Artslim
 
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I am speaking DragonJ.

No not the evil MIL, screeching, lol J. I have re set myself up with the Dragon Naturally Speaking Speech recognition Software because this past week as a part of my own personal balanced lifestyle goal fulfilment, desire, I have increased my word output from 1,500 words a day to several thousand and moved solidly from only having time for essay length writing, for example, apidexin reviews, to finding the time to become a novelist. 

What has writing software got to do with a fitness blog? 

HeapsJ.

I need to be emotionally satisfied to be at my physical best.

I NEED a major creative pursuit to feel totally satisfaction. My current creative project is giving it to me.

The one thing I did not have to give to this creative project was more time. I do not have enough time as it is and I refuse to rush through mindless blog posts just to have posted something.  When I write I like to say something, share my thoughts, information, feel I said something worthwhile for someone even if that person is only me, and the journaling is keeping me on track to a goal.

Often when I am out on a bush walk I am thinking of what I will write about it for my blog or as I drive I am thinking about a story line for my novel. I strive to retain this information then i spend long sedentary hours typing it out after the moment in time when the ideas were fresh in my mind.

So yesterday I invested in me, in my talent ad I bought a new laptop computer and the Dragon Speaking software and hardware bundle that will allow me to convert the spoken word into type, three times faster than most people type and with a 99% accuracy. This will equate to less bum in the chair time as a writerJ. 

Tomorrow I am going shopping for a pocket tape recorder so i can be recording my notes as I go about my day, rather than again doing it in a sedentary place at a desk. I can dictate text during long walks, enjoying scenery and surroundings; J add a couple f hours walking into my day where I would once have been ‘feet up’, on the couch. J. I am thrilled with this way of achieving two seemingly contradictory action plans, one to be more active and another to spend more time being creative. 

I will let you know how this works out for meJ.  Already I am finding my Vaio Windows 7 computer is saving me time in little waysJ.  Small system glitches, usually when loading my pictures to my blogs, often, though not always,  involving me repeating the same process several times, had slowed me down using Vista, have not happened since I switched over to the new computer. J, I have effectively invested $1,600. So far and still have the pocket tape recorder to buy, in a system that should give me back 4 hours a day that I can do a mixture of physically active things with.  You can buy a ‘journalists voice activated tape recorder’, that is the type I need. One that turns itself on when you speak, so you can just talk your thoughts when you are ready and it will stop recording when you are not talking.  J,

How does that sound as a workable system for satisfying the inner passion to create, of the artist author and keeping up physical fitness at the same time?

 
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To be able to write, while I bush walk, or even paint, what a joy, what a time saver, what an increased time for fitness activities tool and a tool to allow me the emotional satisfaction I need from creativity without sacrificing my physical needs to gain it.

I often buy these Dummies Books, if I need help to learn how to use software programs. Click on this image below, for more inforation.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Dummies (For Dummies S.)
 
 
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Firstly, you do need to have a clear idea of your goals. This is my transition week, closing off some great 12-week goals, forming and already working towards, new one week, one month, three months and six-month goals.

Secondly, have an action plan in place so you can see how to achieve these goals.  no good at making action plans, try a personal trainer or great on line training program like the Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation program  I am completing this week.

Now with your action plan in front of you; sit down and write out your ‘To Do List’.

While there may be chores like, do the washing, tidy the house/caravan in there, strive to make half the items on the ‘to do list’, be items in your action plan...do this every day, and you achieve, the goals you set yourself. I have worked like this all my life, and it has unfailingly helped me achieve every goal I have set myself.

 

Number the items on your to do list as A, B or C, priority. 
Make sure the things you need to do every day, become an A priority in your mind and on your list, or you will end up not doing them. 
Try not to have more than 6 A priority things to do in a day.
A little pressure is good, too much is stress.
Do all the A priority tasks before moving to the B priority, as much as is practical. Obviously, you need to be a little flexible with this.
Only do the C priority tasks if you want to or if here is available time and another A or B priority has not emerged. This is effective use of your time. If the C priority needs to be done, it will eventually become an A or B priority. Leave it undone, if you are busy, sometimes it just, 'goes away'. :-)
 

Today my 6 item two do list with half of these things to directly related to achieving my slimming and fitness goals, is

1/ Run cross country and on sand (from my fitness and slimming action plan) DONE

2/ Blog a minimum of 3 quality free choice posts (2 Done) and 3 paid posts.(pays for my Pro blog account)

3/ Swim, target set, 800 meters, then deep water running (from my fitness and slimming action plan) to be done next :-)

4/ Companion and carer to Reg, went fishing with him, :-), DONE and ongoing.

