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Anyone noticed?…it’s getting dark earlier and earlier!
I LOVE being outdoors……when it’s light!
But now…it’s dark!
uh oh…
Now WHAT am I going to DO?
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well….I suppose maybe….
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The problem is…
I don’t enjoy doing random activities…
I like being engaged in activities that feel
“satisfying”
engaging, reasonably challenging, using skills, creating…
And activities that also feel
“important” or “meaningful”
that tie in with my personal values or ways of contributing.
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I’ve been reading a book full of excellent ideas…“My Next Phase, A Personality Based Guide to your Best Retirement” by Eric Sundstrom PhD, Randy Burnham PhD and Michael Burnham. The book is full of insightful ideas about transitions, including “retirement” but the ideas can apply to ANY stage of life or ANY transition including transitioning from summer to winter! I’ve included their ideas about “fulfillment” in my brainstorming!
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Shifting into a more linear mode,
a brainstorming, organizing ideas and planning mode
ideas about what to do now that it’s not light outside in the evening
….charts….
(I do love creating charts!)
to help my own thinking get more proactive, specific and solution oriented
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Here you go…sharing charts I’m creating and starting to use
Brainstorming ideas for the longer winter evenings ahead,
finding satisfying and meaningful activities and opportunities
“meaningful evenings”
creating a sense of “fulfillment”
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(click on any charts to enlarge, for easier reading)
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There seem to be a variety of good movies around,
but I seem to lose track of what they are…
so… a page to keep at the kitchen table…instead of on little notes that get lost.
Now, I can jot down names of movies when I read about them
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and the reality of longer, darker evenings
is that we tend to watch more tv in our home…
more than in the summertime…
(it’s nice to spend time together on the couch with pillows and warm blankets)
I don’t watch much tv…but like to know what might be on…
it’s a matter of finding and keep track of the MANY old and new, potentially good shows
(and remembering to record them to avoid ads)
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In spite of all those tv charts,
TV and movies are only a small part of my own life..
more important to me are other activities…
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…it comes back to finding “satisfying” activities and opportunities
those that feel “meaningful” and “important”
creating fulfilling days and evenings,
summertime, wintertime, anytime
“fulfilling”
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Pocket Perspectives 
Our favorite TV Show is The Mentalist.
The new season (its 5th) starts this Sunday, 9/30, at 10 pm on CBS.
Here’s a synopsis with a run down of the main characters:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mentalist
It’s a clever crime drama with less blood and guts than most crime dramas.
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thanks!…okay…I’ll add that to the Sunday column….fits in there nicely! I’ve heard that’s a good show, but haven’t watched it yet…coming right up!
I’m going OUT to a movie, Late Bloomer (?), tonight, the 8:45 show…wow…talk about changing my patterns!…why, that would be….a late bloomer! đŸ˜€ in more ways than one!
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Hope you enjoyed Late Bloomer . . . late bloomer! đŸ˜€
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You have really created some interesting grids for yourself! I think I do some similar planning, but my notes are scribbled on random pieces of paper. I like your organization! đŸ™‚
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Late Bloomer was a very good movie…it’s a Swiss movie about several women in their 80’s letting go of traditional roles in relationships and creating more independent and satisfying lives… here’s to blooming whenever we do!
I have little pieces of paper all over the kitchen…and keep losing them, forgetting them etc. Hopefully, I’ll keep using the charts…well, I just did this morning….and keep track of interesting opportunities.
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Love the charts, Kathy. I placed a dry-erase weekly calendar on the refrigerator to keep me focused. I do like the chart that includes classes etc. as that would help me to fulfill all the things I want to do–not just volunteering. Because of my haphazard way of going through retirement so far, I missed a great photography class in Philadelphia. So I believe the week calendar is not working for me! Good post.
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Happy they might be helpful. A dry erase calendar is a good idea! I’m trying to think about a variety of areas that might be engaging and interesting. I also have missed several interesting sounding classes due to forgetting about them. Here’s hoping I can get myself “organized enough” to keep filling in the charts. I love making them…using them takes a bit more self direction. Hope some of the ideas might be helpful for others. ( my teaching motivation now seems to be directed toward figuring out/creating an engaging life for myself…now I seem to be in the role of both the teacher and the student. đŸ˜€ )
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If only I were so organized! When the sun goes down I start feeling tired, thus I think I sleep the winters away; perhaps I’m part bear, lol.
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I seem to have about 2 hours of energy after the sun goes down…(which is great in the summer…)then…sleepy sleepy… part bear here too. I notice that I feel more energetic when I have something interesting to do, so I’m trying to come up with ideas. I do love snuggling up on the couch with blankets and pillows, but there’s not much I like on tv…and I can’t go to sleep TOO early!…ah that bear in us! (I love bears!) btw…I’m more organized with creating charts for writing down ideas than for actually doing those ideas….a work in progress. : )
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You are ever so much more organized than I am. đŸ™‚
I kind of like the shorter days, but I like winter so the two go hand in hand. Plus I’m so exhausted from the harvest season that it’s nice to be able to sit in a comfy chair and tuck into a good book or watch a favorite tv show or knit or do nothing at all.
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Oh, Robin, you’re much better with your time than I am… I could use a few lessons! (the initial thrill I had with the unstructured time of “not working” is wearing off…a learning curve ahead! )
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Oh goodness, no. I’ve had a lot of practice (been working from home for a few years now), BUT… I am not all that great with organization or structuring my time. In fact, I just decided I need to go back to a schedule of some sort in order to get myself back on track. I get thrown off during the summer months because of the garden, the harvest, vacations, and short trips. etc. Schedules help, but it’s also good to leave yourself wiggle room or a day of spontaneity. đŸ™‚
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okay….so a balance of scheduled and spontaneous…makes sense.
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