My October Goals: More Decluttering, More Reading, and a Charity Walk

Tyrone sitting in the tote I'm using for Limbo books.

In September, I had too many goals. I realized it within a week and let myself off the hook for some of them.

The goals that stuck were:
1. So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown.
2. Blog my way through the countdown.
3. 750 Words daily writing challenge.

None of them were perfect, but all of them were finished. Sadly, 750 Words has a different definition of "finished" than I do. I'm okay with writing twice as much the next day if I skip a day. They consider that failing. One month I will complete the challenge by their standards and you will be mine, Sassy Horse Badge!

I want it. 750words.com

It's too late for me to sign up for the October challenge with 750words.com, but I will continue to use it as a brain dump and to write drafts.

My goals for October are as follows:

1. Remove all decluttered items from my home. I was originally only going to give myself a week to do that, but it's a bigger job now that I know I have to check everything for roaches and sanitize it before it goes anywhere. (It should be okay. I packed everything up in air tight-ish containers. Eeeee.)
2. Read more! I've decided to give myself a daily page number goal of 75 pages.
(More about this below.)
3. Promote and prepare for the NF Walk in L.A. on October 25. A sub-goal of this is to keep up my routines and start moving them earlier in the day. I have a few events scheduled, including the walk, that start early in the morning, and I'd like to be rested and strong for them.

I thought about structuring this month differently. Instead of having task-based goals, I thought about using the Todoist app to set productivity goals instead. "Complete X number of tasks per day." I might do something like that for November, when I have big things planned, (wink wink), but it doesn't feel right for this month.

These used to be organized by color.
It was beautiful.

I like the idea of a reading goal because at the end I can say, "Look how many books I finished!" The idea came when decluttering my books last month. I realized I have four long shelves of books I haven't read, or haven't read in a long time.

Four shelves is the amount after decluttering 60 books! 


Many of my books are "In Limbo," because they very well may be decluttered if they aren't life-changing and referenceable. I'm also reading a few library books for book clubs, and because I couldn't resist.

75 pages is not an ambitious goal at all. I purposefully set a low number so it would be achievable without getting in the way of all the other tasks. It's still more than I had been reading, and that's how goal setting works sometimes. It doesn't always have to be a big jump. So far I've read closer to 300 pages a day, because I got in the zone.

I finished reading my first book of the month yesterday and it felt great, as that particular accomplishment always does. I'm reading four at a time in different genres, which I wasn't sure was the best idea, but I'm enjoying it.

I think I'll go read right now!

Dream Day: Successes and Lessons

"Tomorrow, I'm going to evaluate my Dream Day calendar."

One of my goals for June was to figure out what my Dream Day looked like and live it. I made a separate Google calendar with alerts to remind me to switch tasks throughout the day. It included everything from a writing schedule to eating times. I knew from the beginning that something that strict wouldn't work for me, but I wanted to see how it wouldn't work for me, and hoped that some parts would.

Well, I stuck to the strict schedule exactly zero times. But here's what did work:

1. Reminders to eat.

I have habit of distracting myself all day, forgetting to eat, and then eating one huge meal at night. And I wonder why I feel so tired every day! My Dream Day calendar included reminders to eat, which included general amounts (Big Breakfast, Medium Lunch, Snack, Dinner). Those reminders encouraged me to check in with myself and attend to my hunger/fullness levels.

2. Rituals and Sacrifices.

I learned that it doesn't work (at this stage of my life) to assign myself a ten minute slot in which to brush my teeth, and the follow it with a ten minute window for face-washing. What does work is generally putting it into practice that face-washing comes after tooth-brushing. That "Order of Operations" routine ensured that I took care of myself and my home even when I was distracted or tired because there's no thinking about what comes next.

3. Cleaning as Meditation.

Having an alarm tell me when to clean was...ineffective. (Had to prevent myself from writing "stupid.") As I expected would happen, after a few days I developed a Don't Tell Me What to Do attitude at the alert. After a few more days, it became just another notification on my phone that I glance at and ignore. However! I think there was something helpful about seeing the words "Cleaning Meditation" twice a day, like they were planted in my subconsious.

Since I made that calendar, I've been placing less weight on chores. I feel less of a sense of "OMG, I'll be washing dishes everyday for the rest of my life!" and more of a sense of "It feels good to care for my belongings."

4. Confidence

...in my ability to take charge of my time. After how much I struggled to keep a schedule for school or jobs, I believed that I was incapable of maintaining a schedule. I would forever have to deal with erratic sleep times and cancelling plans last minute because I didn't have the "discipline" to follow through.

I'm learning that time management is a skill. It takes practice and patience to master. Establishing routines that work for me requires a deliberate effort, but my Dream Day does not require discipline.

It's like time is an ecosystem and all the tasks sustain each other. My morning routine is smoother if I've done my cleaning the evening before. I have more creative stamina when I start the day off with that productive morning routine. 

5. The Dream Day is a State of Mind

When I imagine my Dream Day from waking to going to sleep, it's ultimately not about the tasks of the thing. It's about how the tasks make me feel. When I say, "I want the sink to be empty before I go to bed," it means, "I don't want to worry about the little things." I want my headspace clear for art and science, explorations, love and loss and sensory brilliance. (Too arty?)

