#makelists

I may just be a poor “Googler,” but I was searching for a list making challenge and didn’t find one that was quite right, so I’m creating my own. They can be as long or as short as needed. The goal is to get something written, maybe jog some creative thoughts. Everything is open to interpretation and/or change. 

List 1: This week’s “to-do” list.

List 2: Favorite songs.

List 3: Things you love about Autumn.

List 4: Colors.

List 5: Memories from elementary school.

List 6: Holidays.

List 7: Books you love.

List 8: Places you have visited and/or lived.

List 9: What is on your Amazon wish list.

List 10: Changes you would like to see in the world.

List 11: Occupations.

List 12: Podcasts you have listened / actively listen to. 

List 13: Things you love about Winter.

List 14: TV shows that you have watched.

List 15: Animals. 

List 16: Books you want to read.

List 17: Topics you enjoy talking and/or writing about. 

List 18: First names of people. 

List 19: Games you have played. 

List 20: Things you love about Summer.

List 21: Places you would like to visit and/or live.

List 22: Changes you would like to make to your home.

List 23: Movies you like. 

List 24: Dog breeds.

List 25: Things you love about Spring.

List 26: Concerts/shows you have seen and/or would like to see.

List 27: Words you can never seem to remember how to spell.

List 28: Things you might put on your bucket list.

List 29: Regrets you may have. 

List 30: Favorite bands.

List 31: Things you love about where you live.

List 32: YouTube channels you enjoy watching. 

List 33: Pet peeves. 

List 34: Colleges/Universities.

List 35: Names of animals/pets that have crossed the rainbow bridge that you still think about, whether it be often or from time to time.

List 36: Things you don’t like.

List 37: People that have inspired (and/or continue to inspire) you.

List 38: Types of clothing.

List 39: Things in your home that bring you joy. 

List 40: Scents you enjoy. 

List 41: Websites you frequent.

List 42: Languages. 

List 43: Subscriptions that you have/had.

List 44: Things you have hung on your walls.

List 45: Foods you enjoy.

List 46: Things you miss from childhood.

List 47: Weather.

List 48: Places.

List 49: Things you do every day.

How to Be Ruthless with Time

If you’ve created a time management plan and still failed to reach your goals, it’s likely because you’re too flexible and easy on yourself and others when it comes to the schedule. The sorry fact is that time is not limitless. You can’t get more. You can’t work harder to get more of it; it’s a finite resource that cannot be increased or replaced. When you realize that time is finite and that there really might not be some future distant tomorrow, you might start being more ruthless with the time you’ve got. Follow these tips to make time management so much easier. Just Say No The biggest factor in being ruthless with your time is learning to say no. If you really do not want to do something, you must say no. There is no sin in saying no. The only reason you feel guilty about the word is that your mother taught you saying no was wrong. It’s time to realize that as a grown-up you can now say no. Get Up on Time This is a hard one for many but it doesn’t have to be hard as you think. If you are a small business owner who works from home, it’s actually pretty easy. You do not need more than seven or eight hours of sleep a night. If you can limit your sleep to no more than eight hours, you will gain time. If you typically sleep less than six you may need to get in a bit more sleep to be most productive with your time. Try to Be Early If you need to drive places or you have deadlines for work, schedule your time so that you are going to be early. The reason is that this is one of the ways to eliminate urgency from your life, which in turn causes stress and can cause problems with time management. This way if something does happen out of the ordinary, you will still have time to meet a deadline and be on time. Turn Off Technology The very thing that is supposed to make our time more productive can have the opposite effect too. The notifications of new emails, your Facebook stream, and unscheduled time on Pinterest can get out of hand. Turn it off. You’ll gain so much more time. That includes your TV, too. Understand Your Internal Clock Everyone has an internal time clock. It’s important not to fight against that and be aware of what it is. Some people are early risers and some people are night owls and others are in between. It’s important for you to determine for yourself what your own internal clock is and then work with it. Make Lists

If you understand each step that goes behind a calendar listing, it will be more beneficial because it’s easier to allocate enough time for each thing when you know what it takes to complete any given task. You won’t be able to accurately determine the time it takes without all the information. Calendar It Put everything in your calendar including everyday tasks, small steps for a project due in the future, and time with family, friends and yourself. Don’t skip this step so that when someone asks for your time you can easily schedule them in (or not) based on your availability. Avoid Meetings Some meetings are important, such as a first client meeting to establish goals and determine tactics, but after that almost everything else can be accomplished through updates in a project management system. There is no real need for weekly meetings for updates, or to discuss anything that can easily be put into a memo. Touch 'It' Only Once Another way to be ruthless with your time is to not allow yourself to wait to do things later. If you get an email that requires a response, do it now. If you check your snail mail and a bill needs to be paid, schedule it now. If you get junk mail, delete it now. Only check your mail when you have time to deal with these issues. Finally, don’t be too hard on yourself in terms of the hours you schedule yourself to work. Yes, be ruthless about the schedule, but also schedule in fun time. Humans aren’t designed to work 20 hours a day. Go ahead, schedule 8 to 10 hours a day of work. But, in between, schedule in breaks. Time with friends, family and spouses during any given work day is important too. Also, remember to schedule in breaks like weekends and vacations. If you do that, it’ll be so much easier to be ruthless with time and stick to your schedule normally.

Moving Series: Cleaning Current Home

This post is going to be a quick one.

I thought I would share my current cleaning routine of our house, I keep it real quick not really much detail cleaning as when we move and the house is empty I will be coming back to give it one last good clean for the new home owners. First I would say make lists of your must do’s, want needs to be done, and the final list of what’s left.

I continue to clean…