5/ Be in the artslim Forum,  :-), Hope to meet YOU at 7PM EST. TONIGHT. :-)  Add more topics to this forum and encourage YOU to make your own diary in here and feel WELCOME to use the topics I set up, for your self, I'll be adding my input to them too. (from my fitness and slimming action plan)

6/ Work on my time management plan. I want to do so much in every day, the day never seems long enough. I need to formulate my plan on how I will 'work smarter, not harder' :-) and achieve all I want.   Tonight I will have my 2010 short term, midterm and longer terms written down, the action plan to achieve them written down and the time management schedule to allow me to be able to do this, worked out and partly in action. (from my fitness and slimming action plan)

Kathy Shell ran an award winning business and taught time management and business studies during her professional life.  Kathy is now in retirement and enjoying 'paying it forward'.  Hope to have you join me in my forums or suggest other forums or forum topics you would love to be able to participate in. 
 
 
A very positive beginning to October in our home :-).

Reg is feeling MUCH BETTER :-). YAY! JJJ

The anti inflammatory have reduced the pain and the antibiotics have kicked in and 'I have my wonderful man back'. :-).  I can tell you, :-), we are both of us, so very relieved.  I had not seen him that ill since the time decades ago when he had a bust appendix.

As for me. I am happy that I have fulfilled another goal. I finally after some difficulty dealing with an IT company, reclaimed my former domain name and now kathy-shell.com is back in my possession and will be my 'A creative life, blog' and on line art gifts store.

I created a short elevator blurb about my newest blog which is on the opening page of my www.kathy-shell.com  new web site.

A creative life’, blog.

Join the artist in her creative arts studio.

Grab a cuppa, relax, view art, buy unique gifts, take free art lessons and read creative blogs

I will still chat about my art and creativity in this blog but my re borne www.kathy-shell.com web site will have a higher focus on the creative arts just as I talk about my travels in this artslim.org blog while my www.gray-nomad.com blog focuses more intently on the travel and downsizing senior aspects of my life.  My other blog which I work in whenever my poodle Indigo, wags me to update it is Indigo’s dog blog, which concentrates on travelling Australia with a dog. So each of my blogs, overlaps in interest, to some extent, but will be unique in content so my readers can focus on the blog or blogs that carry the material they are most interested in.

I would love to receive your feedback on what subjects I blog about that most interest you.  I am currently doing a  31 days to become a better blogger, challenge.  and this has helped push me along to complete several goals I set myself to do in September.

 

My September 2009, creative goals were:-

1/ set up a private on line FREE counselling service for those who need motivation to set and achieve healthy weight loss goals, there is an open forum to chat on in all my blogs, but I also have private pass word protected areas where you are welcome to chat to me, if you feel I can be of any assistance.. This private chat area is accessed via the Loving yourself forum in this,  my art of healthy living and natural slimming, artslim.org, blog

Goal achieved, early September.

2/ Reclaim and have back on line, my www.kathy-shell.com domain name to get my name as an artist back ‘on line’ as an outlet for art tuition and my art sales.

Goal achieved on October 1st 2009

3/ Begin to share my time management, goal setting, action planning and to do list, essays.

Goal achieved to begin this ongoing task, by mid September 2009-10-02

4/ Begin to create FREE art tuition in my blogs, by mid September.

Goal achieved on 1st October 2009

I have illustrated this post with some of the photos from my fist free art lesson, on line, and you can read the full FREE art lesson on line, in my http://www.kathy-shell.com  web site.

If you would like to support my work in providing a FREE on line counselling service and or my FREE on line art tuition, a purchase of a unique ‘direct from the artist’, art print gift from my art cards, art postcards or art fridge magnets stores, would be most appreciated.

 
 
 
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"If you really know what things you want out of life, it's amazing how opportunities will come to enable you to carry thm out". Quote by John M.Godard.  Jenny and max, 'Making a Splash' by artist, Kathy Shell
Priority Matrix

Is a system of sorting activities into High Urgency and low urgency activity.

And

High Importance and Low importance activity

High urgency-high importance activity is a 1/ priority, DO IT NOW, CRISIS

High importance low urgency activities are a 2/ priorityOpportunity, No time pressure.

High urgency, Low importance activity is a No 3/ priority, routine tasks and trivia, complete only after priority 1/ and 2/ are completed.

Low importance, low urgency activity, or 4/ priority, simply don’t need to be done until they become a no 3 priority and they often ‘go away’, before the need to complete them arises.

