TIME -Writer's Block, Carpe Diem, & Blogs...oh my

Wow! Another year is coming to a close. With the 'just happy to be here' refrain ringing in my ears, there is always cause for reflection as the milestones of your life loom on the horizon or in your rear view mirror.

This morning at Sunrise, I reflected on my continual search for the perfect organized formula for the perfect organized day. I am a 'list' person. I make lists every day. Sometimes (often) when I misplace the first list, I have to start another list. The lists are everywhere. Mainly because I never finish all the things on any list, I hang on to it to start yet another continuation list.

Now that I have a 'fixation' currently on TIME, its valued allotment in our lives and how we can maximize the value of the moments given each of us, I try to be efficient with the use of my minutes.

Distraction seems to be the biggest challenge regarding the best use of my time. Similar to arriving in Las Vegas for the first time, with a million lights and glitter to overwhelm the eye, my chosen environment is full of glitter and attractive sparkly things (no, I am not blond - what's left of my hair is mostly gray).

I have a hundred things on a hundred 'To Do' lists (the most recent of which is to write this BLOG). A typical challenge for me is that I start with a very clear picture first thing (my Sunrise Self Directive) as to how my day should go and what I wish to accomplish. Today it was:

*Get up, get dressed and be outside by Sunrise

*Snap my Sunrise picture.

*Complete my reflections, gratitudes and plan the best use of my moments of this fresh new day

*Take my camera upstairs to my office.

*Plug it into the computer and upload the picture.

*Write this blog post.

*Click on 'Publish this blog'

*Move on with the other 99 things on my ‘To Do’ list.

Pretty simple...Today’s Reality:

*I got up early, showered and dressed. I got outside in TIME for the Sunrise photo op.

*I took several pictures.

*It is now 7:23 AM. I am rockin’.

*I successfully completed my gratitude and reflection and plan for my day.

* Back inside, I made coffee (caffeine) for my wife and another cup (decaf) for me, so I can settle into my well-organized day (starting with this blog post).

*Waiting for the coffee to finish, I took a quick glance at the 'list' from an earlier day with three things yet to be done.

*So, I started a new list.

*While converting the old list to the 'new' list I was reminded (while making prodigious notes) of yet another grand idea for a totally different blog to write on yet another day. No writer's block here. I am a virtual font of ideas.

*Running a bit behind on my self-inflicted schedule, coffee in hand, I headed upstairs with my camera to turn on my computer and upload the photos. I hooked-up to the internet and opened my homepage to start this blog.

*The first thing I see is my new emails that have come in since my last view (God help me when I "just check my email real fast", as it is a slippery downhill path to a totally distracted-glitterati-dazzling mental Las Vegas at-night-for-the-first-time experience).

*Oh, look - there is an email from a friend that begged a 'quick' response. I am already right there, so to save some TIME from having to log in and answer it later, I jot off a quick reply.

* Also, there is a notification comment from a fan on one of my blogs that requires I go to that blog page to approve and comment. Since I am right there, I decide to save some more TIME from touching it twice and just completed the task.

* So, I am also now seeing a notification in my email box about a new blog post from one of the 30 writers I follow (on subjects I have an interest in) and because it just might have an original, interesting angle on the blog post I am supposed to be doing (like right now) I take just a 'second' to check it out...after logging into the host website. I read the whole thing; I posted a comment and got back to my original task.

* Even the uploading of my Sunrise photo requires the editing and choosing amongst the half dozen shots I took.

* But first, I have to open my photo file to manage it and make sure it isn't from the same angle as three days ago, which requires that:

*I open the previous photo file to peruse the ten pictures I took last Monday

* But, the first photo that popped up was actually my screen saver photo of my family at Christmas.

*That reminded ‘me to shoot off a 'quick' email to my sons (all moved out of the house) about the availability of my vast coffee cup collection we are getting rid of to 'simplify’ our lives, so we will have more TIME. I knock out the email, add the picture, and hit ‘send’.

It is now 9:30 am. Blog not completed.

*Everybody is finally up and moving around. I stopped writing to make breakfast for everyone.

