Upscale Planning: A Flashback Post

Click here to read my favorite post of all time. It's all about my project pages and index.

Enjoy.

Etcetera.

8 Unique Ways to Use a Surface Pro 3 (Bet You Never Thought of These!)

Ever wish that you could take a screen shot, write all over it, and then e-mail it to your boss? With OneNote and a Surface Pro 3, you can do all that and more!

TIP: If you don't own a Surface Pro 3, keep reading anyway. Almost any laptop will allow screen shots.

The screen shots will be missing the cool written notes that the SP3 allows, but screen shots are a tool that people forget to use even though it is the quickest way to make an easy-to-file record of whatever idea or thought is going on in your digital world.

OneNote 2013 (shown in use in this post) and Evernote are free downloadable programs that allow you to organize your screen shots.

TIP: To copy and paste anything on your SP3 screen to OneNote 2013, just double tap on your stylus and draw a square around the area that you want to clip and copy.

Mark Up Maps

My sister and I were meeting for lunch near her conference. I used Google Maps and noted the food areas around her conference. I emailed her the possibilities so that she could select a lunch spot.

Make a Record of a Phone Call Dealing With a Written Communication or Document

I am a lawyer, but I no longer practice in federal court. I got an email from the court, letting me know that they needed written notice of that. I called for details and noted them right on the screenshot of the email.

Highlight Reading/Study Material

My child was recently diagnosed with epilepsy. As I educate myself on his rights, I highlight the screenshots of the written resources that I am using to study.

TIP: If you are using printed resources, take a camera shot of the document, add to OneNote, and highlight there.

Create Medical Logs

OneNote gives me a place to write a completely searchable medical log. Yes, it even lets me search my handwriting! An email to the doctor is just seconds and a click away.

TIP: Use two columns - one for the log and one for dates or follow-up tasks.

Edit Photographs

I add text to many of my blog photos in OneNote before putting the picture through editing software. OneNote just lets me arrange font and placement so much easier.

Record To Dos and Tasks

My husband sent me a note in Facebook to record a receipt in our budget software. I'll never go back and see it in my Facebook messages, so I put it in OneNote, where I process my Notebook regularly.

Make a File of Computer Information

I track the hits on my blog every month. A quick screenshot and the information is filed in OneNote.

Make Reminders for Yourself

I want to watch this episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Don't judge!) Click click and a reminder resides in my Notebook.

A lot of these can be done with screenshots, but I really love the ability to organize them in OneNote and write directly on the screen with my Surface.

If you loved this post, read more SP3 tips here.

Let me know unique ways that you use screenshots to organize your life!

Etcetera.

The Best Times to Look at Your Planner

There are critical parts of a day when looking at your planner can be most helpful.

TIP: Set an alarm on your phone or laptop when first teaching yourself to look at your planner at these times.

WITHIN 15 MINUTES OF WAKE UP

Take just a second and make sure you aren't forgetting anything about today.

TIP: Store your planner by your alarm clock overnight. It will be handy for writing down late night thoughts. Make your first act of the morning checking your planner and moving it to your work tote or purse.

BEFORE LEAVING HOME

Always make sure you have everything that you need for the day with you by glancing at your schedule and anticipated tasks.

UPON ARRIVAL AT WORK

Stay-at-home moms might want to dedicate a particular time as arrival. For me, it's when I make my coffee (for household days) or log onto my work computer (for working an outside job days).

BEFORE LEAVING WORK

Check on what's happening tomorrow.

ON ARRIVAL HOME

Get the dinner out of the freezer to defrost.

BEFORE BED

Prep for the next day. Put your planner by your alarm clock.

In other words, if there is a transition, check your planner!

Etcetera.

P.S. I got creative in my picture (above). Can you guess what is holding up the watch?

Linked at:

Tator Tots and Jello

7 Characteristics of Highly Organized People

I blush and protest whenever someone calls me organized.

Me? I'm a disaster of epic proportions!

I lose my glasses - while they are on my head, mind you - at least once a day. I can never find my Nook charger. I forget to send in permission slips or to cook dinner. 

And my house is comfortably messy. "Comfortably messy" is code for shoving everything under the sofa in a mad dash if company is coming over. Do not open the closets without a helmet!

I am on a constant journey to be more organized and I do have an idea of what that looks like.

Organized people are:

1. PRODUCTIVE

Organized people spend time each day doing stuff. No fancy tricks are needed. They simply stand up and do some things that need doing every single day.

TIP: Start with 15 minutes each day. For 15 minutes, walk around your office or your house, doing all the things that catch your attention. Set a timer and feel free to stop (if you want to) when the timer dings.

