Efsuffolks's Blog

Thursday- get out there and do something…. and not for yourself

EFSuffolks — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:01:07 +0000

I don’t understand how people can’t be involved civic-ly.

I mean I understand being too busy, or too poor as excuses and all but let me get a bit deeper. So many people though, seems to me anyway, have time, money and what else but just never get involved with anything. How can you?

How can someone live their entire life, and never find something to be passionate about?

THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE BESIDES YOU.
People who need help. Kids that need role models, Starving people world wide, Puppys that need saving, kids who can’t read…etc. I know people personally that live their entire lives without giving back. They go to work, they come home, they watch tv, but never get past that point. Religion, Children, Food and Hunger Crisis, Politics, Arts, and so much more and not a one of those things interest you enough to share it?
The first step is to decide that your going to live past yourself.
We all have a skill, or a hobby, or something that we are interested. Something past t.v. that you do. Video games, skating, art, reading, underwater basket weaving.

O.k. you have that thing in mind? now that it’s in your mind, and ready to go…click this link real

fast: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=volunteer+%2B+thing+you+are+interested+in+%2B+zip+code

TA! DA!

You have your leads!

It will probably take a day or two to follow them and find something that works for you.
For me I made a decision- Everything that was pivotal and helpful in my life early on I was to turn around and go back to it.
So I made the list
A- My sorority helped me out a ton
O.k. how can I give back. Well there was the governing body that decides the budget and keeps the house open, and another that allows you to help the members make decision. But, I wasn’t old enough for either. But, my sorority is celebrating their Centennial soon… so I volunteered to plan it. Done Deal (note- as part of it I’ve set up a fund raiser to help our International Philanthropy, and preserving our history which will probably be donated to the University’s historical records…so it’s more than just planning menus and napkin folds)
B- I was in 4-H
O.k. how can I give back. I can be a leader. Problem is …I hate kids. But, I can be on the county council that helps with fair and sets the rules.
Done Deal So Boiling down today is: Find a Passion Share the passion with others.
Alternatively, Find something that helped you, and pay it forward.

In future posts I’ll get into fund raising ideas, Event Planning, and creative incentives for the people you are trying to help. But I had to start with the slap in the back of the head for you and that is… THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE BESIDES YOU AND OUR JOB IS TO HELP THEM!!!

Wednesday at the hearth of home

EFSuffolks — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:58:37 +0000

I’d like to make Wednesdays about home management, family management etc.
For me keeping my apartment clean was the worse of home management skills. I like a clean house, I feel better in a clean house, but mine is slacking . During my winter break from school watch me try to work a bit on that.
Meanwhile… cleaning. I like clean but the problem was that I wasn’t making a priority. On pintrest, (I do spend a gross numbers of hours on social media, I hate to admit it) I found my muse. My muse said, why are letting your house get ridiculously dirty all week and then trying to clean it up quickly on Friday while waiting for your husband to get home? (James, my amazing husband, lives apart during the work weeks ).

Just like Tuesday, rather than slack jaw I want to send you to original source, my muse, on house cleaning and maintenance.
http://organizingmadefun.blogspot.com/2010/11/15-minutes-of-cleaning-how-to-have-fake.html

Tuesday- Health and food and workouts

EFSuffolks — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:51:25 +0000

OK so to be able to do as much as I do I need to be healthy. If you want to take your life up to the next level of doing/being means having the energy to do it. It might seem counter intuitive that time and life management means taking another hour out of your life for exercise and two hours for food. But there is a reason why people are too tired to accomplish more than work/home/tv and it’s purely because they aren’t fueling their body with good food and their not giving their body the hour of workout/play that you need.

Today Rather than run off my mouth I just wanted to start people on the right tract with a few blogs/people that have helped me take the right attitude on my weight/fat/exercise/food

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/

(He’s on facebook as well) While I gave you the main page fish around and find some of his earlier how to get started posts. This guy is hilarious and I love his use of nerd favorites (video games, D and D, Star Wars, LoTR) to explain the world of fitness

https://www.facebook.com/kickassfitness
http://westertheory.blogspot.com/

Melody is awesome and well worth reading. She went from being unhappy to the lead health food teacher at Whole foods in Baton Rouge, Plus a personal trainer, plus crossfit trainer. GREAT recipes too

Step 1- organize yo’ shit and quit guessing

EFSuffolks — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:17:21 +0000

Meet the red book.

My red book is my life. Now for many of you it might be a Smart Phone, or a google calendar, or whatever but for now… I have my red book.
This is my step 1 because I think if you want to truly get to the heart of doing more with less it’s about organization. This is true with no matter what you want to work with improving in life. Diet, Time management, work management, financial management. It won’t come easy without some good old fashioned organizational skills.

Take a look inside.

Simple file a fax calendar. Typically I make a line through the middle of the day.
Left side is work stuff- Appointments, to do lists, to call lists.
Right hand side is my other- Homework assignments, reading assignments, Dr.’s appointment and my civic stuff. (Example of civics is a Centennial Event I’m running for my sorority, or fund raising, or 1 time deals like “serve food at homeless shelter” activities.) 1 letter codes set up what workouts will I do what day and what cleaning and home activities I’m doing. That saves me some space.
I like my book because it’s also where I put other stuff I need to remember ( like that check that needs to be deposited). Also, phone messages, notes, and tracking my water are all in the margins of my book.

Now obviously , this isn’t always going to work well for you.
But life is about having your own style. You might color code on a outlook calendar, or use that hand dandy black berry.
But find your flow.
My life isn’t planned down to the hour, either. Some days I workout at 7 because of a homework assignment is due, but most of the time it’s right when I get home at five. Sometimes I wake up an hour early because my night is planned for work or friends and get my hour in there. My day isn’t super regulated. But I do have a general “flow” for days where nothing out of the ordinary.
(wake up, food prep, work, home, workout, cleaning something, food prep, homework, husband (he and I live apart a few days a week and call each other an hour a night), random chores, bed)

Things are best when there is no guess work. I can always tell you about what my workout will be like. Not down to the letter maybe but I can tell type (metabolic, gymnastic, and weight lifting) and weather I’m focusing on upper or lower body.
Cleaning has no guess work as well ( I clean a certain part of my place everyday).

1 hour of pre planning for a week sweeps away the guess work and better yet… the excuses.

Now you notice that my desk, and book appear disorganized.

A) It does not have to be pretty

B) Free spirits still abound.

Just find your organizational mojo and that will be the best for you

reinventing my blog

EFSuffolks — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 23:45:41 +0000

So I’ve used this blog for other things before but I deleted it and my path is starting anew today.

Hello My name is Erin.

I work full time (usually with some overtime) I go to school (part time), I workout over an hour a day, and I donate at least 20ish hours a month to my alma mater, or other charities. all while eating home cooked meals every night.

so 45 + 20 hours of school (getting my Masters part time) +4-10 hours a week for charity + 56 hours of sleep + 5 hours of working out a week= 136 hours x 4 = 544 hours a month
That’s only 5 hours that are not totally accounted for. That’s typically where I fit my husband, family, showering, cleaning, cooking, football, grocery shopping and such in.

Needless to say I’m a busy person.
I like to say that I’m a pretty efficient person.

Why am I this way? Because there are 86,400 seconds and not a single one of them ought to be wasted.

I’m going to try to start chronicle time management, health management, work-load management.
Because in the end all you have is the time they give you