A Productive Start to January

I've been feeling remarkably productive lately.

I think part of it is that December was so busy with outside things: I worked two of my part time temp. jobs and did quite a bit of Mystery Shopping on top of all the holiday shopping, parties, functions and so on. It was a month where not a lot of my time was spent on my own projects. Even on the rare occasions when I was home, I was spending time making Christmas gifts, wrapping presents or making holiday food. (Is it just me or does Christmas seem like a year ago already?) That isn't to say that that wasn't valuable time, it was definitely time well spent! But it is a stark contrast to the way things have been going lately.

Though we are only two weeks into January, I've already spent more time on my projects than I did the whole month of December. Being snowed in last weekend helped, but it is more than that - I even seem to find more time day to day to get things done. For example, for months I have had three items sitting on my desk that needed a dab of superglue. For almost the exact same amount of time I have had a brand new package of superglue sitting next to them, waiting to be used. But did it get done? Noooooooo... Then this morning I finished breakfast a bit earlier than usual and realized I had an extra 15 minutes in my morning. Without a second thought I grabbed the items off my desk and the bottle glue and made the repairs. When I think about how long it took me to get around to do this project that in actual time took less than 15 minutes... it is almost embarrassing. On the other hand, at least it is done!

I think one of the big reasons I have motivation this month is because of this blog...

Here's why - in December I posted my 2009 Goals. Most of these goals require a lot of motivation; motivation for cleaning, reorganizing, getting additional funds, etc., and along with motivation, I need accountability. Oh sure, I can be accountable to myself, but when I think about the end of the month and writing a post on how my goals are going, well, let's just say I am a little more likely to take those eBay photos! One of the things I love about this blog is thinking about all of you who are out there reading this. I really value you guys, and knowing you are all out there inspires me.

Here's another thing, by putting my goals in this blog and referring back to them often, I am putting them out in front of myself as well. Too often in the past it has been easy to make goals for a year and then just forget about them. In fact, I just was going through a blank journal the other day... well, I thought it was blank. It turns out I had written my 2007 goals in there. I had no idea I even had 2007 goals! I couldn't remember writing them in the journal. This year though, I am putting my goals in a place I look at almost every day - my blog. On top of that I will be writing up a summation each month in how I am doing. That too will help keep me on track, not just in measuring success (because there may be down months) but in keeping those goals on the forefront of my mind. They are a bit of a stretch, but completely achievable.

I know it is only 13 days into the month, but I feel like I have made some good progress, and that right there is another motivator. Once I get rolling and start getting things done, I want to keep going - get more done. I'm going to ride this feeling for as long as I can!!

And here is one more motivator - the great gifts I get from other bloggers. Check out what Passive Family Income wrote about my blog today. Thanks again PFI - you put a huge smile on my face!!


Photo by: ....Tim