Laina Turner's Blog, page 81

Motivating Monday

I thought maybe I wasn’t the only one out there that needed some motivation to get my week started.

 

If that isn’t motivating than what is??

Happy Monday!

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Fab 5 Friday

 

Sharing my fav posts of the week in fab 5 Friday!

 

Six Figures Under  Budgeting Every Penny Because we make way too much money to feel broke all the time.
Lush Fab Glam Exquisite Floral Centerpieces Because I have a little bit of wedding on the brain.
The Daily Tay 15 Types Of Bloggers You’ll Meet in Blogland She’s damn funny!
Honey & Birch Grilled Steak and Pasta with Grilled Vegetables Can you say YUM!
The Dwelling Tree Blogging tips for who you blog for I’m working once again on a blog redesign that better fits me and this was very helpful.

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Getting Things Done (Part 2 of 4): From Inbox To Next Action

 

I am not receiving compensation for the content written in this post. This book review is based on my opinion and personal experience.

In part 1 of this series, I talked about the 5 Stages of Mastering Workflow from David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. I provided the diagram below to show how to ORGANIZE and PROCESS the results of the things we COLLECT. Therefore giving us an opportunity to REVIEW them and DO the work needed.

 

This workflow process applies to paper clutter, large physical objects, e-mails, EVERYTHING. I will be referring to paper documents mostly because that is my area of need. You can do a complete overhaul of every item in your home or office. Or you can choose one room or area at a time. It all depends on how much time you can devote to the process. You will be simply collecting, processing, and organizing items with this diagram. The reviewing and doing comes later.



What you will need to get started:                     

           

Paper holding trays 

Storage bins

Stack of plain paper

Post-it notes

Digital or printed calendar

Trash bags

Pen/pencil

Paper clips

File folders

Label maker (optional)



“The outer ring of the workflow diagram shows the main grouping into which things will go as you decide what they are and what needs to be done about them,” writes Allen.

 

Trash

Someday/Maybe

Projects & Project Plans

Reference

Waiting For

Calendar

Next Actions

 

I set up storage bins to hold most of the things that fit into these main groupings as I go through the steps of the diagram above. I mark the bins clearly because I am a visual person. Also because the more you can get out of your head and onto paper–the better.

Trash: I absolutely love purging items. If I can put something in a trash bag, I will! Old financial and confidential documents no longer needed are shredded. And I recycle. I also donate applicable things as well.

Someday/Maybe: I rip pages out of magazines constantly. Then I recycle the magazine. The pages are normally of places that I want to visit, things I want to do, products that I want to try. These go in the Someday/Maybe bin. I also make labels for file folders to put here to organize travel, products, etc. You can also keep a running list of these things and keep in this bin. Then the item where the idea originated from can be trashed or recycled.

Reference: I use file folders with labels here for household records, medical records, income taxes, etc. You may find that these folders are only looked at a few times a year–only when you need to access information, update, or purge. I also use a holding tray for reference items I want to act on immediately and may not need the reference item afterward.

Calendar: In addition to housing all the important dates in your life such as birthdays and anniversaries, calendars are great for triggering action. I prefer an online calendar and the one on my cell phone. I can set up alerts for upcoming events or things to review in lieu of a piece of paper. Writing actions on a printed calendar is still effective if you place it a week ahead or a day ahead and you monitor your calendar daily.

Projects & Project Plans: This bin for me is oversized or consists of more than one bin. I always have dozens of projects going on. The key is to assess the next step for the project. Here are my scrapbooks and the materials that go with them. I have several lists of DIY projects that I want to tackle as well in this bin. Any projects with deadlines can be noted on your calendar and a reminder alert can be set up if it is a digital one.

Waiting For: This area can be a little dicey. Here is where items go that you need someone else’s input on. Or you need something else to take place before it can be accomplished. Write what you are waiting for on a Post-it note and attach it. I will discuss weekly reviews in the third part of this series about how to stay on top of this grouping and the others.

Next Actions: I do not rely on the physical thing to trigger my mind to process it. I write what the next action is on a Post-it note and attach it. Many times that allows me to purge it from this particular bin completely. Make the next action specific. For example, Use this data for my post next week, file this in Receipts, etc. If I use file folders with labels in this bin, the Post-it note is attached to the front of the folder. Everything else is a single sheet of paper or an object with a note stating a specific next step.

