productivity – Page 7 – Bucket List Journey

November 1, 2012

Scrivener: The program that makes writing sane

I found out about Scrivener through Nanowrimo a few years ago. I can’t really imagine my life without it. It’s so unbelievably handy for writing a novel, a book, or even for keeping a blog. I have a blog called The Righteousness Project this year that did a bunch of research into themes, kind of like the Happiness Project did. I would have gone mental without Scrivener. It neatly held all my research, my links, my files, PDFs and kept them all nice and tidy. And then I had all my drafts and plans nicely divided by month/topic etc. Glorious.

I got a deal thanks to Nano and now would have zero problem paying whatever the full price is for this thing. I highly recommend it if you want to keep your wits about you when you write and manage a bunch of info. It’s far more powerful as a program than you might think you’d need, but man are those features great.

This year you can get 50% off Scrivener if you win Nanowrimo, and get 20% off for all participants. Check it out here.

October 29, 2012

Update on adjusting my morning routine

Remember when we talked about our morning routine and I wondered if it was even possible if I could become one of those regular human beings who can wake up at a reasonable time in the morning? Or at the very least that it would be a bit more normal for me to be awake at 7am.

I can’t even believe I’m about to write this. I had a celebratory moment with my mentor as I shared this with her. “I can’t believe I’m hearing you say this!” was her exact words and you know what? SHE’S RIGHT.

I wake up every morning either right before my husband’s 6:45 alarm or even 15 minutes before.

WHAT THE CRAP.

Also, I’ve managed to survive every day that I’ve woken up at this hour without a nap.

WHO AM I?

I cannot give enough props to the light therapy because it’s all thanks to that blessed light. In effect, it re-calibrates your circadian rhythm so if you look at it in the morning when you wake up, it will make sure you keep waking up at that time. Glorious.

But what about the actual components of my morning? How is that going?

Exercise, Center myself, See my husband, and Day Prep.

I’m waking up on time. I appreciate having that time with the light to keep waking up. I’ve noticed it takes me about 45 minutes to become a real human being in the morning, and so it’s helpful for me to stay in bed and under my covers and just click on that light.
Then I pull out my journal and Bible from the bedside table, still under the covers. Having it right beside my bed makes it super easy to move on to. I keep the light on while I’m journaling.
If it’s a Tuesday or a Thursday, I will grab a glass of water and drink that while I’m snuggling into the lights’ rays so that I’m well hydrated for my run. (Seriously, I can’t believe I’m writing ANY of this. 6:45? Run? Hydration? Miracles do happen, people. I am evidence of that).
On those days, I eat a bowl of cereal, suit up, grab my C25K podcast and hit the bike path by the Lachine canal in my hood.
I come back home, stretch and multitask as I read my iPad, enjoy the props my hubby gives me for running,shower, eat more, and peace. Also, I put on clothes before I peace, but I think you got the drift.

Currently that schedule is pretty tight to fit everything in. I need to be more intentional about not reading twitter while I stretch after my run and think more through my day. Or find a way to add that elsewhere.

So far, though, I’m still in the honeymoon phase. It’s still exciting and fun and I’m running off the thrill of feeling like a totally different person. If I learned anything from writing that novel in 30 days when I was in first year university, though, soon the excitement will wear off and I’ll be stuck with a commitment I no longer like but am determined to finish for bragging rights.

October 23, 2012

Adjusting my morning routine

Are you a morning person? I am not. Then again, I’m not sure I’m an any time person. I don’t seem to have a most-efficient time of the day at all it seems. When I wake up in the morning, I’m usually groggy and grouchy, unless I supermagically have a really good sleep.

I recently listened to Michael Hyatt’s latest podcast which talks about maximizing productivity by having a good morning ritual. I’ve been thinking about this lately as my life schedule has changed significantly in the last two months. My husband has gone back to school, which happens to be almost all night classes. Most days during the week this means I see him for 45 minutes in the day if I don’t get up in good time in the morning. Those 45 minutes require me to be home from work at 5PM, which means if I want to put in a good work week I either need to leave earlier in the morning, or work in the evening after he’s gone. Both are OK options.

Since I’m trying to figure out how to maximize my productivity, live intentionally, I’m wondering: Can I force myself to be a morning person? Can I engineer my life/day so that I get used to getting up in the morning?

My components of a good day

There are a few things I’ve wanted to add to my life that I can never seem to make sure happen every day.

Recently as I’ve started trying to run, I’ve found that after getting home and eating an early dinner with my husband before he heads off, the sun is almost already down making a run pretty uninviting! I’m looking at scheduling a morning run/exercise. Granted, soon the sun will be down in the early morning, too.
The other thing that I need to make a priority in my morning is a time to pray, read my Bible, and journal. This is something I try to do every day, but if I don’t make time for it in the morning it’s so easy for busyness to take over and it not get done. When I don’t do this on a regular basis I find myself feeling unbalanced, with my focus on the wrong things.
The third thing that I’ve noticed has helped me have a better day is taking the time to review my schedule and my goals for the day and week.
Finally, spend time with my husband and my DayLight (during the winter). See this post.

Exercise, Center myself, See my husband, and Day Prep. Those appear to be my components of a good day. I have been trying this out for the last week and have been surprised at the results already. The DayLight is helping me wake up early, and this routine is helping me feel more ready for my day.

What about you? What is crucial for your morning routine?

October 21, 2012

I LOVE LAMP!

The last four years I’ve noticed a marked difference in my happiness levels starting as early as September 1. While I may have had it in years prior, I only clued in to the “winter blues” in the last few years. The pattern is the same every year, peaking in the last week of November. The question I’ve been trying to answer every fall is “how do I stay productive while feeling the blues?”

I once heard that during a Canadian winter, one must sunbathe naked at high noon for an hour to naturally get enough Vitamin D. Since I don’t do that (!), the last few years I’ve faithfully taken 1000 IUs of Vitamin D (coupled with Vitamin C) every day. Last year my friend lent me a DayLight which I wasn’t very consistent in using. This past week I started using it again for 15 minutes every morning right when I wake up.

Can I tell you how amazing that was even the first day I used it? The first day! It was like the sun had risen in my heart! I’m confident that this will help throughout this upcoming cold, light-less Montreal winter.

So this winter:

vitamin D
at least 15 minutes of light therapy a day
regular exercise

What about you? Do you get the winter blues? How do you manage? What helps you stay on your game?

UPDATE:

People have been asking me what I recommend. Like I mentioned in the comments, the Philips brand lights are good as well as the DayLight that I use. To be honest, the Philips lights are way more normal sized compared to what I have and probably more reasonable in price, as well as more easily accessible. You can get them at Amazon and Costco.