Tag Archives: writing

marvelous monday: guest post by “the sunny girl” Lauren Cook!

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I am thrilled to have Lauren Cook as a guest on the blog today! She is a dear friend and an inspiration to me to live life with joy, gratitude and love. Her blog The Sunny Girl: The Brighter Side of Things is a treasure trove of insights and resources to make your daily life happier. Check it out!

She was kind enough to stop by the blog today and share some thoughts on finding happiness through a sense of daily accomplishment. Enjoy! 🙂

There are a few things in life that leave me hard-pressed for happiness. Without a good meal, a good night’s rest, and my daily to-do list, I’m lost at my soul’s sea. I love having direction in my life, both for the big picture and for the seemingly small tasks throughout the day. That’s why nearly every day, without fail, I write a check list for what I need to get done and what I want to get done.

The main reason: I love the feeling of accomplishment. Even getting that little “check” on my list for achieving something as simple as going to the grocery store keeps me on track for the day. I know it sounds silly, even ridiculous, but I think it’s so important to stay goal oriented and focused. If I leave my mind to do as it pleases, I’ll end up watching mindless TV, eating that extra scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Greek yogurt (my new obsession!), and delaying my work for the day. I wouldn’t label myself as a procrastinator, but my life is so much more productive when I’ve planned it out on paper.

I write all about happiness for young adults. I’m working on publishing my first book right now and while this is a huge goal, there are hundreds of small goals embedded within it. Without my daily to-do lists, these goals just seem to float along in my head rather than actualize.

I’m so much happier at the end of the day when I can look back on my list and see that I made an EFFORT. Even if I don’t finish a chapter or if I still have emails to send, knowing that I gave it my best for the day leaves me satisfied yet eager to start the next day.

We all have our own ways of writing to-do lists but here are a few of my Sunny Suggestions:

1. Get a planner you love to look at. You’re going to be using it a lot! No matter how you like to take your notes, whether it’s on your phone or a notebook, make sure it’s convenient to carry and nice to look at. I’m hoping for a Lilly Pulitzer notebook soon—with a notebook that pretty I’ll never want to stop adding things to do!

2. Look at it at least three times throughout the day: If it’s out of sight, it’s all too easily out of mind. Sure, it’s simple to write down the tasks but it’s a whole other thing to keep your eyes on the prize. Make sure you have your notes handy so that you can see how much progress you’re making throughout the day.

3. Make goals out of goals: Some days are busier than others. Some days I know I can’t accomplish even half the items on my to-do list. Still, set a goal for how many goals you’d like to finish that day. And if you meet your goal? Don’t stop there! Set a new one and keep going til that sun goes down!

We all ultimately strive for happiness and I think setting goals is a primary way we work towards that happiness. For me it all starts with a to-do list. Make your visual and present on a daily basis. Don’t leave your list in your mind—get it on paper. It’ll motivate you to put in the extra effort.

I hope you start seeing your goals getting accomplished more than ever and I hope you start living the happiest life you’ve always wanted!

Keep shining,

The Sunny Girl, Lauren Cook

Connect with Lauren:

– Blog

– Twitter

– Facebook

marvelous monday: find happiness through freewriting

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Where did the summer go?? I just can’t believe it’s already August. The fall semester starts up for me again in just two weeks. It seems like I can close my eyes and it is the beginning of summer again, when the fireflies were just starting to appear and a long path of sunny days stretched out before me. What happened?? Where did it all go?

Do you ever get those same feelings? It floors me how quickly time passes! Sometimes it feels like time is a river rushing past me so fast and I’m sitting there in a little boat, struggling to get a grip on the oars, not even enjoying the beautiful scenery flowing past. It makes me feel overwhelmed and frustrated, like I’m wasting or not appreciating enough the most precious commodity we all are gifted with: time.

I am also guilty of something I’ve come to think of in myself as productivititus: trying to fit waaaaaay to much into my daily to-do list, and then feeling like a failure when I don’t accomplish everything I’ve set out to do. This is not a good habit because I don’t want my summer, or my life, to be nothing but a giant to-do list of tasks I’m checking off. As my idol John Wooden often said, the most important words in the English language are love and balance. Work is important, but so is time for play! Balance, balance, balance is so crucial.

Something that is helpful to me when I am feeling off-balance, especially by the incredibly fast-flowing river of time, is to go to a  quiet corner of the room and spend a few minutes freewriting.

I always use freewriting in the creative writing courses I teach to help students break through writer’s block. However, I think freewriting is something that can benefit everyone! It is such a great tool for not just writing, but also your mental health, sense of empowerment, and overall happiness.

