Tag: being organised

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Random thoughts teaching Work

8/52 on focus and distraction

It’s Saturday morning, and we’ve finished Week 4 of term. Nearly half-way there! And I feel like I’m starting to emerge from the ‘head-down-bum-up’ non-stop ‘doing the work’ that’s been my life this year.

Take a breath.

Look around.

Take a second breath – because I can.

It certainly has been a busy start to the year. The line between important and urgent, work and home has been blurred, and I’ve made more mistakes than I’d like to think about… but praise God for sustaining me to reach this morning, this day, this weekend!

A day in which to reconsider priorities, rather than just paddle, paddle, paddle furiously like that duck who seems to be swimming serenely but underneath the surface, the legs are flailing relentlessly.

And this is where I’m thinking I’ll start. This post, which came across my feed the other week, and had me thinking about the spectrum of ‘focus’ to ‘scattered mindset’:

You see, when there’s multiple things pulling at your attention, it’s easy to do the ‘fun’ thing. To mix the ‘important’ with the ‘urgent’ and focus on the wrong thing. To allow distractions to take over, to move you off course. Or maybe that’s just me?

So today, this morning? A reset. A chance to sit back and look. And think. And re-prioritise. Circle those 5 things and – more importantly – identify those 20 distractions.

Here’s hoping for quite a lot more clarity by the end of it! And for you too as well, dear Reader!

KRidwyn

Categories
Random thoughts Work

7/52 on things that make us happy

I love functional things. It comes from being an organiser, I guess. But as I age, I’ve discovered that I like also making time – and spending money – on things that make me happy, too.

I spent a few hours yesterday in at work, starting to set up my office. The furniture arrived Friday, so I was super-stoked about that! And knowing I wouldn’t get time during the coming work week, I unimpressed Hubby and went in to school… but as I was working out what should I go where, I also thought about my new revelation – making room in my life for things that make me feel happy, just because they do.

Hence my Flareon, gracing the corner of my desk:

And I also saw this cutie online. And it made me smile 🙂

Have a smile-y week yourself, dear Reader!

-KRidwyn

Categories
Blogging challenges teaching Work

52/52 All fixed :)

Today, the final Sunday of 2024, marks my final post for the year as well. Woohoo! And I’ve fixed the numbering too, did you notice? t was easy… I just skipped posts 50 and 51!

So this week had Christmas, with the over-catering and the present exchanging and the relaxing. And next week will have the New Year’s celebrations and resolutions and all that jazz, so there’s that 🙂

Looking back, I’m quite proud of my blogging achievements this year. In spite of everything else that was going on, this was one thing I managed to (mostly!) stay consistent with, so yay me 🙂 🙂 🙂 meaning that I’m going to attempt this again next year. Each Sunday, one post. Preferably with a photo, but we’ll see how I go wth that one.

It should be an interesting year. New job, new workplace, only one cherub left at school, and all the rest of it!

Here goes – and HAPPY NEW YEAR when it gets here, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Random thoughts Reading teaching Work

48/52 Nearly there!

Today marks the 48th of these weekly posts. How cool is that! I must admit, I’m quite proud of myself for keeping this going 🙂

This past week has been all about the catch-ups. I’ve caught up with my inbox (I’m now down to one email in my inbox, and I’m keeping that one; the reason for which will be a post for another day) and also caught up with my bestie and with other friends and colleagues and past colleagues and… and… and the list goes on. I made it into my new workspace briefly, I drank coffee, and didn’t sleep (surprise surprise) and I also visited my old workplace, took Master15 to both doctor and optometrist, managed some Christmas shopping, read “The Book Haters Book Club” and finally finished Season 2 of Arcane. Today after church was more Christmas shopping with Hubby, then we watched Gladiator 2.

Phew! No wonder I’m pretty tired! Looking ahead to next week: there’s fewer things on, for which I’m grateful 🙂

Here’s praying your week is a not-so-busy-one too, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn

 

Categories
Life momentous events teaching

47/52 And it’s clearing out time…

New job next year: I’m back to Nambour Christian College… which was the school that I moved to the Coast for in the first place! Head of Library position, replacing an amazingly talented man who’s retiring.

So, for the first time since 2016, I find myself on Christmas holidays with one job finished and the other not yet started. It’s a weird feeling. I’ve ALWAYS done work over the Christmas break. But I can’t right now. There’s nothing to do for CCPS and I can’t start anything at NCC! So I guess by default that means it’s “clearing out of stuff” time.

And check out my inbox! I can’t remember the last time it was at less than 20. And yes now I’m down to just 13!!! I wonder if I can get it to zero by New Year’s?

