by Joey | Jul 2, 2015 | Throwback
Apparently this is what putting yourself on book deadline looks like. You know, on top of your full time job that’s more than 40 hrs/week, blogging, freelancing, and trying to maintain some semblance of a life. The good news is it’s Thursday. Whatever that means.
No, but really. Everything is going really well. I just think I’m going to exist in a cloud of exhaustion until the book is done which is totally A-OK. These kinds of things don’t come easy, but they are so worth it.
On another note…where’s the coffee?
Happy Thursday, friends!
document.write(”);
by Joey | Jun 30, 2015 | Throwback
I nearly screeched when I found the Emily Ley Simplified Planner: Academic Daily version tucked neatly on a shelf in a local Charlotte paper boutique! The hugely sought after planner is tough to come by online, never to pick it up in your very own hands and walk it over to a cash register.
Things I love:
- The layout is perfect. I definitely subscribe to the simplified theory. If there’s too much going on on a page, it’s easy to lose sight of the important things. This has exactly all that I need.
- The cover. It’s durable and gorgeous.
- The coil. It’s heavy duty but still allows for you to flip the cover all the way back so you’re only looking at one page at a time.
- The new size. I’ve heard a lot about these planners over the last few years, and while people seem to love them, they didn’t seem to love the size. They were huge. The academic daily is the first to release the new portable and more lightweight (more on this later) design. It’s an inch smaller than the original on all sides.
- The dual page monthly calendar layout. I like being able to see my entire month at a glance–but I also like having enough space in the boxes to actually write things.
Things I don’t love:
- Thin Pages. This is a big one. While yes, it does make the planner more light weight, it renders the pages nearly useless. Anything you use to write on these pages will show through. While pens won’t bleed necessarily, the pages are so thin that you can actually see the PRINTING from the next page through it. They’re like…tissue paper thin. This is a huge deal breaker for me, especially for the price point of this sucker.
- No notes. I get that with a daily planner, any additional pages is just going to add to the bulk of the planner (which to be fair, this one is not bulky at all considering it’s a daily), but it would have been nice to have at least a few notes pages.
- Tabs. I love having tabs–but having them attached to tissue thin pages makes me question how long they’ll actually last. All of my planners from years past have had card stock thick pages to separate the months where the tabs were attached.
Over all, I’m left unsure. I haven’t written in it yet because I’m strongly considering trying to either return the planner (I purchased it from a local retailer) or exchanging it for the Day Designer (if the quality of that paper is better). While I am absolutely in love with the idea of this planner, the thin pages is a huge turn off for me.
If the pages were even just a hint thicker, this would be my dream planner. But part of the fun of a planner is using nice, fun pens–and I’d be wary of writing in this with anything other than pencil.
Do you have the academic daily? Have you started writing in it yet? What are your thoughts? Please share below!
by Joey | Jun 29, 2015 | Throwback
Back in the day (oh holy crap this was a long time ago) I used to do monthly goals. And then I’d break those monthly goals into weekly goals. And I was so freaking productive all the time. I do well when I have structure and I know what my expectations are. I also really dislike disappointing myself, so I tend to stick with personal goals. The only person I’m letting down when I don’t is myself. And the world does that enough for us for free, am I right?
So I’m taking a page out of Kat’s book and sharing my weekly goals! I would encourage you to do the same. You’ll be surprised how much more productive you’ll be.
Reply to emails daily. I hate that this isn’t something I’ve been keeping track of lately, but I haven’t been. I enjoy talking to you guys. I promise to get back into the habit of it starting this week.
Stay on top of laundry. I hate that most of my Sunday is spent being a slave to the washing machine. If I’d just do a load on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, I’d be much better off.
Finalize details. This is the last planning week for the book. A lot of what goes into the first few weeks is plotting and planning. Developing settings and characters. Back stories. Details. It’s intense but so much fun.
Read Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas. This has been on my to-read list for far too long. The fact that it took me several months to read The Girl on the Train is unacceptable. A book a week. That was always the plan.
These may not be lofty, but the point is to be productive, stay on track and get rid of this overwhelmed feeling that’s been looming over my head for months. So tell me, what are your goals for the week?
by Joey | Jun 25, 2015 | Throwback
Emily Ley Simplified Planner: Daily Edition. While I still love my Plum Paper planner (and still highly recommend it), I find that I need a bit more for my days. It’s time to graduate to a daily planner. I’ll have a full overview soon, but for now I just couldn’t believe I got my hands on it. It runs August 2015-July 2016. They don’t release online until September 9th. If you’re in the Charlotte area, Twisted Paper on Selwyn has a few in stock.
