​LauraEarnest.com​

Deliberate Living Made Simpler.

The Meeting Avalanche I recently took a week off from work. With a weekend conference at one end, and then traveling to DC for a concert, I spent the rest of the week relaxing and helping my daughter get ready to move for grad school. I looked at my work calendar on Thursday because someone asked about a meeting time. And I realized that all the meetings from my week off had been moved to my Monday. I was heading into a day of solid back to back meetings. The sad part is, I really don’t need to be in most of these meetings. I had briefed my manager and another team member on all my projects so that they could fill in if needed. Two things are coming out of this: in the future, I will block out at least half a day on the Monday so that I can get caught up on my real work (which does not involve meetings); and I will be speaking to my manager about lowering the team’s dependence on me. No one should ever feel like they can’t take time off because of meetings.

Quick Productivity Tips

1. Consider Your Newsletters: It is so easy to get information on the web these days! And most sites will allow you to have everything delivered right to your inbox so you don’t miss anything. While this can be great, you might find that you have newsletters that you don’t read anymore…either because they don’t apply or because you never really wanted them to begin with. Your mission: unsubscribe from a newsletter you don’t read or use.
2. Get Rid Of Dead Glue: You probably have a bottle or tube of glue somewhere that is dried out. Today your mission is to find it and get rid of it.
3. Set Up A Silent Time: The advent of cell phones and other portable computing means that we are opening ourselves up to be available 24/7. This is not a good thing - we all need times of rest and recreation. Most cell phones have a way to put it on “do not disturb”. Figure out how yours works. Your mission: set up an automatic silent time on your phone. If your phone won’t do one, turn it off before going to bed.

Some Recent Creative Endeavors

A few years ago, I started dabbling in making coloring books. It started for my mother, who didn’t like to do intricate designs, and then for my best friend, who was having trouble finding non-religious coloring books for her mother in another country. I have had requests for the same books for other people.

My dad likes to do word searches to keep his mind sharp. So last Christmas I made him a word search book based on The Christmas Carol. For the 250th birthday of the United States, I made a word search for him based on the Founding Documents. Other people have requested these books as well.

I’ve put the books up on Amazon for purchase. I’ve linked to them in my blog shop. I have also added the PDF versions of the books for those people who want to color or do word searches on tablets.

Articles This Month:

• ​What Deliberate Living Means to Me: Deliberate living is about making intentional choices with your time and energy. Here’s what it means to me and why it matters.
• ​The Hidden Cost of Being Too Busy: Being too busy has a cost: stress, distraction, and less clarity. Explore what overload really does to your days.

What Patrons Saw Why Productivity Alone Wasn’t Enough Productivity helped, but it wasn’t the whole answer. Here’s why I needed a more balanced approach to daily life. How I Decide What Deserves My Time And Energy A simple framework for deciding what gets your attention, energy, and time without overcomplicating the process. Become a Patron Supporting the blog on Patreon gets you exclusive benefits reserved for patrons. Check out the list of benefits and levels here.​

From The Shop

Here are links to some of my new products from the shop. These are available as paperbacks via Amazon (links in shop) as well as PDFs.

Founding Documents Word Search ​View in store​

Easy Mandalas Coloring Book ​View in Store​

​Buy at Amazon​