2. PLANNERS

The people who have a method for marking down what needs doing or appointments in a dedicated place are more organized in other aspects of their lives simply because they know how their time is going to be spent. It doesn't really matter if the planner is electronic or paper.

The use of a planner is the reason people think I am organized.

Silly people! 1 out of 7 characteristics does not make me organized.

TIP: Like Giftie Etcetera on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest to get great tips for using planners.

3. COOPERATIVE

Organized people understand that they cannot do it all alone, and they get friends, living companions, and co-workers involves in the systems that make lives work smoothly.

TIP: Decide on one thing that is a better fit for you to accomplish that someone else is currently doing, and trade with them for something they are better at doing. Both of you will spend less time and misery on the task.

For example, my husband is not good at cooking. I hate helping the kids clean their rooms. So I say, "I'll make your favorite supper while you help our oldest clean his room."

4. NOTE-TAKERS

This one is a bit strange. But it's true. Organized people tend to write down things that need remembering, not just as planners of the future, but as recorders of the past.

TIP: Make a running communication log in your planner. Date, people involved, topic, and any notes will come in handy at some point, like when the hospital swears that you didn't pay that bill.

5. AWARE OF SPACE

I fail miserably on this one. Miserably.

Organized people know how to use space efficiently and most effectively to keep stuff available and easy to locate.

TIP: Organize one space this week based on actual use, whether it's your bathroom, kitchen, or desk. Daily stuff goes on counter/desktop, weekly stuff goes nearby in cabinets and drawers and shelves. Yearly stuff goes to storage or difficult to access spaces.

For example, my planner (used daily) gets a space on my desk, while my washi tape (used monthly or less often) goes on the high shelf.

6. FANS OF ROUTINE

Routines make life easier. Instead of thinking about what to do, the brain and body work together almost automatically to do the task.

Some routines that are important are an "entering the house" routine (where one hangs up the purse, puts the receipts in the receipt jar, hangs up the jacket, and puts keys in the little tray) and a "prep the night before" routine (where one sets out food, bags, and coffee cups for in the morning).

TIP: At first, while learning your routines, write them down, post them, and practice them.

7. RELAXED

This one is a shocker, right? But highly organized people don't freak out because they are organized, so rolling with the punches of sudden emergencies or changes is easy for them.

I am not relaxed.

What characteristic will you be working on this week?

Etcetera.

Linked at:

Snickerdoodle Sunday

Craft-o-Manic

Getting Everything Done: The Marathon Planner Technique

Sometimes, there is nothing left to do but push through a task list until you run out of steam, time, or open eye lids.

When that happens, I open my planner, do everything I can do from the quickest tasks first to the most time-consuming last, and only stop if I pass out (okay, not literally) or cross the finish line.

TIP: Cross out the completed tasks will a highlighter so everything that is left jumps out at you.

I call this method marathoning. Everything else is just training for marathon days. Only the toughest will survive. Oh, and those with a plan and a planner.

Etcetera.

Is Fifty Shades for You?

If you haven't noticed yet, I've been doing Off Topic Tuesdays for a while now. On Off Topic Tuesday, I write about life beyond day planners and efficiency posts.

Today's topic, like last week's one about Submissive Wives, comes from my interactions with the blog community. (Confession: It looks like I posted that on a Thursday. For someone who writes about scheduling, I am kind of awful at it!)

WARNING: This post is PG-13. Usually, everything that I write is completely family-friendly, so I feel compelled to let you know that today's post contains adult subject matter. Also, this review contains some spoilers about the content of the story Fifty Shades of Grey.

Right now, there is a big trend in the blog world to review Fifty Shades of Grey, the book by E L James and the movie that was recently released, and to tell people not to read it.

My issue with the reviews?

Most of the people reviewing have not read the book or watched the movie!

I don't mind the advice that one should or shouldn't read based on religious belief or the level of violence in the film. Truly, Fifty Shades is not appropriate for all audiences.

But the advice is sometimes being given along with inaccuracies about the book and movie, and that is unfair to readers.

I wanted to offer a different perspective. I think people should make the decision to read/watch or not do so based on actual information, rather than conjecture about what the book might be about.

For the most part, I'll talk about the story itself, but I will make distinctions between the book and the movie where appropriate.

Is Fifty Shades soft-core pornography?

Fifty Shades (the book) is only slightly more graphic than the average historical romance novel. The words for actions and body parts are more crass and modern, but the actual story doesn't contain that much more sex than my mom's Harlequins.

In the movie, there is a lot of implied sex and nudity. There is no actual penetration. The actors use a lot of crass language.

My verdict?

The book is a cross between romance (usually story-driven) and erotica (usually sex scene-driven).

