Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

How many times a day do we wish we had more time? More hours in a day or more days in a week to get everything done that we feel we need to do.

Well, the good news is today is that “more time”. Once every four years we receive an extra day, an extra 24 hours. February 29th is the gift of time. What are you doing with this precious gift?

Sorry to cut this post short. I need to grab some lunch before rushing out to an important meeting. It makes me wonder if we would use “more time” any more wisely than the time we are given now .

Have a great weekend!

My kitty Faith, the gunk producer

A messy kitty litter box greeted me this morning. I decided to deal with it right away to get it out of the way. I dumped the biodegradable, flushable litter down the toilet, regrettably realizing that, perhaps, that much at one may not, in fact, be flushable at one time. The toilet was plugged. Badly. One more flush and gunk would have overflowed all over the bathroom floor. Good morning to you, too!

I left it for a while.

In between following up with clients about payment, seeking a featured guest for Wednesday’s Readers’ Café (any takers?), and participating in another teleconference for a non-profit in the throes of buying a building, I kept running to the bathroom to flush, hoping a little more gunk would go down.

After the teleconference, I needed to get serious about the matter. Things were getting desperate! Leaning over the bowl, pushing down on the plunger with all of my strength, I remembered something my friend Liz Strauss wrote in an email this weekend: Sometimes you need to get pissed off! Damn it, I wasn’t going to let a bowl full of rude gunk beat me! I kept plunging that thing up and down until I felt my heart was going to burst out my neck. Finally the sound that music to ears at times like these! The gunk flushed away.

What a relief to flush that stuff away. A sense of triumph. Talk about independence!

What gunk do you need to flush away to feel a little freer, to be a little more independent today?

Dragon at the Chinese lantern festival, Auckland, New Zealand.
(Photo credit: Sam Veres)

Six weeks into 2008, how are you doing with your New Year resolutions? Are you becoming a healthier you? Is your closet or home office more organized? Have you mended those strained family relations?

Or, like me, have you not quite fully embraced the New Year? My focus has flown out the window, if, indeed, it was ever inside, and my contribution to the blogosphere has been less than stellar yet this year.

But, I have finally wrapped loose ends from last year. I now feel free to jump unencumbered into the opportunities presenting themselves in 2008 – of which there are many!

If your intentions are to improve yourself, your situation or your world, it doesn’t matter what day the calendar shows. Pick a day that works for you. If you slip, get back up, dust yourself off and try again. No need to get discouraged. Persistence and determination will get you there.

If you too would like to begin your year anew, join me in raising a glass, welcoming in the Chinese New Year (albeit a day late). Interestingly, the Year of the Rat is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. “Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find.”

Kung Hei Fat Choi. Congratulations and be prosperous.

In the movie The Bucket List, two unlikely comrades with terminal cancer team up to fulfill a wish list before kicking the bucket. This sparked Jeff Pulver to create his own bucket list but with a twist:

In the spirit of the movie, and in the spirit of trying to make 2008 be the year that we all start to do some of the things we would like to accomplish one day, I thought it would be fun to reach out to friends across the blogosphere and ask them to share some of the things on their “Bucket List” they hope to remove during 2008. For some of us, these are not necessarily our “New Year’s Resolutions”, but rather things we have been meaning to do for some time that we WILL get done in 2008.

He then tagged a few other bloggers, including Liz Strauss, who, in turned, tagged me. Thanks Liz!

For me, my bucket list goes beyond my New Year’s resolutions, my SMART goals and my one word for 2008. It goes to what I imagine myself wishing I had done or had done more of, should I find myself nearing the end of my life at the year’s end. This is what comes to mind (that I wish to share publicly), in no particular order and given my current finances (a more substantial budget would render a somewhat altered bucket list):

• Spend more time with my kitty purring in my ear.
• Listen more to my husband’s beating heart.
• Write love letters to him. (Shucks, now that won’t be a surprise!)
• Find a way to get to the north shore to watch the eagles soar.
• Meet more of my invisible friends.
• Be in the ‘real’ world more.
• Connect with more of my invisible friends in a real way, if I can’t meet them in person yet.
• Become more physically active.
• Finish selling the first print run of my autobiography.
• Continue searching for a cp-friendly bra.
• See Anne Murray in concert, finally! (I’ve wanted to see her for years and she is finally coming to town on May 5th!)
• Get organized for when I do kick the bucket.
• Make a positive difference or impact on people’s lives.
• Reconnect with my penpal Paivi and my Brownie friend Karen.

I’ll do my best to cross each one off the list by New Year’s Eve 2008.

I’m now tagging Karen Putz, Doug McCaughan, Tris Hussey, Jim Turner, Joanna Young, and Harmony Cornwell (glad to see you back blogging!).

What is on your bucket list for 2008?

(Photo credit: Adam Klepsteen)

New Year’s Resolutions lose their shine after a few weeks. Our one word for the year may guide us through year. But, sometimes we humans need something stronger, something more direct, something more tangible.

While taking a pre-employment program for people with disabilities, I learned about SMART goals, a technique for setting goals that I have used ever since. A SMART goal is:

• Specific: Consider the 6 w’s – who, what, where, when, which, and why.
• Measurable: How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?
• Attainable: Do you have the capability and capacity to make the goal reality?
• Realistic (or Relevant): Are you willing and able to work toward this goal?
• Time-tagged: Put a timeline or deadline on the goal so it gets done. One day rarely appears on the calendar!

One of my goals for 2008 is: to comment on ten blogs per week, five comments on blogs I have previously commented on to further strengthen those relationships, and five comments on new-to-me blogs to expand my network by forming new relationships. Is this goal SMART?

• Is it specific? Very!
• Is it measurable? Yes, blog comments can be counted. I have even created a spreadsheet for tracking my comments.
• Is it attainable? I think so. Finding five new blogs each week to comment on may prove challenging, but with focus (my word for 2008), I’ll do my best.
• Is it realistic? Leaving ten comments per week seems realistic. It is also relevant to my goal of focusing on blogging this year.
• Is it time-tagged? Yes, by saying “per week”, that puts a sense of urgency on it. I could have said “To contribute 520 comments to the blogosphere by December 31, 2008; 260 on ‘old’ blogs & 260 on ‘new’ blogs.” The end result would be the same, but, being human with a rather full plate, I may not start until December 1st, in which case 520 comments in one month may not be attainable or realistic for me.

My New Year’s Resolution: Increase my contribution to the blogosphere and expand my network.

My SMART goal: Comment on 10 blogs per week, 5 comments on old blogs and 5 on new blogs.

Which am I more likely to succeed at and feel I have accomplished something by New Year’s Eve 2008.

One last consideration is your goal’s direction. Are you moving away from something (or depriving yourself) or are you heading towards something? Are you going to lose weight or are you going to become more active? Are you going to quit smoking or are you going to embrace a healthier lifestyle? Are you going to get rid of clutter or create a more livable and enjoyable home? By pointing your goal in a positive direction, it’s more likely you’ll continue with your changed behaviour once you’re dropped the weight, stopped lighting up or cleaned out the bedroom closet. In my opinion, this makes a goal wise.

If a man knows not what harbor he seeks,
any wind is the right wind.
-Seneca

Feel free to share your New Year’s resolutions as SMART (and wise) goals.