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Finding More Time for Reading in a Ridiculously Busy Day!

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Quote About Reading by Dr. Seuss

Quote About Reading by Dr. Seuss

Okay, maybe instead of titling this one something like “Finding time to read,” I should have said “Making time to read..” because that’s exactly what has to happen, isn’t it? We always have to MAKE time because we certainly aren’t going to FIND extra time lying around somewhere.

If only!

The world has become such a fast-paced machine these days and people aren’t just busy, they’re crazy busy, so I’m going to begin taking that more into consideration on the self help blog. I will try to confine my articles and posts to a reasonable, “read at one sitting” style and break content up with lists and graphics.

If you’re like me, you made your resolutions and goals for 2023 and are, by now, finding things that work and didn’t work in making these goals and resolutions a reality. One of my resolutions that I kind of had to grapple with was “Read more.”

You have to set aside time when it comes to reading – I mean, you don’t want noise or distractions when you’re trying to spend a little time with a great book. Problem is, when your day is pretty full to begin with, there’s very little time to simply set aside.

Below are a few suggestions that have worked for me and I hope at least one of them is helpful to you as well:

  1. It’s pretty obvious, but getting up a little earlier than usual can be the secret.  When it came to having enough time for Bible reading and Bible study (something that absolutely calls for as few distractions as possible.. especially the Old Testament and Revelation!), I decided to set my iPhone alarm app for 30 minutes earlier. Worked like an absolute charm. I now have 30 whole minutes that I’ve “found” to devote entirely to Bible reading and study. The quite, still house is the perfect setting and I look forward to it each and every day.
  2. If you have several books you’re reading at once, keep them in different locations. I am always, always, always reading more than one book at any given time. I read a LOT of old Hollywood biographies (for enjoyment and for information for my old Hollywood blog and old Hollywood Twitter page) and am always in the beginning, middle, or end of at least 3. On top of these, I am always reading at least one Inspirational book from one of my favorite authors. I don’t keep the books I’m currently reading in one spot but, rather, keep one or two throughout the house – this way, if I find myself sitting in the den for 15 minutes, for example – the book beside my favorite chair is always waiting for me. I always keep one in the kitchen, as well, to “knock out” a chapter while keeping an eye on what’s cooking.
  3. Don’t squander time! Another one that’s painfully simple but, quite frankly, can prove useful. I had a simple little game on my phone that I was all but addicted to. It was sort of a little puzzle game and was apparently designed with the goal of getting its visitors completely hooked! It occurred to me one day that I had spent over 30 minutes on that app that day alone… and it was only 2:00 in the afternoon. I replaced the time that I would normally, mindlessly, devote to this game with reading and finished two books in one week. WITH SOMETHING TO SHOW FOR IT.. unlike playing a mindless little game.
  4. This could probably fall under the category above, but think about the time you spend on social media, reading about this person’s opinion on that, that person’s opinion on this… what this person had for lunch.. where that person went on vacation… and goodness knows we have to read every detail about Gary’s keto journey. How could we not?!  Like a silly little game, this time absolutely adds up and could easily be, at the very least, cut in half and replaced with reading. One easy way to cut back on time is this, how many social media accounts do you have? Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Pinterest… if you have one of each, maybe ask yourself is that’s absolutely necessary?! I mean, I only have Twitter and Instagram and yet I know they take more of my time than I should be willing to let them have. Cutting back at least a little can open up a lot more time for reading or anything else that will actually benefit your health – mental, Spiritual, and physical.

Finding more time for reading is actually a work in progress for me, so when I find other tricks or tips that work for me, I’ll scamper back here and add them!

Make each moment count double! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

NinkaStudio “Theme of the Year” Calendars

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Breathe
 

Well, guys 2016 is just about here. 2015 was a bumpy ride in my family, so we’re welcoming 2016 with arms wide open.

If you’re as into calendars as I am (I usually have about 4) or if you love positive affirmations and motivation even half as much as I do, you’re going to be blown away by these printable calendars from NinkaStudio.

The “Theme-of-the-Year”  printable calendars are available and each one is more than just a pretty face.  These special calendars allow you to keep a special theme or “word of the year” front and center in your life all year.

Laugh
 

Themes (“Word of the Year”) Include:

  • Simplify
  • Awake
  • Balance
  • Laugh
  • Imagine
  • Breathe
  • Enthusiasm
  • Release
  • Sparkle
  • Rest
  • And many more!

From NinkaStudio:

A theme-of-the-year is a very simple concept that a lot of people use instead of New Year’s resolutions. It’s also called “One Word Resolution”, “Word of the year”, “Personal Mantra”, “Intention for the year” or simply “One Word”. Instead of focusing on lots of goals that often get abandoned within a few weeks, a simple word or phrase will be your guide. One word is easy to remember, simple to focus on and can gently guide your decisions, plans and actions in all areas of life.