Wish me luck! Have have a lucky week yourself, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Random thoughts Work

43/52 Christmas decorations and my exhaustion levels

This came across my feed today, and I screenshotted it. It’s something I could probably handle, given my current exhaustion levels:

How about you? How are you coping, this close to Christmas / end of year / silly season?

Here’s hoping you can have a week full of ‘coping’ yourself, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
family anecdotes momentous events

39/52 And a different milestone…

Last week I wrote about Miss 16 and her final term of High School. This week we shift to the youngest cherub in my household: Master 15 and the fact he’s not at school next week.

He’s at Work Experience.

This has been a ‘thing’ in Queensland schools for as long as I can remember. During Year 10, the kids all take a week off school and head to a place of business for a week.

Back in 1989 when I was in Year 10 (wow, that even SOUNDS like a century ago; it doesn’t just feel it!) I spent the week with my Violin Teacher. We travelled in her car to all the schools she taught strings at, and I met all her students and helped teach them violin. Considering I’d been teaching my own violin students for over a year by that stage, Work Experience wasn’t as daunting a week as it could have been.

Fast forward to this century though, and my own cherubs. in 2020, Miss 19 was set to spend the week at a Bird Sanctuary… but then Covid put paid to that idea. In 2022, Miss 16 spent the week scanning books in my Library. And Master 15? He’ll spend the coming week at the local Neighbours’ Aid Community Stores, learning how to sort and price and all things Op Shop.

I’m super-hoping that it goes well! If you can, spare a thought and a prayer for us!

And have an amazing week yourself, dear Reader 🙂

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Random thoughts teaching Work

28/52 On the return to Term 3

Phew! What a week it’s been!

Yesterday morning, I drove Kiya, with Mum and her dog Trav, down to Brisbane for an appointment. It occurred to me that last Saturday morning (7 days earlier) I had also collected Mum… but instead, to go car shopping. We’d visited a quite rusty Suzuki Jimny, locally, before heading down to Brisbane to look at a 2020 version – which sold en route. We then pulled into Suzuki at Nundah, and ended up buying a brand new Ignis, before stopping at CostCo on the way back up the Coast.

This week was

  • the return to school (that’s right, I have a 0.9FTE teaching job as well)
  • the collection of Mum’s car on Wednesday
  • Miss 16’s trip to QldTransport to have her photo taken for her Learners
  • the (hopefully successful) migration of this website from one host to another
  • Miss 19 job-hunting and speaking with prospective employers, and finally
  • yet another big trip yesterday.

Today, I’m playing violin at church, then spending the afternoon with my parents and godfathers who are visiting from NZ.

Phew! again…

Hope it’s been a productive week for you, too, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
Categories
Random thoughts Work

27/52 On habit creation

So June ended, and with it, the challenge to publish a daily blogpost for #blogJune.

And it took a number of days before I stopped thinking ‘oh! I haven’t posted yet… and this’d make a good post!’ so… I guess that means I’d created myself a daily blogging habit?!

But it’s definitely July now, the first Sunday of, so it’s time to resume my Sunday blogging schedule. And today marks 27 of the 52 posts I had set myself back in January 🙂

So keeping with the topic of ‘habits help you to get things done’ I just wanted to post this photo right here:

That’s right. For a mere $25K you could own your own barrel organ. How cool is THAT?!! (Ooh! I’ve never seen one of these intact before, as Nemo’s teacher would have said)

Seriously though: it’s incredible to think of the dedication that the creation of this instrument must have taken. Not only the mechanics of making the instrument actually work, but also the incredible craftsmanship in the painstaking attention to detail in the instrument’s decorations! A true work of art.

And such incredible-ness can ONLY happen through habit-creation. The dedication of doing small amounts consistently, day by day by day by day by day.

Without this, the instrument wouldn’t exist.

And this day by day process is not just for weeks, nor months, but YEARS.

Inspirational dedication, that. An aspirational habit.

And with that thought, I’m off to go be productive for the rest of my day.

Have a great week, dear Reader, and I’ll see you next Sunday!

– KRidwyn

 

Categories
#blogjune

#BlogJune Day 23

Today was sunny, without too much wind.

It was Sunday. Church day. Meet my friends and worship God together day.

I bought a roast chicken for lunch with the kids; it was delicious.

I watched a movie and crotcheted, then Hubby and I walked Kiya together.

I was able to clear up a GoCard issue (very needed) and now I”m heading for an early night, in preparation for a big week ahead.

It’s good to be able to count blessings, isn’t it?

Have a blessed day yourself, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn