LEARNing 3

Yea, that whole resolution to try to post more often?  Well, it was meant to include "about more things," but right now, that's not happening.  It's all I can do to stay on schedule with a weekly LEARNing post...  but here you go...

Did I LEARN anything this week?

Well, I don't feel that I LEARNed anything new, but I reLEARNed that I can, indeed, LEARN!

And this is a big thing!

I really applied myself at work over the past few days (yes, I'm taking a few minutes to write this post at the office!).  I have reduced my inbox to only 16 items (at this moment) with only one of those items unread.  And I didn't just delete the old ones:  I worked them.  I read them, responded if necessary, then filed them.  I've made notes in my planner for follow up, and will hopefully stay on track with them.

Yes, I've been working for over 30 years.  And yes, I've been doing my job and doing it well for those 30 years.  But I've always felt a bit under the gun, a bit more reactive with my time management than proactive.  And while I read almost every time management book or blog post I can get my hands on, implementation is a different thing.

But I've LEARNed this week that I can accomplish a lot in my day, if only I focus (last year's One Little Word!) and ignore the distractions.  I have to put my mind to it and just do it (thanks, Nike!).

I've ordered a new Franklin Covey refill, and just to make me feel better, a newer, nicer binder, too.  It came yesterday and I spent a small bit of time last night setting it up.  I have an unCalendar notebook that I was using for notes and To Dos at work, but I'm going to consolidate all of that into one place, my planner.  Phone calls, meeting notes, all will be in one place, easily accessible and dated, not like my notebook method.  I'll still use the highlighter to "cross off" completed tasks or returned calls; that has worked fabulously for me (thanks, Suzanne!).

Perhaps I'll take a minute here to catch you all up on a few things...

I bought myself a PictureMate photo printer.  The quality is great!  I'll be spending the next couple of nights printing out some photos for Saturday's crop.  I'll also bring it with me and print some there.  I'm debating using Costco one last time for a handful of photos, just to get a kickstart on Saturday's PL project.  I can print and let the photos dry as I need them if I have something to work on...  We'll see...

I went condo/townhouse shopping with my friend E.  She's in an apartment now, but luckily her dad has promised to help her with a generous down payment.  I love looking at other people's homes!  We looked at a wide variety of places, apartment-style condos, a single family home, a railroad style condo apartment...  The very last one, a flip, really caught her eye.  I'm not convinced about the area; it's in Hackensack, near Railroad Avenue, and the street is a bit run down.  There are some renovations going on, and rumor has it that this area is close to the downtown they're talking about revitalizing, but when you're a single woman, I don't think that's the right time to buy in an area that's not 150% safe.  It didn't look terrible, but it wasn't great...

I got a little mini cold last Friday.  I felt great yesterday but this morning, my throat's a little scratchy again.  It's almost time for me to go downstairs and get breakfast and take some Advil Cold and Sinus.  J seems to have gotten over his cold (yes, we were sick at the same time!).  I've taken Nyquil three nights in a row, and for the past two nights, I've woken up at the same time:  3:21am.  AM, people!  Really?  Why?  I took meds to help me sleep, and they always have in the past.  This time, though, not so much.  Thank goodness I was able to fall back asleep and not stay up for those two hours, waiting for the alarm to sound.

I LEARNed something cool on my computer that I think everyone should know:
     Control - Shift - T:  this will reopen a closed tab

You know, when you have multiple windows open and you, oops! forget and close one without writing down that phone number, address, email, etc.  Just hit Control - Shift - T and that window will reopen right there in front of your eyes!  It's like magic!

I actually heard my hubby mention that we might have to buy a new desktop for home.  The one he's working on is terrible - slow, a real dinosaur.  He won't touch my laptop, even though I've offered it to him.  I've recently decided that my next laptop will be a Mac, so maybe I can talk him into inheriting my laptop, and I'll get a new one...  I'm not thinking that will go over too well, but if you all keep your internet fingers crossed, who knows?!?!

I didn't go food shopping this week because I didn't feel well, so we're using what we have.  In theory, that's a great idea - use up those things that have been languishing around in your freezer, fridge or cabinets.  In reality, that means we went to Subway one day, had cold roast beef sandwiches for a snack that night, ate eggs for dinner two nights ago, with leftover mashed potatoes and boiled cabbage, and finally caved and got a rotisserie chicken from Costco last night, and opened a can of green beans and finished some pasta that was in the refrigerator.  While we're not wasting money eating out, I'm a little tired of my selection.  Tonight it will be frozen buffalo wings, mac'n'cheese, and whatever else is in the fridge.  I'm not too excited about tonight's menu (except for the mac'n'cheese, which I could eat every single day if it wouldn't make me as big as a house!).  I think I'll have to add "plan menu" to my planner and create a real shopping list, not just wander up and down the aisles until something catches my eye...

Well, gotta run and LEARN something new!  Back soon!