The ever abiding calm

I am quietly, but ever so diligently, working through my days with some big goals in mind. 2010 must be my year for motivation and dedication - as I used to give up after around a month! Not now. Have no idea what's changed. Perhaps I am older and am no longer willing to live my life the way society wants me to? I want to live for me.

We got our wonderful seed packets from Eden Seeds this week - they are open pollinated and natural. I've started off with 10 herbs that are all going to be sowed into egg containers and planted into containers. A little herb garden just outside our window. I can't recommend Eden Seeds highly enough - everything with the order was absolutely perfect and the seeds look nice and healthy...

I have been getting some great emails of late - one particular one that arrived some days ago had a link to '80 ways to steal valuable minutes from your work day'. I don't necessarily hold that this list is just for the work day - I think there are some great hints for every day life. Here are some of my faves...

Jonathan Fields - "Batch & Focus - Multitasking kills time. Again, sounds counter-intuitive. But, every time you switch your attention, there's a cognitive ramp up time. It can range from a few seconds to a few minutes. So, if you constantly cycle between checking email, IM, twitter, texts, voicemail, calendars, blackberries, apps, scores, stock quotes, news, current projects and more, then respond to each, the time you lose to incessant ramp-up becomes substantial. Instead, minimize time lost to nonstop cognitive ramping by batching your time and focusing on individual categories of tasks with intense, yet discrete bursts of attention."

Erin Doland - "If you work for yourself or work from home, set strict office hours. This is an important rule for you and for everyone else in your life. These boundaries keep you at your desk and productive throughout the day and also remind people that you are a professional. When you're done with work for the day, clear your desk, hit the do-not-disturb button on your phone, turn off the light, and close the door."

Carolyn Heacock - "Start scheduling certain days to do certain things, so there is a flow to your week or your month. This adds structure to an otherwise crazy week."

Jonathan Salem Baskin - "Another tactic many of my clients use is the 'touch once' principle, which means they resolve things the first time they encounter them...whether opened email or a telephone call. If you avoid parking things in 'to do later' piles, whether actual or virtual, you free those minutes for more constructive work."