Celebrating accomplishments

The other day I finished the draft of novel I had been working on for a little over two months. I wrote nearly every day and kept going even when it was tough to keep the story together and my ideas flowing. Typing the words The End at the end of a manuscript is a very satisfying feeling, no matter how much revising and editing you are going to have to do later. I allowed myself a moment to really savor the fact that I saw my story through to completion, and then the next day I started a new project.

I think it is incredibly important to allow and encourage yourself to acknowledge accomplishments, from large to small. Finishing a long-delayed task or checking off a major project from your to-do list is satisfying in itself, but reminding yourself that all of your effort resulted in that completion, that you accomplished whatever it was you set out to do, is vital. It creates the feeling that ideas can become reality and is gives you strength as you attempt even more abitious tasks and goals.

The next time you accomplish something, give yourself some kudos!

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Happy Christmas!

Wrapping paper leftovers

I love wrapping paper. I think beautifully wrapped gifts are one of life's great pleasures. But I feel wasteful when I buy expensive paper that just gets torn off and discarded. So most of my paper gets used over and over again. My family doesn't mind when I harvest the best scraps of leftover paper and save them for the next occasion. I tend to keep bits of ribbon, too, and am able to use them again and again. The paper can take on new and more beautiful forms after being wrinkled and folded and combined with different types of paper for different gifts. And when I use up a lot of paper all at once and need more, I turn to paper bags and other found wrapping papers. It makes me doubly happy to see a gift beautifully wrapped with reused and reusable paper!

Creative Commons photo posted to Flickr by Katherine

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Paperless reminder: download your statements

As the end of 2011 draws close, here's a reminder for everyone who has even one paperless statement set up for their bank, utilities, credit card or other bills and services: don't forget to download the past 12 month's worth of statements from each place you do business and save them as PDFs to your computer (and then back them up on your external hard drive or cloud back up system!).

Many companies will only allow a year's worth of statements to be acessed for free electronically, and it is your responsbility to go to each company's site and download the information. This step is critical if you need the information on the statements in order to complete your taxes and you will need the statements themselves as back ups in case you are audited. Of course, I am not a legal or tax professional, so if you have any questions about what statements you need and how long you need to keep them, I urge you to consult your own advisors. But the beauty of simply downloading statements as PDFs is they are already in a handy electronic form that takes up no physical space and can be easily searched by your computer's search function.

So, download, save and back up!

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A little Christmas cheer

I never understand in movies when in order to truly celebrate Christmas, the characters have to decorate every object in their vicinity with tons of lights, fake snow and holly and greenery and mistletoe all over the place. When did decorating for Christmas become a contest in gaudiness?

I'm not saying I don't like Christmas decorations. I love the lights and shiny ornaments and wreaths. But, as usual, more is not better. A little goes a long way when you have to look at it for the protracted holiday season. If you are craving a little more flair in the decorations department, you can always find a mall or park with its own huge Christmas tree, or drive into those neighborhoods where the neighbors delight in covering their properties with decorations galore.

For a little Christmas cheer, try getting a small, living Christmas tree instead of a huge cut one. Put up one string of twinkly lights on your front porch instead of six. Fill a bowl with oranges or pomegranates as an edible centerpiece instead of glossy wrapped candies or greenery imported from a state away.

How do you simplify your own holiday decorating?

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