Focus essential,
eliminate distractions,
realistic goals.

You see, I live in an area of the United States that doesn’t get snow. Our major weather events are nor’easters and hurricanes. But no real snow — at most we may get a dusting. So no one is prepared for it. No one can drive in it, and at the hint of snow people stock up on food like they’re going to be stranded for months.

So when the weather alert came through yesterday, I kind of blew it off…after all, they promised us 9 inches of snow for inauguration day in 2009, and we got nothing.

But we got snow.

It’s now sitting at about 8 inches of snow and is being topped with a fresh layer of sleet. The weather application has been updating me regularly.

I was raised on the frozen tudra, I can deal with this. I have appropriate clothing, I own a snow shovel, and I know how to drive on ice. Unfortunately, most people here don’t. Especially the driving part.

Since the county only plows and treats major streets, it’s best if I just stay inside.

Photo by jpctalbot

I’m a musician, both by training, and often by how I think. My life has a soundtrack, both of music and non-music, and there are a lot of things that I find in music that apply to everyday living. One of those things is concerto living.

Structure of a Concerto

A concerto is a form of music that was popular during the Baroque era (approximately 1600 to 1750 CE; think Bach and sons). It was usually written for a solo instrument with the backing of a group, and usually consisted of three separate parts or movements.

(I find the term “movement” fascinating, because it so aptly describes what music is: an experience the performer and listener go through together, moving through time.)

In a concerto, the movements are generally different speeds, as well as different keys, producing a different type of mood.

Concerto Living

It is helpful to me to remember that my life can be seen like a concerto. There are periods of happy music, mixed with different moods and tempos. Sometimes the music is turbulent, sometimes frantic. Other times it is peaceful and bucolic.

2009 was a slow and calm year for me. Will 2010 show the end of that movement? Or will I continue on in the same slow and pastoral pace and tone?

Photo by wlodi

Guess what? I don’t spend all of my free time reading productivity books. In fact, 2009 was a banner year for reading fiction.

Usually I stick to the same sort of books every time. I like cozy mysteries, or the classics. But this year I branched out a bit, and came across four new authors and their books which were the best I read in 2009:

The Other Boleyn Girl

If you saw the movie, consider reading the real story. The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory, talks about Mary Boleyn, and how she escaped her families machinations and was the only one to survive. It is a gripping tale, an excellent work of historical fiction. Ms. Gregory’s other books, which I rapidly devoured soon afterward, are also very good.

Murder with Peacocks

Take a situation that makes most people insane – a wedding – multiply it by three and add in a few corpses and a wacky family. There’s the premise for the first Meg Lanslow mystery, Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews. It left me guessing until the very end, because the corpse was someone everyone had it in for.

You Can Heal Your Life

I had never heard of Louise Hay before a guide asked me to read anything by her to get back in the right mindspace for writing and creating. I picked up You Can Heal Your Life at the library, and then went out and bought it. It’s a beautiful book — beautiful in the sense of the book itself is a work of art with all the illustrations. It might be a bit “woo-woo” for some, but I have found some truth and comfort in its pages during a particularly challenging time.

Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper

Another new-to-me-author, SARK (yes, that’s really how you request her books), jumped out at me when I was looking for books on simplification on day at the bookstore. The book Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper: Gifting the World with Your Words and Stories, and Creating the Time and Energy to Actually Do It caught my eye not only because of its color, but also because of the subtitle. Who wouldn’t want to have more time and energy to gift the world with creativity? This book is also beautiful, decorated with wonderful artwork that makes it a treat to pick up.

Crazy Aunt Purl’s Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair

Laurie Perry writes a blog as Crazy Aunt Purl, part knitting, part fun. Crazy Aunt Purl’s Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split tells the story, as only Laurie Perry can do, of a 30-something woman suddenly on her own with four cats. She takes up knitting to save her sanity. This isn’t for everyone, but had me laughing out loud many times, and there were some great patterns at the back.

John Buchan

I have to throw in a plug for a favorite author, John Buchan. I’ve read his The Thirty-Nine Steps several times (again, if you’ve seen the Hitchcock movie, read the book. It’s much better). But this year I read the other books in the Richard Hannay series as well: Greenmantle, Mr.Standfast, and The Three Hostages. These books kept me on the edge of my seat for many days.