Trust
 

For a VERY low price, here’s what you get:

2 printable files:

  • 2016 Year-at-a-glance Calendar (choose between US Letter with Sunday start or A4 with Monday start)
  • 8″x10″ printable theme (JPG or PDF) – print & frame or set it as your desktop background

I hope you’ll click through and find the word (or words!) that resonate with you. If you find several, consider buying each – after all, can we really have too much motivation?

Keep smiling! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Joy

How to Keep Your Resolutions

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Quote About Keeping Resolutions

I love Thursday Throwback posts on the Self Help Blog.  As a book lover, I get a special thrill out of reaching back into the distant past and retrieving a piece of brilliance left for us.  When they wrote these wonderful words, the authors, no doubt, hoped that the words would reach as many people as possible.  That’s why I LOVE to see others doing their best to keep old books that are in the public domain alive and well.   Riches untold lie in the books that are lying around in attics and musky used book stores.  The authors would want their words dusted off, revived, and put in front of a whole new generation.

Whenever I type in one of these articles or excerpts from great authors of the past, I always imagine them walking the earth today. I try to imagine what they’d make of our dress, the way we talk, our hairstyles, and cars!  Can you imagine what’d they’d think of today’s cars?  I’m obsessed with the idea of bringing these great men and women back to teach and inspire us, because they have so much to teach us. Even if their words and expressions are different from our own, their knowledge is priceless.

It’s a special joy for me to share excerpts from my personal favorite  authors like Grenville Kleiser.  The following article appeared in one of Kleiser’s books (from 1917), Inspiration and Ideals.  As always with Thursday Throwbacks, I’ll remind you that I”m typing the words in just as they are written in the book in 1917.

Put Your Ideas Into Practice

by Grenville Kleiser

Make more positive resolutions regarding the things you ought to do. Bring every available reinforcement to bear upon such resolutions.  Write down on a card the special things you resolve to do, and read it several times a day.  Repeat it aloud at frequent intervals.  Assert in vigorous tones of voice the thoughts you wish to establish as unconscious habits of your life.  The best means of impressing new resolutions upon your mind is by concentration, iteration, and vigorous assertion.

At the close of every day review your thoughts and actions, and know precisely what you have done with your new resolutions. It is a great thing to conceive a great idea, but it is still greater to put it into execution.

– From Inspiration and Ideals by Grenville Kleiser, 1917

It’s funny, isn’t it. When we think of the word RESOLUTIONS, we think of New Year’s Day.  Yet, resolutions are simply things we’ve resolved to do or keep from doing. We can (and certainly should) make resolutions all year – not just at the first.  If we, as Kleiser suggests, wrote these resolutions down on index cards and confronted them several times a day (as opposed to writing them down at the fist of the year, and never looking at them again!), we’d stand a much better chance of turning them from resolutions into reality.

Resolutions, or goals, should be made often and confronted daily.  The Grenville article above was plucked from a book in which he gave advice and motivation for each day of the year – much like devotions.  This particular one actually fell on the date March 7 – far removed from New Year’s Day.  Just a reminder that we need to think about self improvement and growth every day of the year, not just the first one.

“The best means of impressing new resolutions upon your mind is by concentration, iteration, and vigorous assertion.” – Grenville Kleiser

 

How to Achieve Your Goals

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The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs. – Vance Havner

My husband, Michael, has been in the building industry for many years. He sells bricks, blocks, mortar, and other constructional materials, so he visits job sites regularly. I love to ride along with him and see what it looks like when a store, house, hospital, school (or whatever) is more of a VISION than a VISUAL.  It never ceases to amaze me how returning to the same dirty, cluttered, and genuinely unimpressive-looking location months later can take on a whole different meaning.

The architect has a clear vision of what the end result will look like. Even an architect years ago who envisioned an elementary school in New Albany, Indiana had a clear vision. It was a checkered, whack-a-doodle kind of vision, but a vision nonetheless. When my husband showed me the building, he asked what I thought. I said it was probably the biggest eye sore I’d ever had the pleasure of seeing. He laughed and said he felt the same way but that the architect was so delighted he was beside himself.

Yay, him!

When it comes to self improvement, resolutions, and self growth goals, we’re a lot like architects. We have a clear vision of what the “end result” will look like and, more importantly, feel like.  (More about feelings later.)

If we want to lose weight, we envision ourselves in the same size of Levi’s we wore in college. We think of how amazing it will feel to have better mobility and to look in the mirror without hating the golden arches with a cruel, unChristian hatred.

If we want to make more money, we envision ourselves in a new UK Wildcat’s blue Ford Edge, making a joyful trek from Starbucks to Target to the Mall and back to Starbucks (say hello to my personal vision).

