Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

2011 was amazing!

I had record year for travelling: Honolulu, Austin and San Diego with an unscheduled quick sleepover in  Phoenix, Mississauga, Portland and Los Angeles. My travel agent even suggested that it now might be worthwhile to get an air miles card.

I had the opportunity to present at South-by-Southwest (SXSW), the 26th Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference (CSUN 2010) and Successful Online Business Conference (SOBCon);

I had the pleasure of meeting new friends and happily reconnecting with old ones.

However, all of this – and more – has left me feeling tired for several months; more than “go have a nap” tired, more like “too tired to fight any more” tired. This may partially explain my four colds in the last four months. (Although coughing for 2-3 weeks per month has done wonders for my abdominal muscles!)

Changes are definitely needed to get my health back, to create some balance, and to feel like a million bucks again.

For the next while, at least, I am committing to a four-hour work day without any crazy deadlines (no matter how urgent clients claim it is). This isn’t as drastic as Tim Ferris’ 4-Hour Workweek. (Is that even possible? Seriously?)

In preparation for keeping me focused and on task, I have created two columns with the question “Am I Doing What I Should Be Doing Now?”. In the “Yes” column, I have listed:

• Client work
• Writing blog posts or other content
• Research
• Webinars
• Relevant Tweet chats
• Marketing activities (if I must)
• Paying bills
• Filing papers
• Bookkeeping
• Packaging books
• Work-related email

In the “No” column:

• Twitter, other than to share posts and other “just can’t wait!” tweets
• Facebook
• Housework
• Personal email
• Google+ without a real purpose

My plan is to work from 10 (realistically) until 2. By focusing on work tasks for four hours, without interruptions, I am hoping that I will be as equally productive as sitting here all day.

I will break for lunch when my stomach tells me it is lunchtime – typically around 2:30. I will hang out with friends and family on Twitter, Facebook and email while eating lunch.

After a reasonable amount of time at the virtual water cooler, I plan on doing something radical: turning off my computer! …and going to do something else. It might be:

• Doing scheduled housework
• Decluttering a specific nook or cranny
• Trying something new in the kitchen (Did I just say that? Publicly? Oops.)
• Napping with my kitty
• Reading a book
• Going out
• Exercising
• Connecting with local friends
• Anything that isn’t on the computer

I might turn on my computer again later in the day; my second book is begging to be written. Or, I might be content doing whatever I am doing and leave it off until the next day.

Sounds like a plan for restoring my health and balance in my life, right?

Feel free to hold me to the “Yes” and “No” lists to help me stay focused and on task. Once I have given this a fair try, I will report on whether a four-hour work day can be as equally productive an all-day shift.

Meanwhile, I would like to wish you health – physical, spiritual, emotional, mental and financial – and hope – hope that tomorrow will be better, or, if today was great, hope that tomorrow is equally as great – for 2012.

Happy New Year to you!

Dear readers, friends and family,

Thank you for your generous support. Because of you, 120 people will enjoy a Christmas dinner at the Union Gospel Mission.

Your generosity has warmed my heart and brought a tear to my eye. Regardless of what is happening in the world, the giving Christmas spirit is still alive and well. Thank you.

I would also like to thank each one of you for your support and friendship throughout the year, and I’d like to wish you the very best for 2012!

Glenda

No matter how lean the year had been, Mom always found four cans of soup and four packages of Jell-O – “This is a meal for a family in need,” she would say – for us four kids to give to the Christmas hamper at school. I felt like an important piece of the Christmas season was missing until I had taken my soup can, my contribution, to school.

On Darrell’s and mine wedding day, Mom and my brother Kevin packaged up the leftover food and delivered it to the Union Gospel Mission. Since then, the UGM has held a special place in my heart.

Three years ago, I decided to do something more than a can of soup and a package of Jell-O. Thanks to you, my readers and friends, we fed 100 people Christmas dinner at the UGM. Since then, we have fed another 100 people or more.

Can we do it again this year?

The UGM is once again offering a hot meal for $3.29 during their Christmas campaign. Reminiscing the good times the six of us Watsons had around our dining table, I can contribute six meals.

