Tag Archives: Time Management

Goals: September 2016

  By Ralene Burke • September 2, 2016

After a summer full of conferences, vacations, and fun surprises, I can hardly believe it’s September already! Everyone’s kids are back in school (or almost), fall is in the air, and my schedule is slowly down ever so slightly. How about yours?

After a week-long work trip, I took a day to relax and refresh. Now it’s time to kick my brain into top gear and get going on all these goals and plans I have for the rest of the year. I need to break the big goals down into smaller, more attainable chunks, so I can stay focused and get more accomplished.

PIC1068506062One of the big concepts I walked away with from ACFW is allowing for flexibility in all areas of my life. Flexibility for what? For God. I want to walk closer with God, and if I am making all these plans, it has to be WITH Him. I want His plans to be my plans, but I want to be listening for His cues because His plans may not always line up right with mine, right?

But I know there are some things I need to be doing to walk closer with Him and to be able to do what He needs me to do. Hence a few of my goals this month.

September Goals:

  1. Get back into my early morning routine. You know, I always feel better when I start my day with God, in the Word. It seems to give me more patience for the day, more focus and purpose. I’ll talk more about my routines in a different post, but this is one I’m definitely picking back up and making a priority.
  2. Get my blood sugar under control. Although weight loss is important, I’m not going to be doing much of anything if my blood sugar numbers don’t come down. This month, I am focusing on portion sizes and eating more veggies.
  3. Plan a block schedule for my work time. Between writing, editing, and other work commitments, I need to have a clear schedule so I know how much time I have to devote to any project on any given day during any given week. Time management has been a weakness of mine as I have struggled with homeschooling and health. But if I want to do all of this, I need to step up and do what needs doing.
  4. Ralene Bellnock 1 The Reluctant SaviorGet Bellanok compiled into one book, revised and polished, and ready to send to my proofreader/formatter by September 20. (October 14, folks . . . be ready!) I have 2 hours, M-F, plus a few hours on Saturdays, to devote to getting this done. If I can focus, might only take me a couple of weeks!
  5. I’m fresh from the Realm Makers planning retreat with a host of projects to work on over the next month. The main 2 projects being our handbook (for the planning committee) and a new website. I’m excited about finishing up both! Realm Makers will be part of my block schedule as well!

 

So there you have it, folks. I’m ready to tackle September and come out on top. What about you?

 

What are a couple of your goals for September?

 

Janeen and Sara, how did you do on your goals from the August post?

 

If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, now’s the time! There’s lots of fun stuff coming up this fall, including the release of Bellanok and more Confessions posts!

Overwhelmed? (by Kimberly Rose Johnson)

  By Ralene Burke • July 1, 2015 ,

file1801281015946As I write this, I’m sitting in the dentist office waiting room waiting for my youngest to get a filling. Poor kid. Life can sometimes feel like one big cavity—painful, overwhelming, or too much to deal with. But there is hope. That cavity can be filled and the pain will, or at least should, go away. That’s what it is like with the Lord. He can fill those painful times with peace, healing, restoration, or whatever the need is if we hand it over to Him.

A writer’s life is filled with so many different things that can become overwhelming. Reality is everyone faces things that overwhelm, but today I’m focusing on writers since that was my assignment.

As writer’s we face deadlines that must be met in the midst of marking, social networking, and a plethora of other things that drain our time. What’s a writer to do?

The first thing I suggest is giving the stress to the Lord. He is a big God and can meet you where you are. I’m not suggesting He will write that book for you. What I am suggesting is that He will give you what you need to be able to meet your deadline, or whatever you are stressing.

Secondly, practice good time management. Figure out what is most important and schedule your time accordingly. There are days, when I have a looming deadline and social networking becomes something I rush through in thirty minutes. I do the minimum I can get away with and then move on to what is pressing. Ideally we don’t get stuck in a situation like that, but sometimes life and circumstances get the best of us and it can’t be helped.

Thirdly, recognize you are human. You can only do so much. Delegate if you need to, or simply put some things off that aren’t a priority. We only get 24 hours a day, and we need to sleep. Yes, sleep is important. It is when our body recharges, enabling us to do what we do. So don’t deprive you body of what it needs. Take care if it. Which leads me into my final suggestion.

Take care of yourself both physically and spiritually. You may think you don’t have time, and you could be right. If that is the case, you overextended yourself and need to back off of something, because taking care of yourself is crucial to your success. I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot, but it’s worth repeating. Take care of yourself to be the best you that you can be. Diet and exercise play a key role in this, but so does taking time out to do something you enjoy, spend time reading both for fun and enrichment. Spend time with the Lord.

I hope you will try these strategies. I believe you will find that you will feel better and even be more productive.

 

IMG_4314-2 PublicityAbout the Author:

Kimberly Rose Johnson holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, teenage son, and their yellow lab. She writes heartwarming Christian romance for Heartsong Presents and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She enjoys taking long walks with her husband and dog, reading, dark chocolate and time with friends.
You may contact Kimberly via her website at http://kimberlyrjohnson.com/

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