 

For peace of mind, try to keep most of your activities down in the high importance but low urgency area as much as possible.    For me, going to my gym is a high importance, low urgency 2/ activity and I need to watch that  that my need to do my weight bearing exercises for my bone health is not pushed aside by the trivial routine activities, of a 3/ priority.

So when I write a ‘to do list’ of 6 main activities I plan to do for the following day, I number them as a 1/ 2/ 3/ priority.  I never write down 4/ priority jobs, and I usually find something a lot more useful to do with my time, if something is becoming a 4/ priority it’s time I considered making changes in my life and eliminating the 4/ item as a part of my activities.

Planning a ‘to do list’

Decide on your (realistic dreams)  goals, believe in them

Make your action plan so you can see and believe in how you will achieve these goals.

Write a ‘to do list’ of 6 items to do tomorrow; take 3 of these items, directly from your action loan to achieve your goal.  So tomorrow,

2/Priority : I will attend gym.

2 priority: I will rebalance my supplies and choice selection of fresh fruit and vegetables so I will not go off track when I want to snack.

2 priority: I will interact with positive people, I will make time to have coffee at my gym and talk to people, this is my reason to choose to go to gym and not just exercise at home, this is part of my ‘care for the carer’, plan.

With those three items, taken from my action plan of how i intend to achieve my personal slimming goals, I can now add other items beginning with any priority 1/’s and working down to 2/s and then 3/s only if there is space on my list of 6 items to do tomorrow.

I will

1/ High urgency, high importance: Send the eldest grandson an birthday card.

2/ low urgency high importance to me: Shop at hardware store, Buy a pack of 6 self stick mirrors for the caravan and glue.

3/ Continue to tidy, spring clean house and put items out for garage sale Saturday as I work.

 

I try not to give myself more than 6 written down to do list items. 

I write these things down the night before the day I need to do them.  I review this list first thing in the morning.  I mark these items off as I do them.

If I complete all items, I can always add more.

I am FLEXIBLE.  Sometimes a new 1/ priority appears and you need to drop all other items on your to do list and attend to that 1/ priority NOW. 

At the end of each day, I check off all the items on my ‘to do list’ and I always PRAISE myself for what I have achieved.  I never berate myself for any thing I did not achieve.   This is especially important for mums and carers to remember.  Feel proud of what you do achieve, while you can be very skilful in guiding another, you cannot plan into your life the behaviour and activities  of the person you care for, you need to keep this ‘to do list’ loose and flexible and just try to not allow too many stressful 1/ priorities to occur and when they do, put all the 2/ priority activities aside, and don’t add the burden of guilt of not doing a 2/ priority, to the crisis of a DO IT NOW, urgent 1/ priority.

I then write out the ‘to do list’ for the following day and I reassess priorities.  Just because something was a 1/ or 2/ priority today does not mean it will have the same priority tomorrow.  He 2/ priority might now be an urgent, important, I/ or it might now, not be important or urgent and simply no longer needs to be included on the list.   Keep your priorities, flexible.  Stay loose and relaxed, forgiving in your expectations of yourself and be a loving, self nurturing best friend who is generous in self praise at what you do, have, and are achieving.  Nothing helps you achieve your goals better than going to bed feeling you are on track to achieving your goals, and that does not require perfection, simply consistently going to bed, and getting up in the morning, focussed on your goal, knowing you have an action plan that will allow you to achieve it and knowing that half of your to do list for the following day s leading you to your goal.

 

So your goal is ‘the size of an elephant’, seemingly insurmountable.  I felt like that when I was 115 kilo and wanting to be slim.  I felt like that when i had a large home and an art gallery and had to quickly downsize to a small home near family and become a full time carer for an ill husband. 

*”How do you eat an elephant”?.   ~~~ ‘One Bite at a time’.

Every day I scheduled an appointment with myself to look at the goal, look at the short term goals that were steps to achieve these big goals.  In fact if the big goal is too scary and frightening, then just look at the small short term goal today.  Look at the action plan to achieve this goal.  Actually have this written down where I see it.  Decide what I am going to do to take a bite out of the elephant. Write this in my ‘to do list’.  I do not have to ‘eat an elephant tomorrow; I simply am going to take a small manageable bite.

*If something that I am about to do, doesn’t move me towards my goals or something that is important to me at that time, then don’t do it.

 

 

There is more than one system of organizing your priorities, the Priority Matrix system is just one.  Be flexibly, this system might not be the one you choose.  I have used both this system and the Pareto Principle, the topic of my next time management introduction, post;  for four decades  and Mark McCormack of the ‘What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School’ fame, says, ~

“I have never known a successful person who doesn’t operate from some sort of personal organisational system”

If you enjoyed this post you may like my other Time Management blog posts.
 
