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With the close of January coming up very soon, I thought I’d post one more time about my Themes for 2010. Earlier this month, I wrote about my ThemeWord for the year – CREATE. And it’s my single-minded goal for 2010. What that means, is I take that one word and apply it to everything I do – “What can I CREATE with this?” With only one thing to focus on, I find clarity as well as productivity in the things I do every day.

I’ve read several blogs recently that are taking this ThemeWord thing even farther and adding in things like Theme Song, Theme Color, and a variety of other ideas. While I don’t want to take it that far myself, I do like the idea of themes. Like I already said above, it creates clarity and productivity for me plus it also gives me a sense of balance.

(And sometimes a sense of balance is sorely lacking in the world around me! LOL)

Now, having said that, I am going to add a ThemeColor to my ThemeWord for 2010. I don’t know about a song. Maybe I’ll find one that really draws me in and compliments my other theme choices but for now, no song.

So here’s my color . . .

Mind you, I do NOT like pink very well (I’m not a girly-girl!) but I do like the brightness of this color. If I thought I could effectively change my blog design to incorporate this color, I would. But I think it would end up throwing the design off quite a bit and I have yet to find a design I like better than this one. So for now, no design change either but that may come at some point as well.

Have you considered adopting any themes for this year? Why or why not? And if so, which themes have you incorporated into your life and/or business?

(Please don’t be afraid of disqus! It’s a great commenting system. Oh – and speaking of disqus, look out for my post tomorrow about exactly why I decided to implement disqus here. I hope it’s helpful to you!)

Until then . . .

Be blessed,

One of the things I do which I have not really talked much about, is visualization. So, today, I want to just talk about it a little bit.

There are several versions of visualization. One of the most common lately seems to be vision board idea from the movie, The Secret. Basically, it’s a poster with a bunch of pictures, words, ideas and etc of things you want in your life. You create this poster and hang it where you can see it now and then.

About 7 or so years ago, I took a course and we studied some of these things. We did several techniques of the vision board – we made mobiles with things we wanted career wise and we made rock gardens that were labeled with things we wanted in all areas of our lives. In fact, I still have them and there is only 1 thing in my rock garden that has not yet happened. It will at some point, I believe.

But anyway, there’s another thing you can do and by the title of this post, you’ve likely guessed it already. You can create a picture for your computer’s desktop wallpaper that includes the pictures, words and ideas you want to manifest. I actually have several wallpapers that rotate on my desktop all day long.

Every now and then, I will minimize whatever I’m working on and just look at that picture. And it’s refreshing. It puts things back into perspective when I need it. It allows me to dream a little when I need it. It’s so helpful in many ways, I don’t think I can explain it, really.

It’s just one of those little ways I can connect with myself and my desires and I thought I would share it with you today! I hope you find it useful.

Be blessed,

Lots of things to write about today – if I can remember all of them! LOL So let’s get crackin’ before I forget . . .

First, I’ve started a new “store” on shopify selling Reusable Bags. Because I think the Earth and our environment is a gift to us, on loan from the Creator. And it’s our job, our duty to protect it and cherish it. I use reusable bags when I shop and I love them. Since it’s something I do and whole-heartedly believe in, I thought, “Why not?” I’m still adding products to the store but it IS open if you’d like to take a peek! You can even buy something if you’d like – the shopping cart and payment gateway are all set up as well. Just head over to In The Bag.

Second, the “Around the Web” is going to be starting again soon, likely next week. I have several things and places to share with you that are scattered all over the web. Some are other blogs, some are specific posts on those blogs and some are just stuff I think is cool.

Third, a quick story from yesterday -

My mom and I went grocery shopping yesterday morning and on the way out of the store parking lot after we finished shopping, was a young man and his dog. He was holding a sign that said the dog needed food. After discussing it for about 10 seconds, we looped around, went back into the store and got some dog food, a box of dog biscuits, a couple bottles of water and some sandwiches. They were so thrilled and appreciative, it was a sight to watch! Jack (the dog) was a cutie and very well mannered. I think his boy even got a little misty-eyed.

Fourth, I think I’ll bring back the Reading List. Haven’t done one of those in a while, either. Got lots of good books on the shelf that waiting to be read and it’s time to get ‘er done! Any books you’ve read lately that you’d like to share?

Fifth, this blog now has, according to my feed stats, about 575 subscribers via the RSS feed and several hundred more who are subscribed via email. Why are you all so QUIET??? Speak up! Post comments! Talk to one another! I want to hear from you. This blog isn’t just about me – it’s about you, as well. Please, tell me what you think.

