Wasting Time: A Day in the Life Sunday

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The past several weeks are in the bag. Looking back, I came upon a realization: I devoted less time to writing than I did to anything else. It's not new for me but now the stakes are higher.

Last week, I made a commitment to myself to energize a novice writing career. It's not going so well.

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These Words with Friends letters were taunting me in a game I was losing. No U for my Q, no triple word boxes in sight, I didn't make a killer word. I didn't win the game. I didn't unwind at the end of the day. I didn't write.

I was distracted. Again.

It's times like these when I pull out my dog-eared copy of a 2010 Chris Brogan post, Distractions are Yours to Manage. His three points: distractions are a part of life, you own this life and you set the limits are always right on for me.

Some days, I am better at managing distractions than others. Like Chris, nothing beeps for me except text messages from the kid. Tweets, Facebook notifications, emails are all silent. I am in Google Reader once a day, star items to read later and started Buffering as I move around the Web.

I even bought an iPad so I can use my time in the bleachers to write while the kid swims. Great intentions foiled by great apps.

From Chris, "When all is said and done, you own your own time. You own your own life. You own the distractions."

I get it. They are my distractions. I own them. Now, what the heck do I do with them?

Home, Garden and To-Do Lists: A Day in the Life Sunday

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What's your home and garden like?

Open a magazine, almost any magazine, and there they are - architecturally unique homes, lush lawns, and gardens awash with colors, shapes and sizes to die for. Not a blade of grass or a leaf is out of place, the back yard patio is entertainment ready at all times and the home, monogrammed hand towels and all, is inviting guests to drop in anytime.

Who lives like that?

I don't. In one breath, I like the idea of having a home like that and in the next, I think about the work to keep it all up. Our house is not big and our property more natural than manicured and I can't keep up with what we have.

I know, I get to choose how I spend my time but when it comes to swim meets, family outings, writing or a trip to Grand Avenue and Golden Fig fine foods my choice is clear. The weeds can wait. And wait they did. In fact, they are still waiting. I have one weed along the front step (welcome!) that is almost as tall as the kid. When it hits eye level I will weed.

I love the idea, the look, the feel and the smell of a mantained property but I don't love the work. Here's a glimpse at a snippet of our outdoor to-do list:

  • Wash windows and power wash deck
  • Weed flower beds and split perennials
  • Remove the overgrown madness around the big garage
  • Landscaping on front and side of house
  • Trim the trees and remove a ton of strangling grapevines

See why I prefer to head to St. Paul?! I can rationalize this all away - it's unsafe to weed in 102 degree weather, once I am in the house I don't see the overgrowth and weeds, no one ever visits us anyway and, here's the best one - in a few months, it'll all be under a few feet of snow.

Too bad rationalization doesn't kill weeds. I am off to Home Depot for a powerwash-like sprayer and some Roundup to tackle the beasts.

Better Homes and Gardens I am not.

Photo credit iStockphoto