Don't Buy an Organizer...Make a Work Zine Instead!

Tired of another ho-hum work calendar...I decided to get my "zine on" and make my own calendar/appointment book/ notebook.

Here's What You Need:

• A journal ( blank or lined)
• Magazines
• Index Cards (blank or lined)
• Glue
• Colored Pens/Felts
• Hole puncher
• Scissors
• Pencil/Eraser

1) Purchase a nice journal as you will be using it all year and you want it to look professional. I bought a soft, padded one at Indigo. It even has a threaded bookmark attached.

2)Use index cards to make calendars.  I chose to create a calendar without the weekends.

 

3) Use colored pens/magazines to fancy it up. I used the hole puncher to make dots for the dates and to make the textured pictures. I cut out letters to spell the months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: I have not finished the rest of the calendar. I will post these at a later date.

4) Glue the calendar into the journal. I will be placing my mine in two places. The first half of the year in the first few pages and in the back last few pages.

5) Include a Table of Contents for the first few pages of the journal. I plan to record notes pertaining to meetings at work and at schools.  I will then write the title of each meeting in the table of contents to cross reference.

Really, that is it!  I plan to glue things in as needed, perhaps words and pictures that pertain to my meetings and ideas.  Updates to follow as the year progresses. 

Educational Uses

I think that students might enjoy this as an alternative to store bought agendas. The versatiltiy is amazing.

So...Ask not what your organizer can do for you but what you can do for your organizer.

Until to Next Time...

Thanks for listening!

Ben Stiller Says Yes to Warm-Ups and Cool Downs

I used to be bothered by warm-ups.

I would fast forward the tape ...just to get on with the main work out...the part that mattered.

After all it was not the warm up that burned calories.

Ditto for cool downs. I would just race for the shower and get on with my day.

What changed?
Yoga!

Yoda??

 

No, Yoga!

Although I am sure Yoda is a firm believer of warm ups and cool downs. How else can you live that long?

At the yoga studio you have no choice but do complete a warm up and cool down, you would look like a jerk not to.

Currently, I am now powering through Jillian Michaels' Get Ripped in 30. Even though I am at home, no one is watching, I still do warm ups and cool downs.

I have learned that it is not a waste of time, but rather a gift of time to myself.

A time to transition in and out of the activitiy at hand. And well, it feels pleasant.

Besides, if you warm-up, you need a fancy warm-up suit!

Oh Yah!

Drew Barrymore Reminds us to "Just Breathe"

Yes..Breathe...Just Breathe...

Such a simple thing, a basic thing...

yet...

at times not a natural thing...

instead...

we breathe without thought...

and that seems to be the problem.

We have all forgotton how to breathe.

I have been practicing Yoga for a year.

Never did I think Yoga was something I needed so badly. 

I have become one of "those" people...breathing into all parts of my body, relaxing the mind.

It's a bother for me that we are not told about the miracle of breathing.

Breathing is what settles the mind, grants us courage and reminds us that we are alive.

So whether we are resting at home or meeting Prince Charming...

we need to remember...

Drew was right..."Breathe, Just Breathe"...and the world will be a better place.

Let's Talk About Health Baby!!!

Long ago I used to tell my students...

Indeed we are not just heads walking around but a whole body.
Lately I have been pursuing a complete heatlh makeover. I started with running and yoga last year.  Then I added some Vegan recipes. The current goal is to develop strength and maintain high energy levels throughout the day.  To assist with with this process I have created my own Health Journal/Notebook. I decided to take a plain scribbler and collage images and words on the front. In a way, it turns into a vision board and gives you something to focus on daily. This is how mine turned out:

Making a Health Journal

You will need: scissors, gluestick, a blank journal/scribbler and a health magazine -I used a Yoga Journal.  You might also "Google" for images and type out words. I prefer hunting through magazines and the tactile feel of cutting and glueing.

1.) Cut out phrases and images from your Health magazine. Do not judge this process. Whatever appeals to you...cut them out.
2) Find ads or articles that have interesting backgrounds. Cut out fun shapes, like circles, squares or hearts. Alternatively, you could use wrapping paper or scrapbooking paper.
3) Begin to arrange the words, images and fun shapes on the cover until it looks pleasing.You might want to arrange everything first and then glue it down.
4) It is done!  You might leave a blank page to create a table of contents. The first entry might be a goal statement or letter to yourself. In future posts I will suggest more ideas,

Let me know if you make one yourself. A picture of it would be even better.

Thanks for listening to my bother, I feel better now. :)





 

 

Vegan Before Six? I am Going to Try!

Credit: A Tasty Alternative.com

Staying healthy is a tired but true bother for me. At one time in my life, I was Stage IV with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  I learned that balance is everything. It is one thing to learn this and in fact, to know this. It is quite a different thing to put it into action.

So I have decided to add variety my current diet. My new summer plan is to act on the ideas of  VB6 - "Vegan Before 6".

I am going to switch in new recipies for breakfast and supper.  Hopefully by next week I will be fully immersed and including lunch meals too. Right now I am eating well but not a variety of things. Most weekdays it is the same breakfast, snack and lunch - nutritious but boring.

I will be trying the Breakfast Pilaf.  Brown rice for breakfast...should be interesting.  Anyway, if any of you have tried some ideas from this book, please let me know.  I am on the hunt for some good vegan snacks too.

Thanks for listening to my bother :) I feel better now.

What is in a Box of Bothers?

credit www.phombo.com

This blog was created to explore my own Box of Bothers.  A Box of Bothers is a collection of those things that linger in your mind. Those life events that enter your mind and take over. Sometimes they are trivial and sometimes they are life changers.  Regardless they need to be managed or your ability to get on with your day or life is impeded.

Recently I flew to Texas for a conference. While waiting for the connector in Phoenix, the ticket agent announced the flight was oversold. I sat there panicked. I did not want to be on a later flight. I couldn't wait to get on that plane. Being left behind was occupying my mind to the extent that I could not enjoy basic conversation. Thus stewing over an oversold flight was in my "Box of Bothers".

Life is full of interruptions, all those roadblocks to clear thinking and clear action. It is my hope that I can shed light on things that occupy my time and offer solutions or at least coping strategies to empty your own box of bothers...one bother at a time.