Sixth, my oldest child is turning 16 tomorrow. I can hardly believe how times flies! I keep thinking there is NO WAY I am old enough to have 16 year old! LOL But sure enough, she is. And I’m delighted she’s my daughter. Sure, she can be difficult – like any kid – but she’s the reason I’m a mom and I’m glad she’s part of me and my life.

Seventh, have you picked out a ThemeWord for 2010? Mine is CREATE. What have you created lately? Please share! I want to know what you think. It would be fun to really CREATE a community around this, this year. That’s part of my goal.

So, if you’re out there and you’ve never commented here or you haven’t commented in a while – what are you waiting for? Introduce yourself!

Be blessed,

I have a really strong desire to write about a certain American college student who was convicted of the murder of her roommate in Italy today but I don’t want the enormous amount of traffic such keywords could generate to my humble lil’ blog here so I’m not going to.

(If you even remotely read, watch or listen to anything news related, I’m sure you know exactly whom I am talking about. You’d have to be living in cave somewhere in the middle of no-mans-land not to know her name and the situation.)

Even *I* know who she is and I haven’t watched TV or read the news in years.

But anyway, instead of stating my opinion about her, I’m going to talk about some of the tools I use daily and discuss my plans for a potential app I’m thinking of building.

First – what tools do you use in your business and personal life to keep organized? Is there a particular application you find indispensable? Do you use offline or an online apps?

I began using the 37Signals products about 5 years ago, I think. Maybe 4. I don’t really remember. But the real estate investor/trainer I worked with at the time, used them for his business and since I did 90% of his admin and teaching stuff for the training programs he ran, I learned to rely on them. As a result, I have continued to use them for both my own business as well as personal related things.

They’ve become invaluable tools to me over the years. But to really get the use out of them I need, I would have to upgrade to their highest level to get the full potential out of them. Instead of doing that, I am seriously considering writing my own application that I can install on my own server.

In some ways, this app will be fairly basic. In other ways, it will be quite robust, adding in features that just aren’t in the 37Signals group of products. Also, it will include the pieces of the various 37Signals products I use, like Basecamp, Backpack and Highrise that I find most useful. (And yes, those are affiliate links.)

Now, I’m not an app developer so this is going to take some time! I’m hoping I can have at least a good working model in place by Spring 2010. At this point, I have no idea if I will be releasing it for public use or if it will just be for me. But we’ll see what happens as the project moves forward.

Right now, my idea is only in the outlining and thinking stage. I’ve spent a good portion of today thinking out the details and getting them written down. I’m hoping to get a visual design this weekend as to what I want it to look and feel like mocked up. If I do, I may post a few snippets here.

I am also considering developing an app for my cousins hair salon business. She wants something to keep track of clients, bookings, co-workers, schedules and all that fun stuff associated with running a growing salon. (If you’re in Whatcom County, Washington, let me know and I’ll send you her way. She’s a fabulous stylist and nail tech and I’m not just saying that cause she’s my cousin! She is truly that good at what she does.)

Anywho, it’s getting late and I’m suddenly quite tired. I’m glad the weekend has arrived! Hope yours is a great one!

Be blessed,

I’m going to run a special soon for graphics stuff so if you’re in the market for a new header, new logo, or whatever, keep an eye out here. It may be a buy one get one free type of deal.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my “system” for productivity and it has quickly become my most popular post on this blog to date. It literally TRIPLED my traffic.

But anyway . . . that’s not really wanted to share with you. What I actually want to write about is that one of the programs I use on my iPod Touch called Grocery IQ just had a major overhaul and it knocked my socks off! This app simply ROCKS! I liked it well enough before the revamp but now, it’s legions better, if that’s even possible.

Before, you could sort the store by aisles, add new aisles, delete aisles, keep lists of favorite items, show a history of past purchases and of course, check off things as you put them in your cart.

What’s better than that?

Well, the new app allows you to create lists by STORE! Which is so cool for those of us who shop at more than one store. Now, I am not one of those crazy people who clip coupons and shop 10 different places but I do buy certain items at certain stores because the others don’t carry them.

For example, I can only buy RAW local milk at the Food Co-Op because they’re the only ones who carry it. I can only buy the brand of Hemp Milk I like at one store and I can only buy the brand of non-dairy ice cream we buy at yet another store. So, the ability to not only arrange the list by aisle but also by store, is fabulous.

And the other new thing that makes it legions better than before is the ability to move your checked off items to the “checkout” without having to discard the whole list. This was annoying before because I didn’t ever get a true reading of my shopping “history” since sometimes I would buy 10 things at one store and not go shopping at the next store for a week. Plus, you couldn’t make different lists for different stores. So, it was all on one list.

