Gaining Energy

Several weeks ago, I was reading though back posts on Christine Kane's blog when I found a post on the energy drains that exist in many (all?) of our lives. She went on to suggest ways to deal with these so that we could live more in the present.

I thought it was a brilliant idea, and I knew I had several friends who were privately trying to deal with this issue. So, what the heck... I emailed them all and asked if they'd be willing to join together in a little 3 month working group to deal with the distractions that are wearing us down. I gambled a little and added a couple people who I wasn't sure would agree. Afterall, I was just putting the invitation out there. (OK, and kind of standing in as the instigator/facilitator). No big deal.

The past couple weeks I've been working on my list. It's not as easy as it sounds... I'd rather hang online placing scrabble or twittering or writing drafts for blog posts that never get published than organize my kitchen cabinets or clean my work room.

I've gotten to the point where I know the items on the list and when I can, I act on one or two of them. When dinner was cooking last night, I went and cleaned the dog snot off the car windows. When I ran to the pet store today, I took some time to walk down to my hair stylist's salon and got my eyebrows waxed. (they went from furry but thin catepillars on my face to oh-so-cute actual eyebrows!)

Crossing things off my list or dealing with things before I need to put them on the list is a great thing. I still have the BIG chore to deal with: my work room. But there will be a week in early December when my spouser is out of town. I've pencilled in this week to devote my energy to creating a workspace that makes me want to be in there and working. I can spend the time between now and then figuring out what I need to do.

One BIG factor: the room is too dark. It faces north east, with a wall of cyprus bushes (I think) that block most light. It's in constant shadow. It was built without a lighting box in the ceiling, so I can only put in lights that plug into a wall socket (I have a 60w. hanging light from IKEA off the ceiling now). Also.. the light switch is hidden behind the door.

IT NEEDS LIGHT. LOTS of LIGHT. Easy to turn on light. A major part of the planning now is trying to figure out how to increase the brightness in this room. Any and all suggestions completely welcome. Oh, and if you're an electrician who wants to give me better lightning... let's talk.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.