to have you bring your own cake to restaurants because it lets you enjoy your experience to the fullest at their establishment and ensures repeat business. That was said by a lady from Scotland in one Facebook exchange I participated in until people decided to tell me that I shouldn’t ever eat out at a restaurant. I’m not anaphylactic to anything, so why wouldn’t I? Most chain restaurants don’t care if you do as they don’t make their money on cake. Also, customers usually buy more things like coffee/tea or alcohol. Some restaurants charge a fee, just as they do with wine and it’s often more than a dessert would be, but they let you bring your own cake. Cakeage fees are most commonly around $2 a person, but can be as much as 5 British pounds per person. Many drop the fee if half of your dining party is ordering desserts from them. More on this topic here and here.

But there are better topics to debate such as:

A large percentage of restaurants pay their staff as little as possible and expect tips to provide the money they need to survive instead of their wages. You probably have a friend who struggles to survive regularly. Have them over for a meal? Or hey, you could also join the fight for a $15 minimum wage.
There are homeless people who don’t get to eat regularly. Think of ways to help them. Maybe volunteer at a shelter in your community. In the Ottawa area there is Shepherds of Good Hope, The Ottawa Mission, and Carling Family Shelter, to name a few.
There are children who don’t get regular meals. Think of ways to ensure children aren’t starving in your community. And teens. Places like Ottawa Innercity Ministries help at risk youth. And Youth Services Bureau too.
There are soldiers who died so you could sit around doing nothing productive for your country discussing the pros and cons of cake eating. There are soldiers alive now who can barely afford to live. You can help out at one of the homeless shelters and campaign for mental health funding as many veterans are homeless due to their struggles with PTSD. Instead of just tweeting about mental health for a day, get involved during the other 364 days of the year.
There are aboriginal people who have had poor water conditions longer than those that Flint has been facing. The Wabano Centre is a place in Ottawa that aims to improve the lives of aboriginals, so you could donate to them. You can bombard the Prime Minister’s office with letters to help too. If you’re a plumber, you could do what the plumbers in Michigan are doing and gather your plumber buddies together to fix the plumbing systems on the reserves.
There are people who are beaten regularly because of who they love. Many marriages might be overturned in the coming months. If you see someone being bullied, stand up for them. Increase awareness that LGBTQ+ people are people and they deserve to live freely too.
There are women who are now living in a country with a president who believes it’s open season on their vaginas. Stand up for your female friends whenever an asshole thinks it’s okay to touch her when she doesn’t want to be. Tell your friends to respect women. Help a friend get to the police or a woman’s shelter.
There is a man in control of one of the most powerful nations in the world who might bring about a civil war or WWIII. Okay, this one might be overly alarmist, but still a better topic than cake in restaurants. Keep fighting for the right to live free of hate.

So how about you let other people have their cake and direct your energy to solving a real problem rather than spewing asinine bullshit like, “No one needs to eat dessert. It’s healthier not to eat it.” When you say shit like that, you are projecting your own lifestyle choices on someone else. You might enjoy not having dessert or are looking for some company while you diet, but their reality may be more like an inability to fully participate in an event.

Get off social media and find a real cause to fight for or do anything else really.

Like eat cake. Taste the spongy goodness and lick that icing like your life depends on it.

Ciao,

R~

Merry Monday – Methods

[image error]Today, I had my visual fields test and eye check up. The visual fields test is rather like a crappy videogame. You press a button each time you see a light. It’s crappy because it isn’t fun to sit in an uncomfortable way while you wear an eye patch and you aren’t allowed to move. Because my eyes run dry, it’s extra uncomfortable for me. I have to blink multiple times to keep my eyes from heading into emergency tearing mode. Sometimes we even have to pause. We tried to pause today and the machine got angry and decided we had to start over. I was almost done with the right eye. In theory, the tests aren’t that long, but preservatives in eye drops and bright lights all cause me pain. My eye doctor doesn’t do the puff of air to check for glaucoma. She uses advanced photographic imaging to look at my optic nerve and the health of my eye along with her own eyes and bright lights. Does that mean the puff of air was no good at checking for glaucoma? Not at all. Many eye doctors still use it.

Unable to continue reading the novel I brought or use my phone once my pupils were dilated, I was forced be more present in the room. What did I see? A man who had an unusual way of tying his shoes. He pulled the laces tight and wrapped them around his fingers until he had a little ball and tucked them inside his shoes. I wondered how well it worked to keep his shoes at the right tightness for him. Until that moment, I never knew there were other methods than mine and the bunny loop method. I never once sat there and thought that he was tying his shoes improperly, only that he did it different than I do. All that matters is that it works for him.

In Microsoft Word, I can cut and paste text in a number of ways after selecting the text. I can use shortcut keys (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V). I can right click with my mouse, choose the menu option to cut it, then do the same to access the paste option once I have my cursor where I want it. I can use the symbols on the menu ribbon. I can go into the larger edit menu. I could write a macro if I wanted to. All of these methods result in text being copied and pasted. Some might be faster than others, but that doesn’t make them better.

I spent time with friends last night and up until I had seen the way my friend uses her bullet journal, I was unconvinced in the point of an analog planner. Why not just use digital calendars and todo lists? But something has been wrong for me lately. I haven’t been accomplishing as much as I want to. It’s possible I’m a little depressed as getting laid off tends to do to a person. Incidentally, that’s why I’m so upset with my doctor and reporting him. You don’t refuse care to a person with the symptoms of depression. It’s hugely irresponsible. But I digress. I think my digital todo list is fantastic, but there’s so much on it that I’m feeling overwhelmed. So I looked at how she mostly plans for each week with the odd event that is longer term and I said perhaps that is what I need. If I focus on just a couple of things each week, rather than a list that shows novels years into the future, maybe I’ll actually get where I want to be. It’s possible that it won’t work for me and I know that my friend won’t be mad at me if it doesn’t. She didn’t appear to be using the bullet journals recommended short forms, but her own instead.

Problems begin to occur when people decide their method is the only method to accomplish a goal. I’ve run into this a lot with colleagues and especially micromanagers. Sometimes the key to solving a problem isn’t everyone approaching it from the same direction, but members of the team having different pieces of the mission or a different mission that is a piece of a bigger whole. That kind of division is good. Like in Star Wars. A group of rebels provides a distraction and cover fire, while another group gets the power cable plugged in, while the heroes get the plans transmitted, and another group busts through the planet shield. It’s hard for the mission to succeed if people in one of those groups argues with each other on the best way to provide cover fire or if the cover fire group spends their time judging how the power cable group goes about getting their piece done.

Everyone has different needs that are similar. Take plants, for example. All plants need sun. Some need more shade than sun and die in direct light. Some need full sun. Some need indirect light or at least to avoid the sun when it is at full strength. All plants need water. Some need very little once in a while. Some need to be misted rather than watered. Some cannot have water touch their leaves. Once in a while they need fertilizer too. The components of that fertilizer will differ as some need more nitrogen, some need bone meal, etc.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of ways to write a novel. There might even be as many ways as there are writers. Many writers don’t write each of their novels the same way. There are pantsers, plotters, and hybrids. Among those are a variety of ways to plan, draw inspiration, get through blockages, narrate, characterize, create the setting, manage pacing, etc.

And I think it’s wonderful.

It’s wonderful that there are different ways to do things. I’m looking forward to seeing how people from different dojos do kendo this weekend. Maybe I’ll learn something that will help me be better.

Ciao,

R~