This was annoying for 2 reasons – first, because not all stores have their aisles arranged the same so I’d be scrolling through the list all the time and invariably miss something. And second, because once I checked something off, it just sorta disappeared. If I wanted to add those things to my history, I couldn’t do that until everything on the list had been checked off. If you shop at only one store, that’s probably not a biggie. But since I don’t, it ended up confusing at times.

With the new app, I can make lists for each store, check the things off as I add them to my cart and then when I get to the checkout, I can hit “checkout” on the app and it adds those items to the history. Oh and you know what else? You can also add the price of the item to it’s details page so you know how much you’re spending and can compare prices at different stores! How cool is that??

I LOVE it! It’s fabulous.

Seriously. Get an iPod so you can have Grocery IQ.

Oh and PS – that’s not a pic of my actual list – it’s a screen grab of the app’s listing in the iTunes store.

In the arena,

If you regularly shop at 10 different stores and clip coupons to get all the stuff on your list, don’t worry – I don’t really think you’re crazy. No. I just think maybe you’re a little OCD than me.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Just thought I’d add a couple pictures of my planner files so you can see exactly what they look before you download them.

Enjoy!

Please feel free to download the PDF files from the previous post.

In the arena,

Happy 4th of July to all of my American readers! Hope you have a safe, enjoyable and fun holiday.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

I’m all for systems and things that help get things done. Tools that make work and life easier. Actions that ensure things don’t fall through the cracks. For being PRODUCTIVE.

I’ve tried the whole “GTD” thing – David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” method. I tried following Merlin Mann’s GTD system and “Inbox Zero” idea. I tried Tim Ferris’s “4 Hour Work Week” system of outsourcing. I’ve read countless systems and ideas by Leo Babauta, Dan Markovitz, David Seah, and of course the aforementioned David Allen, Merlin Mann and Tim Ferris as well as many others.

But I didn’t have much luck with them. The systems just didn’t “mesh” with the way I do things. They were unnatural for me. And so trying to follow them only made things worse instead of better. I got lost in those systems and they failed.

See, I’ve realized I’m just an “old fashioned” paper and pen kind of gal. Just write it down and check it off type of thing. So I developed a “system” that works for me. It’s a 2-part system and I’m going to share it with you today.

Part 1 – A daily calendar and index card hybrid paper-based planner.

This consists of a daily calendar I call the “24 Hour Calendar” which is basically a large square with 24 “blocks” along the outside edge. These blocks each represent one hour of time and are labeled like a 24 hour clock. In the middle of this is just a big blank square divided into 2 columns. One column is for scheduled appointments and the other is for a daily list of things to do.

On the back, it’s divided into a grid of 12 blocks – 8 small blocks along the outside edge and 4 larger blocks in the middle. Each block is assigned a function -

The index card piece of this is for “Projects” which consists of client notes, doodles for artwork and things like that. It also includes my “Muse” ideas (from Tim Ferris’s “4 Hour Work Week). They are basically personal projects for business ideas or book ideas or whatever like that.This part of the system just sits on my desk and allows me to check things off as I go.

Part 2 – A couple of applications on my iPod Touch

Now, these aren’t fancy apps and you don’t have to have an iPod Touch to use this idea – there are plenty of desktop apps and what-not that you can use. Or of course, you could add these to Part 1 and have a complete paper-based system.

And also on my iPod is the built-in Clock app that I use for keeping track of things that I need a timer for – when I’m baking or cooking, I can set the timer to remind me when to take things out of the oven or when the bread is finished rising, etc. I also have several alarms set on this app – for the kids’ school bus, for taking my allergy and blood pressure medications, for the kids allergy meds, and things like that.

Lastly, I use iCal on my iPod as well for meetings and appointments. It syncs with my computer so I have the same info there as well. I keep track of birthday’s, doctor’s appointments, client meetings and other events here. And important ones have alarms scheduled so I don’t forget them.

I came across a website a couple days ago I want to share with you . . .

Put Things Off by Nick Cernis – The tagline is “the laid-back productivity blog”‘ and it definitely is worth a perusal. Especially if you’re like me and found other “GTD” systems to be more than painful that useful.
And if you’re interested in my “system,” here are the PDF files of my 24 hour calendar. One file for the front, one for the back and there are 2 per sheet (just cut them in half). They are a 4.25 x 5.5 inch size when cut (so you can print them on standard printer paper).

247DailyFront2Up – Front

247DailyBack2Up – Back

Please let me know if you use them and how you like (or don’t like!) them. Feel free to link back here from your blog as well as share them.

UPDATE: 7.5.2009 – I’ve uploaded pictures of what the planner pages look like here.

In the arena,

“Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically your own.“ ~ Bruce Lee

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.