If your religious or personal beliefs allow you to read about sex, it's fine to read. If your moral standards mean that you don't read about sex or sex outside of marriage, this is not the book for you.

If erotica doesn't bother you, you'll likely find this book pretty light-weight reading.

On the other hand, the only thing that keeps the movie from being soft-core pornography is the lack of actual penetration. There is full frontal nudity of the female, and almost full frontal nudity of the male. I'm frankly surprised that it got an R rating instead of NC-17.

Disclaimer: There is a lot of personal bias here, as I am more comfortable with graphic description in writing than I am in pictures.

No humans were disrobed in the making of the book. Many humans were disrobed in the making of the movie.

No humans were touched in the making of the story. Many humans (okay, two and perhaps some body doubles) were touched in the making of the movie.

Even if you decide that the book is fine, the addition of actual human beings disrobing, touching, and simulating sex acts might bother you in the movie.

If NC-17 level sex in movies doesn't bother you, you are fine to watch the movie. If it bothers you to see actual humans in sexual positions or without clothing, or if religious or ethical beliefs forbid you from watching such things, the movie is not for you.

Is Fifty Shades violent?

Yes, Fifty Shades is violent. In the book and in the movie, there are spankings, whipping with implements like belts, and restraint.

In addition to watching Fifty Shades last weekend, I watched a PG-13 movie called "Jupiter Ascending." It had much MORE violence than Fifty Shades.

Unless you've been a victim of violence or really cannot tolerate any violence at all, the book and movie are fine. Violence is part of the storyline, and getting past violence, including flashbacks to child abuse, is a real part of the story.

The book and movie, unlike the portrayal by many bloggers, is NOT about violence, but about healing from a violent past. This is an important clarification, and one missed by those who have not actually read the story.

Of course, if you are an abuse victim, the early parts of the series will be hard to read and watch. Abuse victims, due to their own history and reasonable sensitivities, probably should avoid Fifty Shades.

Is Fifty Shades oppressive to women?

I don't think so.

The woman in this story clearly holds the power and shapes the nature of the relationship, even though the man, at first, wants to be in control. He offers her a contract laying out all the ways he will control her. She refuses and builds a relationship on her terms, not his.

The woman never has sex or sexual contact without consent. She is never raped, despite reports to the contrary. There is clear (and even written) communication about what constitutes consent or lack of consent, and she is clear that she wants to do everything that they do together.

There is a scene where, while sleeping, the man is touched in a way that he did not want. He is touched where scars from being abused as a child are present. I've never seen a blogger post about the non-consensual touching of the male. It really bothered me, though, so I note it here.

The woman in the story is whipped with a belt once. She has all the power to stop the act, and she chooses not to stop it. The man, of course, also has all the power to stop the act, as he is the one doing the violent act, and he doesn't stop it. They both clearly regret the moment. This is probably the most difficult scene to read and watch.

As they both regret their actions, they subsequently change, in a real and permanent way. The scene that is the hardest to watch is a pivotal point in the plot and getting past that moment is a crucial point in character development.

Unfortunately, the change doesn't begin until the second book and movie.

Most abusers never change. We all understand that. But in this book, the man does change. The woman chooses not to be a victim. There is a lot of positive strength in the characters.

Most people in real life do things that seemed appropriate at the moment, and are later regretted. As young adults, most people make mistakes. In that way, this book reflects real life. People do things that are stupid because they are young, unsure of themselves, and bad at wise decision-making.

The belt scene is one of those things.

In all good stories, there is a point of evil or bad that allows the characters to grow and fight the bad. That the bad is, in this case, internalized in a broken man who needs to grow and become better, does not oppress women.

Men who abuse women do oppress women. But this book is not about abuse of the woman, as nothing happens without the consent of the woman. That important distinction between abuse of women and a mutually satisfying relationship is lost in most reviews that I have read on-line.

As I noted above, the book is about an abused man, and his journey to not pass on that abuse. The woman in the story is young, and makes the same sorts of stupid mistakes that many make when they are young and inexperienced, but she is not a victim.

Is Fifty Shades for You?

To be frank, Fifty Shades is poorly written in the first novel of the trilogy. And make no mistake...it is a trilogy and to enjoy the story, you need to get through the horrid writing in the first book and read completely through all three books. That said, it is a solid, sensitive story and very thought-provoking.

The movie is visually stunning, but it's difficult to watch so much nudity and violence on screen.

If you are religiously or ethically opposed to erotica or soft core porn, do NOT read or watch Fifty Shades.

If violence is difficult for you to stomach, do NOT read or watch Fifty Shades.

If you are the victim of abuse, you might want to avoid Fifty Shades.

For the rest of you, it is all about personal taste. But at least you can now make that decision knowing the truth about the content.

Etcetera.