Bailey is ridiculous. This is how she fell asleep the other night. She’s in the crook of my arm, and the fact that she just had to have her dragon with her kills me. Oh. And her mouth fell progressively more open the deeper into sleep she fell. And she was snoring. I can’t with this dog, y’all.
Chewy.com Does it again. Bailey is completely obsessed. I had to hide the thing in a closet, and I only allow for her to play with it during designated times because homegirl goes bananas with the thing. In case your pup wants one, it’s called the Kong Squeezz Ball with Handle. And it’s worth every penny. I promise.
I finally finished The Girl On The Train. Maybe it’s because it took me a century to read it–and I only got little spurts here and there–but it didn’t knock my socks off. It was a good book. It was interesting. But it didn’t live up to all the hype in my opinion. Then again, I’d probably feel
much differently if I’d had the chance to sit and read it in a couple days.
Apparently when you connect your blogger profile with your Google + profile, you become a no-reply blogger. I was getting some emails saying that I was a no-reply blogger which I knew wasn’t true because I’m all about NOT being a no-reply blogger (double negative, anyone?). I just want to put it out there. If you’ve recently connected those accounts, be aware that you’re probably a no-reply blogger now. There are steps to fix that problem here.
Remember when I mentioned these RBX Active Leggings? Well the company has been kind enough to offer you guys a 25% discount for their new website launch. I’ve never bought into the whole “good workout clothes are important” because honestly, I’m just going to sweat in them. But these might have changed my mind. I can’t stand that “wet” feeling. You know what I’m talking about. These wick away the moisture instantly. And in this summer heat, that’s totally necessary. Free shipping on orders over $50. Use the code Active25 for 25% off your entire order!
That’s it for today! Your turn!
document.write(”);
by Joey | Jun 23, 2015 | Throwback
I keep having these dreams that we’re moving. Usually, it’s not anywhere crazy–just a simple move within the same area. In fact, last night I dreamt that we were moving to a different apartment within the same complex.
And I always wake up sort of panicky and then I’m flooded with relief when I realize it’s just a dream. In fact, J came to bed really late last night, and that’s what woke me from that dream. And I was scared (weird) to fall back to sleep, fearing that I’d end up in the same dream.
I’m not one to believe the dreams really mean anything (mine are often way too random), but this has been a consistent theme among my dreams for the last few months. I feel like once a week I have a similar experience. So I looked it up.
That’s not earth shatteringly visionary or anything–it’s a pretty easy conclusion to draw, but it couldn’t be more spot on. In all aspects, really. My need for change stems from needing to find the balance within my day job and my writing. I know change is on the horizon in that regard, and I’m anxiously awaiting for that moment.
Signifying the end of a situation? I guess that’s it, too. Part of our lives is over. Football, which seemed like an extension of my family, isn’t anymore. It’s okay, but it’s different. And I think it’ll take us at least 365 days before we’re fully comfortable with that change. It’s like a loss, really. You don’t know how you’ll really cope with it until you’ve experienced it through all seasons.
I find it funny that it could also signify the end of a relationship. I spent forty minutes writing and rewriting a blog post last night that I ended up just deleting all together. It was all about what do you do when your best friend isn’t your best friend anymore. I’ve touched on this a few times over the last few years, but it’s a realization that just comes slowly and yet all at once. You just wake up one day and realize someone who was once so important just…isn’t in your life anymore. And for me, of all the things those dreams might have signified, this is the most prominent. It’s something I carry on my heart day in and day out despite the lack of attention I give it. And there’s really no way to discuss it without sounding petty or pathetic. But it’s there.
I’m not sure how to make the dreams stop. It’s interesting to me that something I’ve done so much over the last five years is haunting my dreams as if they were nightmares. There aren’t any monsters chasing me or people holding me at gun point (although that’s made an appearance in the last month). It’s the act of moving that torments my mind in the wee hours of the night.
Every move we’ve ever made has been a good one in its own right. They’ve each been full of fear, apprehension, stress, and anxiety. But they’ve all been for the best. It doesn’t take a genius to pull together some kind of conclusion from this.
Moving on is for the best.
Always.
