Wednesday 23 June 2010

Spend Less.....Live More??

I have mentioned this before http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-recommendation.html but felt I wanted to emphasis to myself again the key points from; The Spend Less Handbook: 365 Tips for a Better Quality of Life While Actually Spending Less by Rebecca Ash, Capstone Publishing (2008) :

Why are our lives so hectic? Because there is so much stuff in them.

Even when we are not working, there are a thousand and one chores to occupy our lives and millions of bright images and hectic making technology that flick through our consciousness and turn our lives into a living nightmare.

The more we shop, the more we own, the more chores, hassles and complications are created in our lives.

Your unconscious mind is weighed down by everything you own. Clutter impairs your development, because things that are piled up are frequently associated with memories, so they bind you to the past.

Ask Yourself: Do I really, really need this? Remember that what you actually want is less stuff in your life, not more.

Remember that you only have one life, and you really ought to live life as if you only had a few months left of it. Make time to do things that will add real value to your life – things that will make you feel like the person you want to be, the person you would like to be remembered as when you die.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." – Henry David Thoreau

Monday 21 June 2010

Making Time Matter

In an attempt to answer all my woes in my last entry I read; The Time Paradox: Using the New Psychology of Time to Your Advantage by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd, Ebury Publishing (2008) http://www.thetimeparadox.com/

The main points I must focus on are:

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. Paradise Lost, Milton.

Your attitudes to time have a profound impact on your life. By changing the way you think about your past you change your future.

Ask yourself what you want to do today. Don’t ask what tasks you have to do today or what obligation you must meet before you can take time to enjoy yourself. Continually ask the big questions: What do I really want out of my life? What am I doing to get what I want? What is the best way to get from here to there?

‘We choose to rush and be busy. We can choose to slow down and cut back. This is in our power. But making such a choice is not easy.’ Ralph Keyes, Timelock. You need to do less, not more. Slim down your obligations. Eliminate as much as you can until you are in a comfort zone. Throw out the trash. Clean your closets of worn-out clothes. Stop going to events you don’t like. ‘Trying to increase one’s menu of possibilities contributes to overchoice, a key source of timelock. Reducing the range of options makes it possible to narrow ones focus and concentrate better.’ Ralph Keyes.

Only keep things from your past which make you happy. That includes thoughts / memories….. Reconstruct past negative experiences and either neutralize them or discover some hidden positive elements in them. Whenever you find yourself replaying the familiar old slides of past negative experiences, make yourself take out those slides and insert new slides into your memory tray. Practice viewing your new positive-only personal slide show to flood the dreary old past with a bright light of optimism. Forget about whether you had less love, success and good fortune than others in your life. That’s over and done with. Decide to become positive about your past and start afresh.

Life is what you make of it. You can make your time matter. Now is not the time to wait. Now is the time to act. Three days are all we have in which to live our lives. Yesterday was too early. Tomorrow will be too late. Today is the day of reckoning for each of us.

No man ever steps into the same river twice, for its not the same river and he’s not the same man. Heraclitus

Wednesday 16 June 2010

Grumpy....

Went to see the Physio yesterday about my back that continues to give me trouble; along with the rest of my body. I feel like an old lady a lot of the time; aches and pains all over. Grumble, Grumble... This was my 4th visit on the NHS and it looks like I will be discharged next time to 'self-medicate' or whatever the phrase is. I left the session - which was quite painful but I am sure good for me at the same time - rather upset after he suggested; 'You need to be more active'.

I came home and had a bit of a cry and a moan. I felt like such a fat, old woman. But I know he is right. I know I should be doing my physio exercises as well as some 'proper' exercises (he suggested swimming) and I know I should think more about my posture, and god knows sitting at my laptop probably isn't doing me any good either, but its just one more thing amongst a sea of 'things to do'. And once I get in a spiral of misery I then begin to worry about the effect on Jamie. Am I a good enough mother? Am I spending enough quality time with him? Am I doing everything right? And where in all this sea of moaning and misery is any time for writing?

I know I have unrealistic expectations of both myself and others in terms of what I want / need to do / finish / start but how to stop myself from getting so worked up about it? Or indeed how to stop all those things meaning so much when in reality they shouldn't!?

Answers please....

Monday 14 June 2010

Brainstorming....

Well, I don't want to go and ruin it all by saying too much but I have started work on a new novel and it is something completely different from the crime novels I have surrounded myself with in recent years. Having a baby has made me want to steer away from all the nasty side of the world and I find myself less interested in all the TV I used to engross myself in. Life has become more playful since having Jamie and as such it seems so is my writing.

As coincidence would have it, the latest email from Anna at www.catalystonline.co.uk talks about the 5 stages of creativity. The first being Brainstorming. Although I have written the first page or so, I feel that this is the stage I am at and perhaps need to be at for a few weeks at least as I shift my whole focus away from Crime and towards my writing future.

Anna says:
What do I mean by brainstorming? I mean putting aside all preconceptions, any fixed ideas you have what it must/should/ought to look like and simply playing around with thoughts and ideas with no pressure on you to come up with the 'perfect' solution.

Play is an important element of the creative process, so when you brainstorm you get comfortable, you lay in all the supplies you might need whether that's your computer screen, large sheets of paper and coloured pens to make a mind map, or simply a notepad and pen. Find the place where your mind is most able to relax, play, and have fun.

Empty your mind, and just jot down the points as they come into your head - that could be a plot outline, a character, a place, even the sound or smell that brings back a powerful memory you want to incorporate into your work.

To help you with that you might want to write down these questions at the top of your pad, or on your computer screen, and let yourself think about the answers:
** What is it that you really want most to express?
** As you jot your ideas down, what gives you a little rush of energy or happiness?
** Who, ideally, you want to read your work - and what makes them the ideal reader?

Thursday 10 June 2010

Life is like..

Life is like riding a bicycle.
You don't fall off unless you stop pedaling.

Claude Pepper

Saturday 5 June 2010

The D's are all-important

In an interview with Barbara Taylor Bradford she is quoted as saying;

“If you want to get ahead, the D’s are all-important. You need the Desire, Drive and Determination to do it. You need the Dedication to keep going when there are setbacks, and you must avoid all Distractions which might knock you off course. Sort out the D’s and you are in with a fighting chance.”

Alan Jackson, The Times Magazine, Saturday 8th August 2009

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Just Read.....

The Writer's Tale by Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook (BBC Books 2008) with regards to their work on Dr Who. Now don't get me wrong, I love the new Dr Who, but Russell T Davies and his bunch really knew Dr Who (and Captain Jack, Torchwood etc.). The new series has different writers and it shows.

I love this book and, although I didn't have time to devour everything as I have just started a bit of writing of my own.....the information given, as well as all the glossy photos, were brilliant! Russell leads us through the actual process of how a script goes from a first draft to a completed piece on the television. He has a lot to say about the job of being a writer and I admire him for his stamina - let alone his prolific amount of ideas. Just don't ask him where he gets all his ideas from. He will say; "The Ideas Shop in Abergavenny!"

He says: 'Writing's inside your head! It's thinking! It's every hour of the day, every day of your life, a constant storm of pictures and voices and sometimes, if you're very, very lucky, insight.'