And that is why there is no shame in missing a step in the routine. Or totally losing the routine. Or not even trying to have a routine. Routines fit us like clothes. The clothes can be the wrong size. Our bodies can't be wrong. A routine can be the wrong organizational tool for us. We can't fail the routine.

Today's curated art prints were "Corujitear" and "When I sleep my dreams are awake" by Rodrigo Troitino. Love the description on Society6: The best translations for "Corujitear" is to act as a owl around, 'carpe diem and carpe nocte'. Yes, it´s about coffee and good feelings.

Dinner Party Guests: A Brand-Finding Exercise

"Tomorrow, I'm going to figure out who I would invite to a dinner party, and which aspects of that party define my personal brand."

Apparently it's an outdoor dinner party that includes a discussion on worthiness, playing with action figures, a concert, and trip to New York.

My goal this month is to complete 30 branding, marketing, or web design projects. It could have been too abstract of a goal, but I already have a list of 17 branding exercises from the Braid Creative e-book, Being Boss podcast, and AndKathleen.com, which all have Kathleen Shannon in common, so thank you for being so awesome, Kathleen Shannon!

These are my notes from Kathleen's explanation of the exercise in the Being Boss episode on branding: 

What aspects of your guest's personalities attract people?

What aspects of your guest's personalities seal the deal? 

Example: Brené Brown (who was going to be on my list anyway, so that works out!)

Inspire + Attract           ---          Reassure + Deliver

Authenticity                                  Methodology

Humor                                           Research

Performance                                 Organization

 

This exercise reminds me of that saying, "You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with." Except, of course, in this case you're the sum of five people you admire. 

After I put my name in the 'sum' box, I felt a twinge of anxiety. Am I really asserting that I'm all these things? People are gonna think I'm full of myself. Here's the thing: I'll never present all these qualities all the time. That would make me perfect. But this is what I value, what I believe makes a "good" person, and what I do my best to put out in the world. 

My next exercise: The 'Love it or Hate it' List. Stay Tuned!

I, (Sarah), am a Braid affiliate – that means when you use the links in my post I get a commission on all referred sales. That said, I fully believe in The Braid Method as I hope is obvious in this post.

Braid Creative eCourse

Image Sources

Brené Brown: http://jeffgissing.com/2013/08/13/three-lessons-from-brene-brown-at-leadership-summit/

Regina Spektor:© Mark Humphrey/AP/Press Association Images

Dana Scully: http://www.snakkle.com/galleries/before-they-were-stars-now-and-then-tv-most-famous-hairdo/gillian-anderson-gc/
Tim Gunn: © Noel Vasquez/Getty Images
Lauren Faust: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Faust#/media/File:LaurenFaustSPFF.png
Dinner Party: http://style-files.com/2010/05/18/outdoor-dinner-party/

A Bath of Ice Water: Committing to My Dream Day

"Tomorrow, I'm going to use my Dream Day as a schedule template."

At this month's Live Your Legend Local (LYLL) meeting, I brought up the concept of the Dream Day. I'd heard about how your Dream Day is part of your personal brand on the Being Boss podcast.* The exercise is to describe what your ideal day looks like, from the time you wake up to the time you wrap your wings around you as you hang upside down from a cave overhead. Or put your head on a pillow...however you sleep. 

I found it surprisingly difficult to answer:

What would my Dream Day look like?

So I rephrased the question:

What daily habits would help me accomplish my long-term goals?

What daily habits would help keep me healthy and active?

What daily habits would bring the most meaning and art to my life?

I made a calendar called 'Dream Day' to help me visualize it. 

(WIP. Definitely need a better word than "Grooming.")

My daily life now looks nothing like my Dream Day. It looks more like this:

How to Make the Dream Day Real

Jim's Idea: Jim, another LYLL participant, likened a major change like this to taking a bath in ice water. If you just stick your toe in, the chill might shoot you back and you'll never come near the stuff again. Better to commit to all of it. It's frikkin cold at first, but then you're in and it actually starts to feel warm.

Lorraine's Idea: The marathon method. Commit to one small change until you've mastered it. Repeat. She got into a solid routine for herself this way.

Before I could pick a method, I had to address a very important point everyone in the group touched on:

There's nothing wrong with my habits now.

I've never maintained a schedule like my Dream Day calendar's. However, I have met all the goals I've set for myself lately. So it looks like having a strict schedule is not essential to my success. I do the best I can with the resources available to me at any moment, so I can't assume MORE and BETTER will suddenly appear because an alarm clock goes off.

It's likely that the Dream Day, at least in schedule format, is an over-correction, forcing someone else's definition of 'a day well spent' onto myself.

But here's what I want:

1. To get sick less frequently

2. To have more energy

3. To produce more creative content

4. To find my tribe and build community

Based on what I know about metabolism science and the immune system, (which is admittedly minimal), 1. and 2. will improve with regulated sleep and eating, so:

I just gotta try it.

I'm gonna commit fully to the routine, like submerging in an ice bath, but get there by moving my schedule up one hour a day. The point is to have more energy so it doesn't make sense to wake up 4 hours earlier all of a sudden.

I'll also allow for a lot of self-forgiveness if the transition is bumpy.

*The Being Boss Podcast hosts literally only mentioned Dream Day + Branding and I ran with it. I'm not sure how they definite it or approach the topic with their clients. Maybe I'll message them to find out.