I've been thinking a lot about chaos this week. 

Generally when a couple of big unexpected things land on my already full plate, it almost always results in a burst of productivity. Issues resolve quickly with some creative thinking, a few nimble schedule adjustments, a couple of easily navigated late nights and magically...solved, dealt with, done!  All is well and life is good again. I feel competent, capable and confident in my ability to leap tall buildings with laptop in hand.

But sometimes chaos isn't so simply resolved or neatly packaged...and if it comes complete with a big dose of stressful, it can toss a monkeywrench into the most tried and true coping mechanisms. There are only so many late nights, so many schedule adjustments and then the creativity is replaced with exhaustion and the productivity with tedious must-do's.

The only path through that I know is to breathe, slow down, honor the process.  Patience and play help a lot.  Spontaneity breeds creativity and letting go is many times the most productive thing to do.

Crazy how life gets out of control.
On the road again...major car repair finished!
Kitchen floor is completed...the refrig is out of the living room!
Desk is organized...and next week is planned!
I have my life back!

...and it occurred to me that one of the many things neglected or sidetracked is my lovely little blog.  When I pulled it up this morning, I was shocked to see that 30 days had gone by with nothing. Nothing from me...or actually for me.

All of the excuses aside, it feels this morning as though I had neglected taking care of a piece of me...lack of self-care. Isn't that the first thing to go for many of us?  I know it is for me.  When the pressure is on, the family is in crisis, the business is busy...I find time for everything else, and set aside or postpone the little things that replenish me.

Is it nature or nurture?  I certainly saw my mother lose herself in 6 kids, a husband building a business empire and her natural generosity.  We talked about this.  About the seemingly endless reservoir of giving she effortlessly pulled forth and the seemingly endless therapy she did after her life fell apart. Neither of us came to a determination, but each of these conversations with her help me find my center and my determination not to get lost again.

Interesting that I had intended to write about how if our lives are disorganized in the pieces, the whole becomes chaos.  I guess I did, but not in the way I thought I would.  I love this blog.

Oh, those 'bright shiny objects'....how they beckon and tantalize.  Entice me to stray, explore and converse endlessly about how fabulous they could be.  Tempt me to long, leisurely web-surfing for content and ideas.  Do you find yourself side-tracked by them?....I do! 

There is just something tantalizing about all of the endless brilliant possiblities.  Every new idea and exciting vision can take on a life of its own and consume more time than I should really give.  When there are exciting things on the horizon, it is easy to get lost in the dreams and vision. 

Learning to focus on the here and now; prioritizing the endless to-do's; maximizing your 'effort = profit' equation....they can all seem tedious and way too hard on a daily basis.  That's why my flights of fancy are stimulated by 'bright shiny objects' from time to time.  And as long as I can reign them in and limit the time I spend on them, they are actually productive.  But that can be the issue.  When do they get in the way?  When is it too much?

Having a set schedule to try to impose some order on my daily activities helps... I left the quest for 'balance' behind long ago!  At the very least I have objectives and tasks worked into my day among all of the phone conversations, meetings and appointments.  I also try to schedule set times to take care of similiar activites.  Hootsuite, Weekly updates and Newsletter writing all take place on Sunday evening and Mondays are for phone calls with National, my accountability group and all of the new women who have signed up on line.  I tend to start and end my day with Facebook...but often find myself irresistibly drawn to it during the day...it is a bright, shiny object after all...and it's hard to limit myself!

How do you stay focused on what brings you revenue?...do you take side trips?...what are your bright shiny obects?

Everyone needs alliances to spark creativity, be accountable, bounce ideas and get honest feedback. 

Our west coast group of LWL Market Directors had been having regular phone calls every two weeks to share best practices, successes and disasters for about 7 months and then we got off track after the Christmas holidays and never really got back to a regular schedule.  This week we started back up again and boy, did I need it!  I am both energized and humbled by all of the amazing talent in the Ladies Who Launch organization.  Living up to their high standards raises my game!

I always say "if you take one idea away from a LincUp...and then implement it in your business, it is worth the time and money invested".  I feel that way about our Market Director 'LincUps'...

I got one game shifting concept and one great event idea from the call on Monday.  WhooHoo!!

What's the last big idea you got at a LincUp?  What happened when you put it in place in your business?

One of my appointments called and cancelled this morning, so instead of doing what I normally would (checking off some to-do's on the work list!!) today I took some time out.  Got my hair cut, stopped by an clients shop to say 'Hi', bought a fabulous pair of earrings and am writing this blog post.  All things I haven't 'had time for' recently...and it reminded me that it is important to get a little refreshment from time to time.

All of a sudden I feel lighter, less stressed and more energized.  Reminding myself that its good to take a break...I tend to drive hard all the time.  It's partly that I LOVE what I do and partly that I am highly competitive and set big goals for my big dreams.  Remembering that I control the time line for my success is critical to self-care for me. 

Stopping and smelling the roses takes just a little time and reaps big benefits.  If its something you find easy to do...you are my hero!  If you are like me, try it...and let me know how it makes you feel.

Note:  Re-reading this, I find it interesting that one of the things I did that felt indulgent today was write this blog post....Hmmm...very interesting indeed!

It is always a little intimidating to start something new. 

First of all, I'm intrigued...sounds like it would be fun and everyone is doing it...I should really do it too!
Then there's the commitment thing...do I really want to do this?...am I really ready now?
The questioning and doubting begins ...can I live up to my own expectations?...will I actually be able to walk the talk?
Next the panic of saying it and owning the decision...OMG, can't back down now!

I've been putting off blogging for some time now.  Never seemed like the time was right, too busy; moving it constantly out on the endless to-Do list.  I've set artificial deadlines and start dates...always moving them out and out and out.  Then, I committed to do it when the Online Community for Ladies Who Launch came up and surprise 'There is a Blog component'' included.  I enthusiastically embraced the timing.  Several months ago, it seemed like the stars were aligning to point me in the direction of fate, karma, the universe and starting the blog...plenty of time to prepare, maybe even do a few in advance to have a backlog 'just in case'.

And here I am today, still time-pressured, unprepared, no blogs held in reserve; but publicly committed and now,  blogging!

My motto...for life and for blogging...KISS.  Simple, easy, not too long, not too complicated, nothing too deep or serious.  Just my rambling thoughts, some great tips from time to time and mostly, just me in a stream of what passes for consciousness.

It could be a bumpy ride, but this first one wasn't bad at all.  Stay tuned!
Linda