What were your favorite books?

So my question is, does the character of authors matter?

I think it does. If an author is presenting himself as an expert on a situation, shouldn’t he be blameless? After all, would you really want to get how-to-grow-wealth advice from a book by Bernie Madoff? Sure, he made a lot of money, but look how he did it.

Same with the author in question, Tim Ferriss. Here is the passage that turned me off:

“I won by reading the rules and looking for loopholes, of which there were two:

1. Weigh ins were the day prior to the competition. Using dehydration techniques….I lost 28 pounds in 18 hours, weighed in at 165, and then hyperhydrated back to 193 pounds. It’s hard to fight someone from three weight classes above you. Poor little guys.

2. There was a technicality in the fine print: …I decided to use this
technicality as my single technique and just push people off.”

Why is this bad? When this situation happens at my daughter’s school, for instance…a child who weighs more than another child and pushes them around to get what they want…it’s called BULLYING.

Do I really want to take lock, stock and barrel advice from someone who bullies? No, not really. His credibility was shot. I read the rest of the book, reviewed it (Book Review: The 4 Hour Work Week), and thoroughly examined what he had to say. But it was all colored by that passage.

Yes, I’m interested in working less. Who isn’t? But I won’t do it by crossing the boundaries of what I consider right conduct.

So to bring this back around. Does the character of an author matter? I think it does. Credibility and respect are intangible things, and once lost, regardless of how worthy the message, the value of the message is diminished.

So I’ll pass this over to you. What do you think?

I’ve slacked off on exercising.

The sad part is that I have a whole list of excuses why I can’t exercise. During the summer it was because it was too hot, or I didn’t have time before work. Since school started, I’ve been walking after I get my daughter on the bus, but I skipped it if it were raining.

We’ve had a lot of rain lately.

So when I was talking about this to my husband, he asked when the last time I used the Wii Fit was.

Talk about obvious!

But I hadn’t considered it, because in my mind, the Wii was something I did in the evenings, or first thing in the morning. I never considered that I could use it during my walking time on rainy days.

One more excuse, down the drain…

Photo by ColKorn1982

Fall is a time for apples, and the apple market is glutted this year. Here are four of my favorite simple desserts using apples:

Apples And Cinnamon

This is a good lunch “dessert” for my daughter. Take an apple and slice it up, then sprinkle it with cinnamon. The cinnamon makes it taste like apple pie, and hides any oxidation (browning) on the cut apple at lunch time.

Bananas and Apples With Honey

A great, healthy and quick dessert takes sliced apples and sliced bananas in a bowl, with a small drizzle of honey and an optional sprinkle of cinnamon. Tastes wonderful.

Baked Apples

I don’t do these the way my mother did. I use my microwave. Core your apples and place them in a microwave-safe dish. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins (or some other small dried fruit) and nuts (I like walnuts) in a bowl. Pack the center of the apple with the mixture and drizzle the whole thing with melted butter, making sure to get some butter in the center. Microwave until the apples are soft, checking every minute. (In my microwave it takes about 7 minutes for 3 apples)

Apple Spice Cake

This one is really easy. Take a spice cake mix, a can of apple pie filling and 2 eggs. Mix it all together and pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350F until done (30 to 35 minutes). This cake is really moist and tastes heavenly.

Photo by The Artifex

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. On this day we are supposed to be thankful for the harvest and food. Mostly, today, Americans use the holiday to eat too much.

I think it is a good exercise to periodically think about what you are thankful for. These lists can help lift you on bad day, and change the way your mind is focused.

I encourage each of you to come up with at least ten things you are thankful for. Here is mine:

1. A wonderful husband
2. A healthy daughter
3. Three animals that share their dwelling space with us
4. You, my readers
5. The friends who support me (this means you, Toni, Nell, Martha and Leonie!)
6. A roof over my head
7. A good job that is stimulating without much stress
8. Music to listen to
9. A varied community
10. Books to challenge my thinking and entertain me

Thank you to all readers out there. I hope your day is safe and fulfilling.

