Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Storm Number Two

The second of three powerful storms moved through San Diego today.  There is a third, even more powerful storm coming our way around Thursday.  Some forecasters are calling for 6-8 inches of rain just this week!  Our annual rainfall averages only 10 inches, so this is major!  This is supposed to be an "El Nino" year.  The last El Nino was 1998, and many parts of San Diego County flooded back then.  They showed the footage from back then on the news, even though we hadn't moved here yet.  There was even a tornado warning issued today.  We never get that!

When I left work, the storm clouds just started to dissipate.  Look, you can see the tiny sliver of a moon too!
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At the beginning of the year, I had read a very good article at Zen Habits about How To Make the Most of the Fresh Start of a New Year. My biggest takeaway from it was living and concentrating in the moment. I particularly liked #2: Decide on what matters most today, and #3: Clear away distractions and focus. I had figured out that most of my lack of productivity problems are related to internet distractions, so #3 was especially calling my name. It seems like turning off the internet and email for a set period of time to focus on the task at hand is a good idea from time to time.

Lo and behold, I got to work today, and Peppermint IM'ed me and said she just got done with 90 minutes of shutting off Firefox and concentrating on work. So I decided to give it a try. I actually did get a lot done! Of course, we didn't completely shut off the intertoobs, because we were still chatting with each other. :-|  I mean, let's not get completely crazy!  But, one step at a time, right? I've been thinking lately that my attention span has been getting shorter and shorter in the last few years, and it really could be because of the internet distractions. Sometimes it's too much of a good thing! That's why it feels very comforting to me to step away from the computer and go read. Just lounge on the couch and read.

Speaking of reading... I am still on track with my daily Bible reading and getting through the whole Bible in a year. Well, I'm half a day behind. Somehow I didn't get to reading my Bible last night until after I was in bed and after taking cold medication. Bad combo! I fell asleep halfway through. I will catch up tonight.

I am designing some new templates for my store! I'm excited about these new templates. I hope to get them into my store later this week. :) Speaking of my templates and my store... did you see this post at Simple Scrapper today? Several people called it to my attention today, but I would have seen it eventually, because I read Simple Scrapper everyday. I was SO honored and excited to be included in the "10 designers & shops to watch in 2010"!   To make it doubly happy for me, Peppermint was on the list too!  :D

Back to designing and trying to be productive now!

11 comments:

  1. If anything I actually IM'd people MORE by "shutting down the interwebs" than I do when I have the interwebs running. :-\

    Still, the timer comes back out tomorrow. I have to catch up!

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  2. Mike told me that he fasted from the internet and TV for a week. I was thinking about fasting too. I don't know if I could do a week. I might fast from TV and internet for a day. It would be too hard for me to fast from the internet for a week because I use the internet for work. Maybe you should try fasting for a day. : )

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  3. I too have been stepping away intentionally from the compy more this year. Great feature on the simple site--congratulations. Also happy for you that you are on track with your Bible reading. Right now I am focusing on spending more time just listening for God's voice. It has really made me much more aware of His presence.

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  4. Yay for the spotlight on Simple Scrapper! You really do a great job on the templates...I love them!
    And I'm with you on the distractions. I feel so overwhelmed. Currently I have 10 tabs open on Firefox. Mainly I keep them open b/c "oh, I like this idea" and I don't want to forget it. I need to figure out the best way for me to prioritize all of my "projeks" in a way that is meaningful so that when I do have an hour or so, I can get them out and work on them.
    Ideas?

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  5. I had a big smile when I was reading the Simple Scrapper too, thinking, hey! I read er blog, I have some of her templates! Cool! :D Congrats on the recognition for your great work!!

    I love, love, love that photo! It's not just that I love palm trees, which I do, but I love the clear sky with the clouds still visible. Very sweet!

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  6. I use Evernote to store things I want to go back to. I have a note for home stuff and a note for work stuff.

    I'll put a url with a quick blurb of what it is. And when I have free time (ha!) I go look at that list.

    Good thing is sometimes after time passes I realize it's just not that important and I delete it.

    Evernote client is both windows and mac (and mobile phone) and syncs automatically.

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  7. Congrats, Christine! You are both for sure 2 designers to watch this year!

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  8. Yes! I read that post on Simple Scrapper yesterday. :) Hooray!

    I find myself taking more time away from the computer on purpose. It's refreshing to find myself not needing it like I thought I did.

    Not sure about that rain you're getting. I'll trade you for my snow. LOL

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  9. Ohhhh, I forgot.

    I miss you doing P365. You took the ordinary day and made it extraordinary. I just miss reading about your every day life. :)

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  10. You gotta love how God uses a friendly blog to confirm what He's been prompting me to change.

    And..thank you for mentioning the 'shorter attention span'...I totally agree that it's the web.

    Love the photos...glad you are keeping up with you Bible reading..congrats again on being so awesome..and CANNOT WAIT for more templates!...later.

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  11. cool storm picture! Glad your are still on track with reading your Bible

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