Daily To Do List

Who likes scheduling? and even worse following a daily schedule? Even though this practice might not be most fun and spontaneous, it definitely is very practical. So every night I take a time out to sit down and plan out my tomorrow. This practice has turned out to be a very helpful tool for me. My daily TDL ensures that I do not wake up everyday wondering what the hell am I gonna do today. Instead every morning when I wake up, I have set goals I will try to accomplish.

There is many ways to do it... you can write it down on a piece of paper, use a computer software like Word or even a scheduling software... you can even jot it down on napkin if that's all you have available... just make sure you write it down and are able to see it first thing in the morning. The software I use is a computer Journal called Journel (for Mac) and I use it for all my writing which includes: daily thoughts, goals, recipes, poems, quotes I like... I mean pretty much anything.

As far as the format, that again is up to you. You can schedule it minute by minute, hour by hour or just have a general overview of the day. In my case, I like to schedule things in block format which includes lots of flexibility because as we all know life happens and you can not always follow a schedule to a minute.

Well, I guess I'll just make it easier and show you what I mean. Below is an example of what my TDL might look like:

9:00 - Breakfast - Juice

9:30 - 10:30 - Bike Ride

11:00 - 1:00
- write back Jane (DONE - call back around Fridy)
- Check Jobs (5-12 applied to X Company - Follow up on Thursday w/letters
5-12 applied to Y Compny in EG - Follo up Thur. w/letters
5-13 applied to Z Company - Follow up w/letters Fri.)
- Call Doctor (DONE - Doc will call back - Call him Fri. if don’t hear back)
- Finish Jason’s Project and email (DONE)
- spend at least half an hour working on website (ongoing)
- spend at least half an hour on blog (ongoing - done) 1
- spend at least half an hour on portfolio (ongoing) 1
- spend at least half an hour on Maggies Wedding gift (ongoing)

12:00 - glass of water w/lemon

1:00 - EAT - 1/2 oatmeal (70)

1:30 - 2:15 - Fold clothes, clean bedroom (DONE)

2:30 - EAT - 1/8 cup walnuts (80)

3:45 - EAT - 1/2 can of fish + 2 small slices of bread (155) 305

2:15 - 5:00 - Keep working on unfinished stuff from earlier today (DONE)

5:00 - EAT - apple (75) 380

5:00 - 6:30 - Free Time

6:30 - 7:30 - Yoga

Rest of the evening do whatever you’d like :-) but don’t forget to plan tomorrow!

6:15 - mixed veggie salad w/avocado n dressing (350) 655


So there you have it. Pretty simple, huh? This way I can make daily notes so I don't forget anything and know whether the project or appt. is completed or what the next step might be. And since I'm working on making healthy food choices, I also keep a track of the food I eat and usually will plan that the night before.

So again, I believe this is a very important step in self development and achieving your goals. It has worked wonders for me. It has kept me on track and makes me much more productive. Just give it a try and see how it works for you. To Happy Living!

Small Steps to Success

So one of my goals for long, long while now has been to quit smoking. Yes, I am a smoker! Trust me, I know how ridiculous it is to talk/write about healthy lifestyle when in the back of your head you know that this one stupid habit just literally kills all your efforts. Well, I'm finally saying "That's it!"... I am too fabulous, too hard working to have my life controlled by this disgusting habit.

So why now? What has changed? Nothing really... I am just tired of being limited... by anything or anybody. I also got some great motivation from Leo Babauta, the writer and creator of zenhabits.net Leo has accomplished great things and most of his success has started with quitting smoking, becoming a runner which followed by becoming a vegan and a successful blogger.

Speaking of great blogs, I have discovered another one today (which actually led me to Leo's blog)... The Art of Nonconformity is a very interesting blog which forces you to think outside the box and pursue your dreams.

But back to quitting smoking. Well, there isn't too much to say about it except that tomorrow at this time I will be smoke free for 24 hr. Of course I'll keep you updated with my progress and hope to hear from you if you're in a similar situation as me.

Another goal I'm trying to work on is to become an early riser, and again Leo and Steve have wrote fantastic articles about that. My approach will be to start with a set time and move back 15 minutes every other day or so. Sadly, my current wake up time is around 10am so it might take some time to get down to 5am. But I also know that it's a very doable goal. I have actually done that back when I was living in the city and had a hellish commute. The point is that if you really want something you'll do whatever it takes to achieve it.

Well, that would be all for now my friends. Of course I have plenty more goals, but for now let's stick to these two. Will be checkin in shortly to update you on my progress... To Happy Living!

Spring Garden

So Spring has finally arrived and with it finally some great weather. You can definitely tell that summer's on its way, especially on a beautiful 70 degree day in Chicago. One of the exciting things about this season is planting and growing your own fruits and veggies. I understand that many City dwellers might not have too much space to grow their own stuff, but I really think that everybody is capable of finding just a little room. And if you absolutely have no room to plant anything, you can usually rent a plot even in the busiest of cities :-)

This year I happened to be staying with family who owns a townhouse in the suburbs. We do not have a backyard but we do have a small patio which is now covered with pots of plants and flowers. Here's what our little garden looks like:



Flower Patch





Veggies - Sweet peppers, Chives, and Strawberries





Tomatoes





More Tomatoes





Super Tomato



Well, needless to say... I'm gonna be eating lots of tomatoes soon. And I can't wait, I can already see the yummy tomato salad with fresh chives, topped with mozzarella....mmmmm! I'm also super excited about the strawberries. Bet they're gonna be delicious, not like those tasteless monsters you find in the grocery store.

So what about you guys? How are your gardens coming along? Feel free to share comments, links and photos. And of course, Happy Gardening!