First things first

As I mentioned earlier, there is a lot going on in my life. I have had to reorganize the way I do everything. I am by my very nature an organized person but the universe has been sending me lots and lots of new data/information. I have had to figure out how to deal with it all. A way to be able to use this information again in the future. I've been journaling a lot for the first time. I received a beautiful journal about three inches thick as a going away present from a Habitat for Humanity affiliate I worked for and volunteered with a few years. It sat on my shelf empty for nearly four years. I have more than filled it up in less than a month.

I also started using my planner again. Just to organize the "to do" things that I have been coming up with. It will take me months to get all the things done that I have come up with. I even started mind mapping again which I haven't done since Stu and I were reinventing our lives after our live aboard days. The mind mapping has been VERY useful for me to organize large amounts of data in to some coherent thoughts that I can retrieve at a latter time.

I rarely get done what I want to accomplish each day. I have almost stopped watching TV and have been sleeping less than I use to. I also have been networking with everyone I meet in ways I haven't done in a VERY long time. All the people I meet get put in to my Goggle contacts in a way I can retrieve it from bits of info I have about each person (e.g. walking stick from Zimbabwe) or whatever else that makes the person memorable to me. In Google contacts I can record and retrieve all kinds of trivia. I now know everyone I see on my walks more than one time. It certainly makes my walking more enjoyable. The neighborhood has come alive for me. Several of the people I have become friends with will be in my first class at home. These are people who are VERY new to computers but they trust me to handle them with care.

My priorities are always people first. That's why I entitled this first things first. Everything else that doesn't get done just doesn't get done. Another concept I learned years ago is you will only get done today what you get done today. The rest will be there tomorrow or later.

I believe first things first comes from the Franklin Covey book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Which is a GREAT book. We did a lot of Covey training at UTMB when I worked there. The thing I remember most was to put the BIG rocks in first and the little ones will fit in. For years, I even had a glass full of rocks on my desk and the only way the rocks would fit in the glass was to put the BIG ones in first. This helped me remember to put the important things in my life first. The rest would work itself out. This concept has served me and Stu well over the year.

Signing off for tonight.

In joyful partnership,

Cathy Oberkampf

cathy.the.teacher@gmail.com