*After breakfast, my youngest son (22) shows up to take my daughter (12) to the movies, because she is out of school for the holidays. He just graduated from college a few weeks ago, so I inquire about his job hunt. He tells me only thing that is new is that he was laid off from his temp Christmas holiday job. Still no job offers.

*We head up to my office to discuss my offer to hire him, personally, to increase the productivity of my office to properly hook-up all my electronic toys (scanners, printers, VHS to DVD converter...old family movies..., etc.) to save me even more TIME.

*We finally finish that conversation, which took much longer than I expected, as all the family members kept interrupting with more distracting questions, observations, and comments not related to my job offer description to my son.

*My son and daughter drive away for the day.

*At last, I head back to the computer and my blog. My wife takes this moment (with jacket and car keys in hand) , to share that this will be the opportune time to visit the new museum that just opened, because my daughter hates museums, we enjoy museums, and now that she is spending the day with her older brother, this would be the perfect ‘TIME' to go to the museum.

*It is now 11:00 am. Blog may never get finished.

*So, I grab my jacket and off we go to spend the day at the museum. We have to park a very long way away to find the nearest parking spot. It was very nice; we loved it and spent the day walking 10,000 steps on cold tile floors. Culture is now spewing from my orifices. I am, however, inspired to write a travel blog about this museum on another day and took several pictures. I jot the idea down on my To Do 'list'.

*On the way home from the museum we decide to drop off last night's movie rental, because the movie rental kiosk is just inside our neighborhood grocery store right on our way. Here we are, saving TIME. We thought we would save even some more TIME by buying just a few baking supplies, because we are already in the store. But, because it is almost New Year’s Eve, everyone else was in the store with us and the lines at the checkout areas were exceedingly long, with everybody's basket piled high with gin and beer.

*I am not a big drinker, but heavily considering it now (should have loaded some Scotch next to the chocolate chips and sugar), as I think I will never get home and this may become the great 'unfinished' blog that never was.

*My wife and I finally arrived back at home, just at the same time as my son and daughter did, and of course, as we are good parents, we listened intently, as they regaled us with all the details of their day's adventures.

It is now 5:30 pm. Blog still unfinished.

*Murphy's Law; it is also now dinner time and as I am the house chef, I worked my culinary magic once again, ate dinner, cleaned up the kitchen and asked everyone in earshot if there was anything else that anybody needed me to do.

*The pleading, desperate look in my eyes convinced one and all to say no, relieving me of any more distractions from this morning's first task: Get up. Take the picture. Write the blog.

*It is now 7:15 pm. What is a blog and how do I write one? I don’t think I know anymore.

*What should I write about today?

rlw

*Writer's Block is my problem.

*Not the kind of Writer's Block where you can't think of anything to say, but the kind like the freeway is blocked with a big wreck and you can’t get through. This is the kind of block where you sabotage yourself with distractions, helped along by well-intentioned loved ones and (if I wasn't on vacation this week) co-workers/bosses, traffic, laundry, cooking eating, cleaning. shopping, etc.

*Did I mention that none of the above was on my To Do list this morning?

*The silver lining (love the Half-Full attitude) is that the actual actions of my day answered the burning question:

*What should I write about today?

*It is now 7:25pm. Twelve hours have elapsed. I had just the one thing to do on my list this morning. Write a blog about TIME. Where did the TIME go?

*I am in my office and I am almost done with the blog. I am trying to concentrate to correct my multiple spelling errors. My daughter just popped in to inquire about watching TV in my office, because the screen is bigger. I respectfully asked (pleaded) for another quiet 10 minutes to complete this blog. She huffs and puffs out (teenagers – I am now the bad guy) . I regain my train of thought and I am almost there. The door opens again to my inner sanctum. My wife wants to know where the receipts are for my last oil change.

*I am still almost there. It is now 8:07 pm.

* Blog done (I think). If you are reading this, I actually pushed the ‘Publish’ button. Please excuse any spelling errors.

*Carpe Diem. Seize the Day....or the Day will Seize you

*It is now 9:10 pm.

rlw