Michele Venne's Blog, page 11

A Light Mind

I’ve always felt better once I’ve made a decision. Since I did so last week, this week has been smooth. The major decision about goals and dreams and plans and how to make it all work sat like a two-ton weight on my mind and in my heart. With the way forward decided, that weight has slid away. The graphics person who has been working on creating A+ content for all my titles, finished this week! I’...

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Recovery Time

Feeling like I’m functioning at about 75% capacity, I continue to take things slowly. Now is a good time to sit and breathe, to be, to let my thoughts come and go and not get hung up on any particular one. Actually, that’s good advice for every day! As I sit and breathe, I can begin to investigate what my next steps might be. In the weeks remaining in 2023, I have my three projects to finish.

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A flat Tire

A flat tire. A dead battery. We’ve all had them. Regardless of who we call for help or how much we didn’t plan on the inconvenience or expense, it still happens. There is maintenance that can prolong the tire, the battery, or whatever. But when it happens, we’re forced to drop everything and deal with the moment. Some people have dealt with this not only with mechanical things but also with their...

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Focus on Priorities

I’ve heard that authors make a gazillion decisions every time they sit down to write. I think at least one decision is made that gets them in the chair: they choose to write in that moment. We think we have a list of priorities, maybe narrowed down to 3-5. But in any moment, we can choose only one “task”. And once we make that choice, saying “yes” to one thing, we say no to all the rest.

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Celebrating the Wins

I planned to have it published in August, but I’m used to my plans changing. I aimed to announce the new release in my October newsletter, but just couldn’t quite pull it off. In this month’s newsletter, I promised my subscribers I would send them the cover, description, and links to get “Alphabet City” one week later. That promise I kept! “Alphabet City” is live on all the platforms and available...

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The Moments In Between

When I look at my calendar and task list, there doesn’t appear to be any “moments in between.” It’s a list of actions to take. And because not all the actions happen on the day to which I’ve assigned them, arrows are drawn to the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. I’m half convinced that it’s not my management of time or energy that needs work, but the length of time and...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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