A Step in the Write Direction--July 16

A Step in the Write Direction

July 16

Update:

This has been another catch-up week. Finished a 200-page editing job, then, having a few days for my own work, I did a lot of house cleaning. Also sent out over 100 brochures for speaking in our area. (If you’re looking for a speaker for your church event, check out my Web site for speaking topics.) Am now finishing up a brochure to send to writing conferences, then back to working on my proposal for my caregiver book. Will take it to my trusty critique group Tuesday.

Thought for Today:

“When you’re in a difficult place, realize that the Lord either placed you there, or allowed you to be there for reasons known only to Him. The same God who led you there will lead you out” (Ira Brown, 7/8/12).

Laugh for Today:

I feel like my body had gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor's permission to
join a fitness club and start exercising. I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.
I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.

Continued Hints on Time Management:

2. Use 15-Minute Increments

In the past I found it hard to begin work on a project when I had other appointments

that day. On the other hand, if I had an empty day with no obligations, I flew out of bed,

eager to get started. One day, while basically wasting a morning waiting for a luncheon

engagement, the other party called and canceled. I moaned, thinking how much I could

have accomplished in that time.

Often while working at especially difficult and eye-straining proofreading jobs, I

take a break every couple of hours and set my timer for 15 minutes. I am always amazed

how much I can accomplish in that short period: cleaning my desk, attacking a pile

of filing, writing a note of encouragement or thanks, or looking up a market.

Charlotte Hale Allen gives a list of things that can be completed in a year in just 15

minutes a day:

1. Read the entire Bible.

2. Plant and keep up a small garden.

3. Become physically fit.

4. Lean to play a musical instrument.

5. Paint a house.

6. Learn a foreign language.

7. Write a book. (Charlotte Hale Allen, “Just 15 Minutes a day,” Guideposts, December 1978, p. 9. Taken from Full-Time Living (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1978). Italics added in #7.

Note: We likely won’t find these increments of time calling out to us; we have to put

them into our schedule, the same as we would an appointment. Dig out your timer today,

set it for 15 or 20 minutes, and see how much you can get done. (And don’t be surprised

if you don’t want to stop when you hear the timer ding.)

Have a good week spreading the gospel through the printed page.