Sharing the Wealth
I’ve been reading 43Folders lately and digging through the archives to find some helpful advice and tips to make my life work for ME. Merlin Mann encourages people to get things done in a way that makes sense so that the most important part of your life (your creativity) can be the focus.
This is what exhaustion feels like — when you aren’t writing or MAKING anything but at the same time don’t have time to sit and take a deep breath.
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Also, with the advice and guidance of Carrie & Danielle, I helped a friend get things in order for this school year. For me, the semester is going to be pretty lax since I only have a couple classes going on right now (the other two being Drawing 1 and Hatha Yoga at a community college). This friend is practically an adopted sister since I consider her family part of my extended family and it felt good to take a few hours out of my day and sit down to help her make lists of things that she needs to do.
The most important thing for me is to write down everything that I need to do, think about, and consider in the week to come. It helps me get my head clear, and put the contents of my brain in tangible form. I’m pretty sure any “lifehacker” or “GTD” blogger will tell you to write a list too, but I absolutely swear by it.
My friend and I took everything that was out of place and put it in a pile, sorted through her papers, filed them according to her classes and their level of importance and threw away everything else. Old To-Do lists? Only causing a bigger burden. If they hadn’t gotten done in the past month, they probably weren’t as necessary as we thought. Helping her made me feel more productive and mentally centered than I had in awhile.
Regardless of the amount of stress in my life and lists of things that I feel need to get done, there are two things that I always try to remember:
- Do for others - I find that if I don’t have time for my friends or family, my level of stress sky rockets. If I haven’t been able to go out of my way to offer someone a ride somewhere, buy a friend a drink or a meal, spend two hours talking on the phone, or helping someone get things in order, I feel more discouraged than if I am constantly doing for myself.
- Do for ME - At the same time, if I am constantly doing others and not setting time aside to just “do ME” for awhile the stress becomes overwhelming and I am a less fun person to be around. If I haven’t put the focus on myself with a long shower, exercise, a good meal, or a lazy day in bed I am more prone to tearful breakdowns. It’s important for me to remember that it is okay to say no once in awhile.
So this week, I am going to find a balance.