TIP: Represent a large physical object with a sheet of paper. Write a name for the object on it and place it in the holding tray/storage bin for the main grouping it belongs in.

 

The intent is not to keep these bins full all the time. Part 3 of this series will talk about how to review these bins to get things constantly moved out of them.

Which organizing system do you use?

Do you think the workflow diagram is helpful?

 

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Turquoise Summer Statement Necklaces

Summer is right around the corner and it’s time to start planning out that wardrobe. In addition to buying dresses, skirts, shorts and tank tops – you most definitely will need to accessorize! I love all the big, bold jewelry that’s popular these days – especially the turquoise stone necklaces! Let’s look at some super cute hand-made turquoise necklaces that you can buy from Etsy. They are so fun and affordable!

1. Turquoise Summer Necklace by Chosendaughter: I love the combination of big turquoise stones and small peach beads on this necklace. This necklace would really accessorize a simple summer outfit! $42.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Passion Red & Turquoise Necklace by BijouxForest: This handmade necklace is just stunning. The red fabric flower is wrapped with two strands of wire wrapped turquoise beads. The brass chain gives it a romantic vintage style. This would be ideal for a summer beach wedding, but I think it would be perfect for any special occasion this summer! $28.80

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Summer Skies Necklace by LinLanJewelry: I love the layering in this four-strand necklace and the mix of turquoise and yellow-orange. Again, this necklace is so beautiful that it can be the focal point of your outfit. It can be dressed up or down depending on the look you’re going for. As an added bonus, you also get a matching bracelet and earrings to make it a complete set! $39.00

 

 

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Character vs. Caricature

I successfully made it through the 500 word story fragment all in imperatives and this week we are talking about character vs. caricature. The course is on flash fiction which is simply ultra short stories anywhere from 75 words to a long 500 or so. I took this to become better at tight, concise writing, that still conveyed a rich amount of material.

In class we compared character as the profile of the person and caricature as the defining characteristic. Being able to covey what the people in your story are all about in such a short amount of words is not easy. Especially, since you have to get the entire story out there.

But I know it will make me a better writer!

Here are a few flash fiction stories I thought you might enjoy. They won’t take long to read…they’re short!

Flash Fiction Stories

Let me know your favorite.

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Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

I love anything pumpkin. In fact, in the fall I usually go on pumpkin overload and then once the season is over I don’t usually seek out pumpkin stuff until the next season. It just seems more of a fall food than spring or summer. But I came across this protein pumpkin muffin recipe that I just had to try. The original recipe is from Dashing Dish but I made a few modifications to it. Surprisingly, it still turned out.

Ingredients

I cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup applesauce, non-sweetened

6oz plain, non-fat, greek yogurt

3 egg whites

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 vanilla lean EAS Pure Protein powder

1 cup splenda

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup ground flax seed (I took regular flax seeds that I just ground up)

The beauty of this recipe is you just take all that stuff and dump it in a blender or food processor. I love easy!

Preheat over to 350. Spoon into muffin pan, it made 12 large ones for me, and bake for about 18-22 minutes.

The first time I didn’t use muffin liners and they stuck a little. The finished product is super moist. The second time I did and it worked much better.

After they cool I stuck them in the refrigerator and they lasted a week.

At less than a hundred calories per muffin and containing about 5g of protein and 3g of fiber they are a healthy snack. Yummy in the morning with coffee!

Enjoy!

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Living in Indiana

I was born and raised just north of Flint, Michigan and moved to Indiana almost 13 years ago. I’ve never felt in either place the sense of WOW is great to live here. I’ve liked Indiana better than Michigan simply from an economic standpoint but I wasn’t committed to loving either. This weekend however, I actually... READ MORE »

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Happy Mother’s Day!!!

To all the amazing mothers out there have a great day with your families!! Laina    

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Fab 5 Friday

It’s Friday again…YEAH!!!!!! Looking forward to a weekend filled with sunshine, baseball, and something red velvet (food not fabric) for Mother’s Day. Here are my favs from around the web this week! Penniless Socialite  Stripes and Lime Green Love these colors! A Cup Of Jo  A Hair Trick  I want one of these brushes for my... READ MORE »

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Getting Things Done (Part 1 of 4): Mastering Workflow

I am not receiving any compensation for this post. This post is based on my opinion and personal experience. The best book I’ve ever read on being productive is Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. Regardless of your work situation, this book can help you tremendously. When I get off track and feel overwhelmed... READ MORE »

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