Photo by psd

I was catching up on podcasts lately, and Get-It-Done Guy had a great one on How To Choose Experts. I decided to bring it up here, because it has relevancy for all that we are trying to do.

It doesn’t really matter if you are trying to be more productive, or simplify your life, or even clean your house. We turn to “experts” because we want to learn better ways. But there’s a problem with experts: experts are starting from a different frame of reference, and their destinations are different.

Experts are not always right. They are only giving their opinion based on their knowledge and experience. “Maybe they did everything wrong and succeeded in spite of themselves.” Some people succeed through dumb luck. We need to remember that.

Stever goes on to talk about picking an expert, and the most important thing that gets overlooked: “When you decide to learn from an expert, students are their product. Meet people they have taught, who started from the same place as you.”

I had a music teacher in college. He was the main reason I decided not to pursue my performance degree. You see, he was a brilliant flutist. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a brilliant teacher. He couldn’t tell me how to get the sound he wanted from me. Too often my lessons degenerated into trying random things to see if I could satisfy his demands for different sound. He hadn’t trained many performance majors; he focused on music education majors. Completely different training.

Good experts also have to know why their techniques work. If they can’t tell you, then chances are it is dumb luck they have succeeded. And insisting that the same techniques will work for everyone is not a good way to overcome this. Knowing why their techniques work are important to be able to extrapolate their methods to fit other’s circumstances. Like yours.

Check out the transcript of the podcast. Stever has a great humor, and some not-so-commonplace tips for getting more done.

Photo by alancleaver_2000

I’m currently looking at shifting my platform for productivity and information away from Palm and onto something else. This means I am spending time researching replacements to applications I use. It also means I do quite a bit of “if there were only an application that would…” Here are my top 5 list of software I would love to see written.

The Bookstore/Library Browser

I love reading and books. I will spend time at the bookstore, browsing for books I think I would like. I note the titles, and when I get home, I try to get these books from the library. But sometimes the library doesn’t have the book, and other times I lose my notes.

An ideal application would be one that scanned the ISBN number on a bookstore book, looked it up at my local library, and if it was there, put a hold on it. Otherwise it would notify me that if I wanted to read it, I need to buy it.

No-Think Sync

Maybe I’ve got unrealistic expectations. I don’t know. I do know I have a plethora of electronic devices. Keeping the information synchronized between all of them is a hassle.

Multiple pieces of software I would like to be able to have one “master” point of information for contacts, to dos and calendar items, and without my having to fiddle with settings and file layouts, or remembering to run various software. Just one click and everything would end up where it needs to be.

Menu Planner

I like cooking, and I like making interesting food that tastes good (these two do not always go together in my kitchen). However, being a working mom, this often takes a lot of time.

I would love an application that would keep track of what was in my pantry and freezer, find good recipes to deal with them, plan out menus and then output shopping lists. It would be even better if the shopping lists would automatically transmit to a local grocery store, where I could then pick up my groceries, and it would all be there.

Housework List

Flylady tried to do this with her zone cleaning. You break your house into zones, and you designate a part of the calendar month to each zone. During those times, you complete a list of tasks in that zone.

That’s fine and well, but what if your house doesn’t lend itself to standard zones? An example: Zone 3 is designated as the bathroom and one other room. I have two full baths. Do I do the master bath with the master bedroom or with the other bath? And four other rooms fall into the “other” category. If I follow the scheduled, I go four months between cleanings of my daughter’s room.

A fabulous application would help figure out a balanced load of tasks based on the structure of your home, and email a list of tasks to be done during that week. You’d have an equal rotation of tasks, and nothing would get left behind.

Holiday Scheduler

Our holidays are crazy. We celebrate in so many ways, with so many things to do. The hard part is not in the major planning, but in the little details. Like being reminded to take the butter out of the freezer so that it is ready to make cookies. Or setting aside time to work on a craft project.

A great application would take all the non-major activities, along with my schedule, and put out a calendar/to-do list of things I needed to do so that these details would fall through the cracks. Having a cookie exchange? It would tell me to make cookies the day before. And it would tell me to take the butter out of the freezer the day before that.

Maybe someday there will be software to do all this. And maybe someday I’ll get a blue talking pony.

Photo by angermann