Here’s how freewriting works: set a timer for a certain amount of time — I’ve found 8 minutes works well because it’s not too long or too short — and start writing. The only rule is that you cannot stop until the timer dings! It is a tool to keep you from self-editing or second-guessing or worrying that what you are writing is not “good” enough. Instead, just let the writing pour out of you. You will find yourself tapping into your subconscious, which can help you unlock all sorts of dreams and ideas and even solve problems that are nagging you. For me, freewriting is a way to re-find my center of balance. It unclutters my mind and makes me feel at peace.

You don’t need a fancy journal or expensive pen to freewrite. All you need is a blank piece of paper — even scrap paper works! Some people like to freewrite on the computer, which is certainly all right. I personally enjoy using a pen and paper because it makes the writing feel more open and less intimidating somehow — more unharnessed. Something that is just for me.

Here are some freewriting topics I’ve been using lately as jumping-off points:

– My favorite memory I made this summer was …
– Three things I am grateful for in this moment are …
– I will wring out every last drop of fun from my last couple weeks of summer by …

I’ll be sharing more freewriting topics as the year goes on … I’ve even created a new “freewriting” category that you can see in the list of categories to the right.

What are your plans for these final weeks of summer? Does anyone else use freewriting as a way to alleviate stress and find balance? Any other tips or suggestions for slowing down the pace of life and savoring the time we are blessed with?

Best wishes for a marvelous week!
-Dallas

marvelous monday: making time for what you love

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Happy Monday, everyone! Welcome to all the new followers/subscribers!

When I was thinking about what to write for today, I must admit I was feeling a little down about the weekend being over. It was one of those weekends that really flew by. I mentally scrolled back through the days, wondering where the time had gone. What had I done with my days off? {Not that I don’t love teaching, but still — it’s always nice to get a little break!}

Do you ever have days or weekends like that? Where it feels like a giant Hoover vacuum has invaded your life and sucked up all your time and productivity?

Not that this weekend wasn’t “productive” — I graded student papers; read a book for a lit class I’m taking; sent out a newsletter for my Write On! organization {you can subscribe here if you’re interested — it’s free and comes out every other month or so}; cleaned the bathroom and wiped down the fridge; made cilantro-honey salmon and red velvet cupcakes {recipes coming soon!} … and spent some quality movie-and-cuddle time with my sweetie.

But I still didn’t FEEL productive. Or, maybe I should say, I didn’t feel productive in a way that is hugely important to me: my writing.

When I first entered graduate school, I imagined having an infinite amount of time to write. I mean, that’s what I’m here to do — I’m getting my Master’s degree in fiction writing. You’d think all my time would be dedicated to writing fiction! And it’s true that I am extremely fortunate. I don’t have to worry about holding down a full-time job while squeezing in writing on the side. My position in the program came with a teaching position, a job I love that complements my own writing very well. Most of my homework assignments are things I would want to be doing anyway: reading books, writing stories. My biggest obligation this third-and-final year of the program is to write my Master’s thesis, in my case a novel. I have no excuse not to give writing the shining spotlight of my daily time and focus.

And yet … something I’ve learned is that no matter how much time you have to do what you really love, there are always things that will swoop in and take that time away if you let them. On the one hand, I should have no excuse not to write for hours upon hours every day; on the other hand, real life easily intrudes upon my to-do list: papers to grade, papers to write, books to review, slush-pile submissions to read for the literary magazine, emails to reply to, phone calls to return, errands to run.

It gradually dawned on me that if I don’t make writing a priority now, while my largest obligation is to get my thesis done by getting words on the page, how can I expect to make time to write after my program is over?

Simply put: how do you make time for what you love? If not now, when?

One of the greatest decisions I made for my writing life, and for my own happiness and sense of fulfillment, was when I made a promise to myself to write at least 400 words every single day, no excuses. Doesn’t matter how tired or uninspired I feel. Even if I am sick with the stomach flu I can manage to scrawl out 400 words over the course of a day and meet my commitment. I track my progress on this great, free motivational website Joe’s Goals, which may seem simple but has helped me enormously.

And you know what? Writing really has become a habit. My self-expectations have increased, so now I think of 400 words as the bare minimum. I want to write more than that each day, especially during these gloriously long summer days we’re blessed with right now. Which brings me to this weekend: yes, I wrote 400 words each day, but I still didn’t feel productive the way I hope to. I want to write more. I want to give even more time to doing what I love.

I think balance is the key, and also realizing that you’re probably never going to feel like you have enough time. There’s always going to be more that you want to do. But that’s a good thing, right? That’s part of why you love doing what you love doing so much. “Boredom” is a foreign concept when you feel full of ideas and inspiration, always wanting more time!

I have a sticky-note hanging above my desk, where I see it every day. It says “1/24.” It’s a reminder for myself that I get 24 hours every day; I owe it to myself to use at least 1 of those hours doing what I really love. For me, that means writing.

Can you carve out an hour out of your daily 24 to do what you love?

Have a marvelous week!

All best wishes,
Dallas