Morning Tips for Non-Morning People

Morning Tips for Non-Morning People

I am not a morning person. In fact, I have great difficulty in waking up unless there is sufficient light. And since winter is a time of insufficient morning light, coupled with cold mornings, it is very difficult for me to get up and get things done. Yet getting those things done is what sets the tone for the whole day. Here are five ways that I get past the groggies:
Ways To Find More Time For Yourself

Ways To Find More Time For Yourself

As the year is winding down, I reviewed my bullet journal. I was definitely busy in 2021, but busy with what? The minutiae of daily living. And yet I found myself wanting more time for me. I decided to brainstorm some ways to get myself some more time for myself.
Life Design: What Do I Want My Weekend To Look Like?

Life Design: What Do I Want My Weekend To Look Like?

When I first approached deliberate living, I knew that I was going to have to make changes. My life wasn't anywhere close to what I wanted it to be. But I also realized that to a certain extent, I could design my life.

Obviously, since I work outside the home for someone else, I don't have much choice in how that goes. But at home? That's a different story.

And I started with the biggest chunk of time that I have: my weekends.
Simplifying Holiday Meals

Simplifying Holiday Meals

I love traditional holiday meals. Not necessarily because of the traditions themselves, although they are meaningful, but because no one expects innovation. And no innovation means simple, because I've done it all before.

As part of my move to deliberate living I have moved away from complex meals that stress me out to the point where I can't enjoy the holiday. So that means simplicity, repeatability and more enjoyment.

With the American Thanksgiving and the winter holidays coming up, I thought I would share with you how I have simplified the big Thanksgiving dinner we have at our house.
A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life

People can learn by rote, or being instructed. But those that retain the information the longest are the ones who can apply it to their own perspective. As a teacher the things I found students retained were the things that they could relate to or customize to their own.

The same thing applies out of school. A reader recently contacted me to learn about my typical day so that she could see if anything I did could help her structure her own. Rather than send her an overly-long email, I decided to make it a post with the hopes it might help other people too.
What’s in My Weekly Review And Plan

What’s in My Weekly Review And Plan

In writing, there are two types of people: planners and pantsers. Planners outline everything and have a plan, and pantsers fly by the seat of their pants. Both produce novels; however the pantsers end up having to go back and straighten out all of the little plot issues and character problems after the fact. It's like planning after you've already done the work.

Personal life is also much like this: there are planners and there are pantsers. The difference with life and time, though, is that you can't go back and change what happened in a week if it exploded in your face. I have long thought that planning is the way to make sure that I'm not wasting precious time having to rework and retry things after the fact. Today we will look at both my work and personal weekly review and plan, along with the whys of everything I do.
5 Things My Dog Taught Me About Weight Loss

5 Things My Dog Taught Me About Weight Loss

One of the aspects of deliberate living I have struggled with is getting healthier. For a long time I gave in to the negative habits I fall back on when stressed, namely stress eating and reading as a means of escape. The end result of this, after years of this behavior, is that I am packing extra poundage and I'm not as strong as I once was.

Deliberate living doesn't mean I get the easy choices. I am choosing instead to act in a way that will move me towards health, and that means weight loss. I've learned some lessons along the way, especially from our late dog.