Revising Goals

Everything is transient.  It's a very Taoist thought, I know, but it's true.  And so, rather than be rigid in everything we do, we must change; we must "be water," as Bruce Lee said.  I haven't met my goals of two finished pieces a week in a long time.  Why?  Because things change.  When I set that goal, things were different.  I didn't have a house with a TON of yard work to do.  I didn't need to remodel anything.  I was working on small projects.

Now, I have this house, the jungle outside to contend with, and my projects have become broader and larger in scope.  Completing two things a week is simply just not possible.  Being a pretty textbook Gemini, I always have a lot going on.  I do indeed get bored easily, so I've found that the only way for me to complete projects is to rotate my working time.  It also helps me to have rules, even if I made them up, and can change them as I please.  It helps keep me focused. So I'm making new rules.

First, I need to keep my new house tidy.  True, the carpet is ruined (bought it that way), but that doesn't mean I can't run a vacuum.  A friend of mine told me that the best way to keep on top of the house work was to do a ten minute "cleaning frenzy" every day.  That's something I can adhere to.  I like a clean house, but cleaning for hours and hours is no good.

Then, I have the yard work, and the house remodel.  If it's nice out, I'll be outside for probably two hours.  That's just how it goes.  I'm trying to leave the house work to the weekends, because it's just better that way.  It's very involved, and hard to work on for just a short time.

That's all the stuff I have to do.  So is there enough time for the stuff I want to do?  Well, sure.  I want to work for at least one hour on my creative work, every day.  This could be sketching, sewing, research, buying supplies, anything, as long as there is forward momentum.  If I work one hour, chances are I'll work longer than that!  And this still leaves time for dinner, and a little bit of relaxation.

I haven't quite worked in where my exercise routine (forgotten, of late) will go.  I'm thinking that I'll have to wake up early and do it, which is preferred anyway. How do you balance everything?

Speed Update

- Got the Promotion!  Was driving to the Iron Maiden concert and they called me on my cell to tell me the news. I now get 4 to 5 times the number of emails per day and spend my life in meetings.
- Garden is doing well, though I don't think I'll ever have any lettuce, because it seems to be the first thing to get eaten by.... whatever is out there.
- Sewing and other craftiness is on hold because I'm PAINTING!  I was without printer ink and thus reference photos for far too long, but the problem has been remedied, in no small part because I can now afford to buy ink.
- Rachel and I are both spending a lot of time getting back in touch with old friends.  It's killer.  It seriously feels good to have my week booked up with various shenanigans with different people.
- Working out is going very well.  So well that I think I'll have to buy some heavier weights very very soon.
- SD card for my camera died at the Iron Maiden concert, so no photos for a while.  For anyone.  :(

Spam, Spam, Spam, Science, and Spam

I work at a publishing company.
Sometimes I have to sort and route emails. Like I am today.
Mostly, it's SPAM.
Sometimes we get things from customers telling us that our books are wrong.
I have genuine concern for people who know that "strepsirhines" is the updated term for "prosimian," and have the time to tell us that our book is outdated. I mean, it will be fixed upon the next publication. They have people who do this. Only scientists need to know this anyway, right? Maybe they are studying to be scientists, in which case that makes more sense. Still, nobody likes a know-it all.

Once, we had an email from someone who was seriously concerned about a "pretty big mistake" in an art book, regarding the primary colors of light.
Primary colors of pigment: red, blue, yellow.
Primary colors of light: red, blue, green. TRUE.

Oh well.
At least they're trying to spread knowledge, and make sure it's correct! Props to you, science man. At least you didn't send me spam.