Michele Venne's Blog, page 11

Countdown

It took four different stores, by I finally found a 2024 calendar with the options I like. It’s the same size I’ve used the past several years, as there’s comfort in the familiar, 7 X 8 1/2 inches. It has the months with small squares for each date, but big enough to make notes about when I need to call the farrier, birthdays, riding lessons and clients, etc. The weeks cover two pages with lines...

Source

Reflecting Before the End

It’s almost the fourth quarter of 2023. Not one to be rushed at the last minute, I start reflecting on the current year, and planning for the next, long before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Maybe I’m thrilled that I’ve survived another summer in the desert Southwest, so I celebrate by looking ahead. Of course, this happens only after I’ve studied the last nine months. After years of being...

Source

Organized Flow

Perhaps the title of this post is an oxymoron. Everything ebbs and flows. Energy. Motivation. Creativity. If we figure out how to wait when whatever it is ebbs, we can focus on other aspects of our life. And when whatever it is flows, if we’ve figured it out, then we can capture, hone, direct, organize it into something we can use. This week, creativity has flowed, but not in the direction I...

Source

The Next Thing

I realize I do this to myself. I have a little available time… my inbox is down to 5 emails I’m hanging onto for various reasons… and I sign up for six webinars, download a bundle of a dozen ebooks, agree to give my email address in exchange for fifteen newsletters… and that available time evaporates. I look at my calendar and now I have other stuff on it because I feel obligated to read all the...

Source

Finally

Finally, it rained in Phoenix! Last year, the monsoons began at the end of May and continued through October. This year, they’ve been absent until last night. Some parts of Arizona have seen rain. Not a lot, and not often enough. Most of the day was cloudy. A chance of sprinkles is still possible through the night. Finally, the relentless, brutal summer temperatures have been broken.

Source

Making a Plan

About this time, for the past few years, I’ve started thinking about the next calendar year. Maybe it’s because my first career as a teacher meant my “year” began in August, so planning was on my mind. Or maybe I felt I needed a jump start on the next year, so I started planning earlier than December. However it began, it’s stuck with me. And though I haven’t purchased a 2024 calendar yet...

Source

Balls in the Air

It’s good to have a to-do list. For me, it gets items out of my head and onto paper (yes, I’m old school) so I don’t forget and so I have more mental space. I’ve found I sleep better (less tossing and turning, which is saying something), and it keeps me from feeling overwhelmed when I try to remember everything. This isn’t to say that I cross off all the items on my list every day. In fact, I don’...

Source

Another Obstacle

About 4 months ago, I bought an author bundle. It included ebooks, discount services, master classes, and pre-recorded webinars. I downloaded all the books, read them, took notes if they held nuggets of information, then deleted the files from my computer. None of the services were ones I use. I’m on the last master class, and about halfway through. Out of 20 classes, I got something useful from...

Source

It’s in the Pivot

Just as I settle into a routine, something gets snagged or shifted, and I have to pivot my time and energy. This is usually the time of year when my day job amps up. As I finish the summer sessions, I see gaps in my schedule. I know it will take a few weeks before others log time on my calendar. In this space, my mind conjures projects. The conjuring is one part, and often the easiest.

Source

Retreats in Two Styles

A week after the in-person writer’s retreat, and I’ve noticed a few things. First, I’m still just as resistant to write when I have other tasks to do as I was before the retreat. Second, the comparisonitis has faded. Mostly. On Sunday morning, I attended a Freewriting session. It was exactly what I had spent over seven years doing in three different writer’s groups! I was so excited!

Source