Tag: motivation

My Bullet Journal

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I was a procrastination queen for years. No matter what I did, I would put everything off until the last minute. I’d do it eventually and it would be completed on time and done well, but it would take forever. Why was I like this? I don’t know. Maybe because I don’t like being forced to do things or because I’d rather read a book than finish that 10 page paper. The answer still remains unclear. But then my sister introduced me to this thing called “the bullet journal” a few months back. At first I thought it was kind of dumb. Why not get a planner? Why not put it in your phone? Why not do literally anything but this journal? It will take forever to set up and that will just trigger my procrastination. But Layne used her big sister powers and pressured me to make one until I caved.

I owe Layne an apology. Just a second:

Layne, I’m sorry. You were right. Yes, write that one down for the history books. I admit that you were completely right about the bullet journal. It is amazing.

Bullet journal 3

Okay I’m back. OH MY GOD. I am obsessed. I have never been so organized and prepared in my life. For those that don’t know what the bullet journal is, it’s an organization system designed so you can track any and all of your latest projects and events. Basically, the bullet journal consists of four major components: Index, the Future Log (or the Year in Review), the Monthly Log, and the Daily Log. These four components come together so you can maintain every single aspect of your life all in one journal and not in multiple planners or notebooks. You can see more about it in this video that the creator of the bullet journal made here.

I have kept up with mine and I can’t stop. Every morning I sit down for breakfast and plan my day using the bullet journal. I have trackers for assignments, bills and other miscellaneous goals. The best part about this system is I have complete control over how I organize it. I can use whatever notebook, designs and concepts I want. I can make it as decorative or as simple as I want it to be.

Bullet Journal2

Yes, I’ll admit it. It does take some time to set up, but I’m proud of it and I want to keep up with it! I get my tasks done with less stress and I have been accomplishing my goals at a steady rate instead of the night before. My favorite parts of my bullet journal are my trackers and future log. The trackers provide a lot of structure and give a sense of accomplishment when I finish a project. The future log allows me to put all of my future dates in one place so I don’t double book myself.

If you’re nervous about starting a bullet journal because you don’t know where to start, there’s also a whole community of people who bullet journal where you can share ideas so you literally can’t run out of ideas! All you have to do is type in “bullet journal” to your google search, pinterest, facebook, instagram or pretty much any other social media site out there. I’ve made a Pinterest board that is slowly growing full of Bullet Journal pins if you want to check it out: https://www.pinterest.com/mybrightcorner/bullet-journal/. There’s also a website that the founder created to help beginners start their journals and seasoned journalers keep themselves in check with it.

So if you see me in person and we get onto the subject of bullet journals? I will fawn over mine like a grandma does to their grandchild at Christmas. And I’m just not sorry about it. 🙂

Basically what I’m saying is y’all need a bullet journal in your lives. What do you use to plan out your lives? Are you bullet journal obsessed like me or do you have another approach? Let me know in the comments!

 

Until Next Time,

Dana Qualy

A Creative Explosion!

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Hello everyone! It has certainly been a LONG while (sorry about that). I swear I’m still around. I just became extremely sidetracked and… unmotivated. By not blogging for a month, I learned a two critically important concepts:

Explosions only last a moment.

Like the title says, I went through a creative explosion at the start of the new year. I made a blog, sketched all the time and even started writing a script. I kept producing work at a fast rate. However, explosions only last a moment before they fizzle out.

That’s what I did.

I produced lots of content for a while and then… I didn’t want to anymore. I thought I would take a short break for a week. But weeks turned into a whole month of not wanting to create anything. It’s not that I lacked ideas, I didn’t want to sit in front of the computer and write it out or sketch in a notepad or anything else that was creative. Being creative became a not fun thing which isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

I’m back now, but I definitely won’t be writing as much as I did when I first started. I’d rather burn steadily that fizzle out. I plan on writing regularly but it won’t be as frequent. This is supposed to be a fun experience for both you and me! Let’s keep it that way, shall we?

I overloaded.