 
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Eildon, Original oil by Kathy shell
In order to do their magic, goals have to be very specific.

Focus

Attention

Consciously

Towards

Objectives

&

Results

Make an action plan strategy.

Begin with NOW.  Plan ‘To do’-activities.

BELIEVE in and plan the end results of those activities, = results-, effects, - GOALS

 

Set your specific, believable goal.

Plan your action plan, strategy to achieve the goal,

Make your to do list every day

“If you really know what things you want out of life, it’s amazing how opportunities will come to enable you to carry them out.” – John M Goddard.
If you enjoyed this post you may like my other Time Management blog posts.
 
 
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Victorian Homestead, Ballarat, Victoria, original oil painting, by Kathy Shell
Suggested Goals I might set:

 Social

Health

Career

Education

Family

Spiritual

Financial

Other

Do something every day that moves me to the attainment of these goals.

 

If I Had My Life to Live Over Again

Here is the advice that Nadine Stair, on her 85th birthday, wrote to others.

“If I had my life over again, I’d dare to make more mistakes the next time, I’d relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take more chances. I would take more trips. I would climb more mountains. And swim more rivers. I would eat more ice-cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles but less imaginary ones.”

“You see, I am one of those people who live sensibly and sanely, hour by hour, day after day. Oh I had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I’d have more of them. In fact, I’d try to have nothing else; just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I have been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I’d travel lighter than I have.”

“If I had my life over again, I would start barefoot earlier in spring and stay that way latter in the fall. I’d wade in more mud puddles. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.”

If you enjoyed this post you may like my other Time Management blog posts.
 
 
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Successful people make themselves do things that other people do not want to do.

Learn that ‘Nothing is leaving the planet’ you don't have to have it now.

I am looking for that gem of wisdom to achieve an elusive personal goal that involves self control?

I will be in five years time a result of the people I hang around with and what I read and listen to.

If someone disagrees with me they may be picking up something I missed.

Consciously decide, ‘what is the right use of my life and time, right now’.

Don’t repeat preconceived ideas that do not work.

Success is the progressive achievement of a worthwhile goal. ~~~ It is also enjoying the journey along the way.

Goals cause me to have ~~~Energy.

Why bother?
Because Charles Garfield, who has done extensive research on top performers in a variety of fields, has found that the one characteristic all of them have is a sense of mission: “Whether focusing on family, developing talents, or getting to the top of a particular field, peak performers refine their capacity to see clearly what they want. Their mission provides the why that inspires every how.”

(Charles Garfield, Peak Performers )

If you enjoyed this post you may like my other Time Management blog posts.
 
 
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Buninyong, Central Victoria, original oil. by Kathy Shell
Don’t let a good idea get away!

Research shows that if you use an idea within 24 hours of hearing it, you are more likely to integrate it permanently.

So when you hear or read something you would like to use, write it down immediately.  Put this where you see it frequently.  That way you can put your action plan into action.

If you enjoyed this post you may like my other Time Management blog posts.
 
 
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Bear and Golly Family. Small art fridge magnet, by artist, Kathy Shell.
Do you get overwhelmed by how much you have to do?  How much weight you have to lose?

Is the task so huge you find it’s hard to face and you feel the stress is too much when you think about what has to be done?

Times like that happen to us all. I’ve been there.  One of the techniques I have used is to remember the time management question, ‘How do you eat an elephant?’ and the answer, ‘One bite at a time.’

I do believe that effective time management is essential to be able to get your life into manageable stages and time management for me at least is essential to having released my excess weight and maintaining and fine tuning, toning my body.  I will begin writing time management articles in this blog, in mid September.

For now, keep in mind, whatever that overwhelming task is, you do not have to do it today.  You just have to do a small manageable action today, one you know you can do, one that will not stress you.  

Lets suppose you have to complete an overdue tax form and BAS statement and your feeling totally overwhelmed.  Just break this into small bites.  Say today, I will clean the desk top ready to begin preparing my tax.

You do not have to lose 50 kilo today.  You just have to eat healthy portion controlled foods that you love and be an active person.  One day, today, that’s all.  You can do that.  I can do that. J.   If the food you choose is food you love, if the activities you choose are ones you love, you will want to do the same thing tomorrow, and the next day, you will already be living as the slim person you want to become, you are that person, your body will catch up and become the slim person you are able to start living as, today. 

You have to believe you are the person you want to become.  The clean desk top creates the image of the competent home accountant and the living today as a healthy person will create for you the best healthy slim body you can achieve.    You are capable and beautiful NOW.

We can both 'do it today' :-)

If you enjoyed this post you may like my other Time Management blog posts.