Would you join me, please? Click the orange ChipIn button below to give whatever feels right for you at this time. This ChipIn widget expires on December 23rd. I will forward the total amount to the UGM on Friday.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

I am loving how the Amazon Kindle ebook reader is opening opportunities for those of us who have self-published. In addition to being available on Amazon.com, I am excited to announce that my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself is now available from the Amazon stores in:

Newly Created Opportunity by Amazon

Last week I received an email from Amazon announcing Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select – "a new option dedicated to KDP authors and publishers worldwide, featuring a fund of $500,000 in December 2011 and at least $6 million in total for 2012! KDP Select gives you a new way to earn royalties, reach a broader audience, and use a new set of promotional tools."

By opting in for this, my book is now available through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which allows eligible U.S. Amazon Prime members who own Kindle devices to borrow the book. I earn a royalty based on a percentage.

The example given by Amazon: if total borrows of all participating KDP titles are 100,000 in December and my book is borrowed 1,500 times, I will earn $7,500 in additional royalties from KDP Select in December. (Doing the math: 1,500/100,000 x $500,000 December Select fund = $7, 500)

Obviously the key here is the number of times my book is borrowed in relation to the total number of books borrowed in one month. And figuring out how to get the word out to the U.S. Amazon Prime members – those who can borrow from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library at this time (of course that could potentially change) – will require some work.

Of course, there are a couple of catches:

• Amazon requires exclusivity to sell the electronic format. This means my book cannot be available for sale on the Nook, iBooks and other ebook reader platforms. This is not a loss to me because I had yet to upload my book to the other platforms; I just hadn’t gotten that far down my to-do list. By opting in to KDP Select (for 90 days at a time) I can focus my time and energy on the Amazon platform and, hopefully, make my efforts worthwhile. However, this also means I can not sell the PDF format on my own site.
• “We will determine in our sole discretion the criteria for determining which borrowing events qualify for this calculation. A maximum of one borrowing per customer will qualify." I interpret this to mean that if an U.S. Amazon Prime member is an avid reader, only one of his/her borrowed books will count towards the monthly calculation. If I’m interpreting this correctly, that sucks! Which borrows will Amazon deem countable: the first borrowed in that month? the most popular? the one  quickly climbing the charts? a random choice?

Despite those two catches, I figure it is worth a shot to roll the dice and see what happens in the first 90 days. I can always choose to opt out after that time – with other catches to navigate.

(For those who prefer holding a real book in your hands, there are less than 160 autographed paperbacks left. I am undecided whether I’ll have another print run done once these are gone. An empty corner in the living room might motivate me to get going on my second book!)

Yesterday was my first appointment with the new dentist. Being a beautiful day, we decided to wheel the approximate 20 blocks, each way. We will be hibernating soon enough.

There was a little "not talking to me" by the receptionist. With television psychologist Dr. Phil’s “You teach people how to treat you” ringing in my ear, we nipped that in the bud. Appropriately training them from Day One is the best strategy.

My concerned husband hollered “She has her iPad with her if she needs to communicate” as I headed down the hall with the hygienist. (Concerned because, after thirteen years of marriage, he knows he is in for an earful from his non-verbal wife if anybody dares not treat her as capable and intelligent.)

In that moment, I realized I don’t go anywhere, literally, without my scooter. I (almost) always carry straws with me. But, my iPad is not yet permanently attached to me. I am getting better at taking the gadget with me when I go out, but it still requires conscious remembering.

I also learned a valuable lesson as a new assistive and augmented communication (AAC) user: needing to fetch the thing from my scooter basket and turning it on before continuing the conversation is not being prepared enough for communication. Having my iPad on and ready to go indicates to other that I am ready and able to communicate.

And, use my iPad to communicate I did, for the first time, with a dentist.

The bottom line: one broken molar needs a filling, which he will attempt to do in the office next Monday. If he runs into a problem, he will call the College of Dental Surgeons for suggestions. I can not ask for more of that.

The other molar, which had a root canal done several years ago, will not fare as well: too broken to attempt saving, it needs to be pulled and the dentist is reluctant to attempt that one. I have a consultation with a oral surgeon next Tuesday; the consult is not covered by Ministry. If necessary, he can sedate in office. We will find out on Tuesday whether sedation is covered; strangely, full hospitalization is covered by Ministry,  but I really would like to avoid that, if possible.

Depending upon how Monday’s appointment goes, I am very tempted to switch dentists permanently. I was pleased at how he interacted and communicated with me. That makes all of the difference!