This blog has a lot of tabs and potential content sections. But that’s all they are: POTENTIAL content sections. I realize now that if I were to keep My Bright Corner the way  it is and put content in each of the sections on a regular basis, I would either need to dedicate 40+ hours to MBC or get a team of people to generate content for the site. I don’t have either of those things nor do I want that.

With that being said, MBC is downsizing a little bit. I’m still going to have plenty of puppy photos and happy facts, but the writing portions of MBC will be changing so it’s more manageable for me.

 

In short, I’m sorry for disappearing. I’m back for good this time and ready to go, just had to recharge the brain for a bit before coming back to the brightest corner I’ve found on the internet. I have plenty of new stories and lots of good news to share with all of you. Stay tuned!

 

Until next time,

Dana

How to Stay Motivated When You’d Rather Do Nothing

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I don’t know if it’s the winter weather or maybe my lack of a schedule, but I have no motivation to do anything! Do you ever feel this way? My productivity level is nonexistent. I haven’t written anything, gone anywhere or done anything in days. Days. I haven’t even watched Netflix. Mind you, doing nothing can be beneficial. However, it’s not good when you do it multiple days in a row and are slowly becoming one with the blankets, never to see the light of day again.

If you’re also feeling this way, I’ve created a list of tips and tricks to help us both get back on track. Hopefully something on this list will work and fast. Stay tuned.

1) Plan it Out

A written list of all the things you have to do is a double edged sword. While it is great to have everything written down so you can cross it off as you accomplish task after task, the size of the initial list can be paralyzing especially if you have a lot to do. Something that I like to do when I make my to do list is to fold the paper in half. On one side, create the big, scary to do list that has everything on it in no particular order. Then on the other side of the paper, section it off into days (or hours depending on how much time you have) and separate the tasks into those days. That way, you don’t have to do everything all at once and the list becomes more manageable.

2) Have a Clean Space

The more disorganized I am, the less productive I am. Because there are dishes in my sink and clothes on my floor as I’m writing this, my need to write this article is dwindling by the second. Trust me, I know that the correlation between my dishes and my writing is zero, but that does not stop my brain from going, “You have dirty dishes?! You can’t possibly write because there’s a mess in your apartment and therefore your thoughts will also be messy!” And then I stop writing.

So go clean up and do those petty tasks first. If your work space is clean and organized, you’ll probably have an easier time getting your work done. Plus, it’s a productive procrastination tool: you’re still getting small tasks done on your list while avoiding the larger, more intimidating ones until you have the courage to face them.

3) Clean Yourself Up

Yes, I can see those clothes you’ve been wearing for the last three days. If you go clean up, you’ll feel better and smell nicer. You’ll probably be more productive too. Just a thought.

4) Work in Short Increments

So now your living space is clean, you’re clean and your to do list is ready. It’s time to really sit down and work. You know that phrase “work smarter, not harder?” Well, one way to work smarter is by working in short bursts. How short? Well, no less than 15 minutes but no more than 45. Then try to take a 10-15 minute break after each work session. The time limitations are up to you, really. The longer you work, the longer your break should be.

I’m a big fan of working in 20 minute increments with a 5 minute break in between. It’s just a long enough period of time for me to make some serious progress on my work but short enough that I’m not exhausting myself either. Again, every person is different, so make sure your set your time constraints to what works best for you.

5) Acknowledge Your Progress

Did you get all of your work done? Congrats! You did amazing! We are all very proud and you should be too.

If you’re like me, maybe you didn’t get as far in your to do list as you had planned today, but you did do something and that’s awesome too! Especially since a few hours ago there was nothing crossed off your task list and your living space was a disaster. Be proud of the work that you did get done today and start again tomorrow. No worries.

6) Reward Yourself

If you got some of your work done, a little reward. If you got all of your work done, a bigger reward. You earned it. Enjoy it!

 

I hope this list helped you as much as it helped me. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go do my laundry and clean my dishes so I can continue working! I hope your day will be as productive as mine!

 

Until next time,

Dana