If someone wants to learn to control their temper, they may envision themselves smiling and remaining calm while dealing with every nut job in the county.

You get the idea. No matter what the end goal is, we have a clear vision of it. Oddly enough, there are a lot of well-meaning, usually high-pitched men and women who’d lead you to believe that having this vision, alone, will bring good things your way.

H-o-g-w-a-s-h.

That’s akin to telling an architect, “Stand in the field and attract the building to you. The universe wants you to have the building.” I don’t know who the universe is, but even God expects us to earn the things we want.

Anything worth having has to be built. One brick at a time. Is it fun? Not always – but it is necessary. One of the problems we run into is feelings and emotions.

Make no mistake about it, we are governed to a great extent by feelings.

Some of us (my hands in the air) more so than others. That’s one of the reasons we have trouble “staying on course” while trying to achieve goals or adhere to resolutions. Eating a cream-filled, chocolate-covered doughnut feels better than NOT eating a a cream-filled, chocolate-covered doughnut (did I mention that the hand in the air has chocolate on it?).

Obviously, this makes it vital to focus on the end result. We HAVE to picture – throughout the day – ourselves at the finish line, whether we’re in a smaller size Levi’s, in a Ford Edge, or lying on a beach in Hawaii.

Picturing ourselves there won’t transport us there. What it will do is motivate us to stay on track…. and not just any track. The track that WILL lead us where we want to go.

Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes. – Author Unknown

All of this SOUNDS lovely, doesn’t it? It SOUNDS pie in the sky amazing. We read or hear words like the ones above and we get so motivated and inspired that we can hardly sit still. Unfortunately, there is a rub. A rub so powerful that it knocks the majority of people clean off the track.

It’s the rub of instant gratification. If you work from home like I do, you know how hard it can be to fight the urge to just get up from the computer and…

  • watch a cooking show
  • take a walk
  • play with the cat
  • raid the fridge
  • go to Starbucks
  • read a book
  • feed the birds
  • stare out the window
  • play solitaire
  • stroll through the house and make sure the layout’s the same as it was an hour ago

… basically do anything BUT work.   Unfortunately there is instant gratification in slacking off.  However, giving in a couple of times makes it far too easy to give in more times.  After a while, everything you’re working toward moves further and further away from you. You look around and you ARE now where you WERE then and the only thing around you is your “slack.”  The tv shows and the wasted trips say, “Hey, you still have us!”

Somehow, it’s just not what you’d envisioned, right? There’s an old saying, Always do what you’ve always done and you’ll always have what you’ve always had!

What does a construction crew do when they have a building to erect?  They keep going back each day until the job’s done. It doesn’t matter if they’re tired, it doesn’t matter if they’d rather be home watching tv.  They have a job to do and they keep at it until the job is complete.  One brick at a time.  One day at a time. One victory at a time.

It’s the same way with resolutions, self improvement, and goals.  We have to earn what it is we desire.  We have to show up, show up, show up, and show up again – until the job is done. It doesn’t matter if we’re tired, it doesn’t matter if we’d rather be doing (or eating) anything else.  We have to put on our proverbial hard hat and work our butts off if we want to build the future we want.

It is NOT going to build itself.  The premise is lovely, but then again so is the premise of a Tooth Fairy.

Remember to take pride and pleasure in each small victory.  If you drive right past a hamburger joint and choose Subway instead – revel in the victory! If you stay at your desk and work a whole hour longer than you expected to, celebrate the victory with a pat on the back!  It’s these small victories that lead to the finish line.   Do you watch college basketball or football?  Many teams will take certain games for granted during the season and lose a game they should have won.  They lose focus and a much less talented, but hungrier, team gets the best of them.  It may seem like a small deal at the time to most people – but those of us who follow the sports regularly know that every game counts in the home stretch.  When you’re playing for the championship, losing games you SHOULD have won count against you in the worst way.

Often, it keeps the best teams on the sidelines watching less talented teams play for the championship title.

It’s a natural law: You receive as much as you give. – Paul Karasik

It doesn’t matter if it’s sports or self growth:  Each victory counts.  Each victory is huge.  Each loss counts.  Each loss is costly.

Whatever your goal is, I hope with all that’s within me that you reach it.  I know you can – IF you keep your focus.  Focus on what it is you want and where it is you want to be.  Focus on this image daily – throughout the day.  But don’t for a second think that visualizing it is equal to realizing it.  You have to work for it.  You have to fight for it.  You have to approach each day with the mindset that you WILL rack up as many victories as you possibly can and avert any potential chocolate doughnuts losses.

When it comes to success, attract isn’t the keyword, action is.  You have to take action – and not just once.  You have to be ready to take continuous action.  The more action you take, the more progress you make.

Victory after victory after victory….

Do this and you’ll build a masterpiece that’ll knock your darn socks off.

Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it. – Jack Canfield

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

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Write It Down and Live it Out

First of all, I’d like to wish all of you a belated, but heartfelt, happy New Year! I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, I’ve just been covered in work that piled up over Christmas and New Year’s. How in the world does a house get turned inside out over Christmas breaks? Oh, wait, I remember – husbands and kids.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

2008 is getting kind of a bad rap, but it wasn’t all bad. In fact, on a grand scale and on a personal scale, I think it had plenty of wonderful things to say for itself:

  1. History was made in the Presidential election.
  2. Britney Spears fought her demons and won. Success stories always make me smile. Robert Downey, Jr. also saw a comeback of epic proportions.  Two huge movies and another just around the corner.  Welcome back, indeed.
  3. On the personal front, my daughters each met ridiculously wonderful new boyfriends. If they ever slight these boys in any way, my girls know they’ll answer to me!
  4. Again on a personal level – while my cat, Alexa, broke her leg a few months ago, I’m grateful that it wasn’t worse. And I’m positively delighted she’s right back where she belongs – lying on the desk in front of me, looking back whenever the urge for a chin scratch hits her.
  5. The USA rocked, rolled, and rallied in the Summer Olympics.  Michael Phelps amazed all of us, and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him.
  6. What a year for movie fanatics!  We had some great movies to enjoy this year:  Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, Max Payne, Wanted, Kung Fu Panda, etc.   The Love Guru gave us the chance to say we’d truly seen the worst movie ever. See? There’s something good in everything. My daughter Brittany and I went to the theater to see this one together (I guess the rest of the family knew better?). The two of us had a great time, though, and it had nothing to do with the stinker of a movie.  It was so bad!  Britt and I will always have the bond of having watched the worst movie ever made together.

I know that, financially speaking, 2008 brought more than a few challenges into our lives and I, like you, am hopeful that 2009 will be kinder to our money.

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions? Come to think of it, how do YOU feel about New Year’s resolutions? In our family of 5, only two of us actually sit down with our little notebooks and pens.  Emily and I live for New Year’s Resolutions! It’s a tradition in our house. We both get such a gleam in our eyes on New Year’s Eve that we can tell what the other’s thinking without a word. Then we whip out our notebooks and burst out with our plans for the year. Change is exciting and we literally get swept away in the moment.

Of course, if we didn’t strive (throughout the year) to meet the goals we set, it’d be just a fun little waste of time. That’s why we use our favorite notebooks to write the resolutions in. They’re right there, staring us in the face each and every day of the year. Notebook Resolutions may not work for everybody, but we firmly believe in them as much as we believe in chocolate. So we won’t be parting with our tradition (or chocolate) any time soon.

I’ve had resolutions in the past that I’ve never even come close to keeping. In fact, I have one that mysteriously shows up year after year: Learn to play the piano. I broke up with tradition this year and left it off of the list. I figured, rightfully so, that if it had ever been THAT important to me, I’d now be able to tickle the ivories a la Alicia Keys.

I think “personal motivation” is the secret to why some resolutions are kept while others are broken. For example, I had goals written on my resolution list last year that pertained to my web publishing business. I did them all. The motivation and “pay off” were important enough to me to do whatever it took to make the goals happen. Playing the piano, while it would be perfectly lovely, just didn’t drive me in the same manner.

One of the best ways to keep a resolution is to ask yourself, “Why is this important to me?”  If you can come up with the WHY, you’ll stand a better chance of coming up with the HOW. You know what a huge fan I am of notebooks and list making, so it won’t surprise you to learn that I write my reasons down. If the reasons are personal enough and if they truly matter, you will find a way to make it happen. The human spirit can’t ever be counted out. We may often look like we don’t have a clue what we’re doing, let alone what we’re going to do next – but, when it comes down to it, we’ll often go as far as we want to go. And we’ll often get whatever we’re willing to fight for.

IF the fight is worth it to us. That’s why weight loss resolutions aren’t often kept. Let’s face it, a chocolate fudge sundae with whipped topping and nuts tastes a heck of a lot better than a 30 minute walk in the park feels. (Do you have any idea what I’d give for a…. never mind.) Taking a 30 minute walk when you’d rather go to Dairy Queen is an ugly battle. But the beautiful thing is, if we win enough of these battles, we win the war!

Success tastes even better than a you know what covered with you know what from you know where.

I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful, healthy, and exciting New Year. I hope it’s full of fun, laughter, and wonderful surprises. I hope you open your world a little wider this year and stretch your wings a little further. You’re capable of doing anything you want to do and of being anyone you want to be. Don’t let anything or anyone (including yourself) get in your way.