Task It Tuesday

I've been reading a lot in the past few weeks; but the more I read, the less time I have for blogging. I have been getting reviews written and have at least one review scheduled each week for the next three weeks. So it's time to add some blogging work into my next couple of weeks and get things caught up. My list of things to do in the next couple of weeks is:

1. Catch up with blog reader.

2. Clean up email.

3. Respond to comments from my September Sunday posts and keep current with responding to comments in October.

4. Set up schedule for November and December.

5. Write up Top Ten Tuesday posts for October.

It's a short list but includes some pretty time-consuming tasks and I want to make sure I'm still remembering to keep blogging fun!

Task It Tuesday

I did so well with my last Task It Tuesday list that I decided to keep at it. In fact, really working on that list has me kind of excited about blogging again! I have only one thing that I need to work on from that last list still so it's going to the top of the list this time.

1. Work on the error I'm getting on the Nook that doesn't allow me to get to Netgalley to download and read books.
2. Catch up with my blog reader. And by catch up, I mean clear it out for a change, not just get it down to about 30 unread posts. 
3. Respond to all comments left on my blog this month. I am terrible about doing this and often have to add it to my Bloggiesta list.
4. I've worked out my blogging calendar for the rest of the year (something I haven't done in the last few years is really keep a calendar for the blog). Now I want to go in and add the events I know are coming up in the next six months and plot out when I want to do features, like Mama Shepp's Family Recommends, Top Ten Tuesdays, Book Gems and Task It Tuesdays. 

That's enough for this list as some of these things will take some time. But my hope is that they will all inspire me to love blogging again without returning to the feeling of it being work. 

Task It Tuesday - June 26

So, pretty much when I've made the other lists, I've posted them...and ignored them. But this time, I swear, I'm going to follow up on this one! Starting as soon as I'm finished with this list, I'm going to check off #4. Yea, me!

Reading (and blogging) to do tasks:

1. write review for Little Fires Everywhere
2. write review for You Think It, I'll Say It
3. Write "What We're Reading" post (a new idea I've had)
4. catch up book club blog
5. set up post for the Fourth of July
6. clean up reading journal
7. try to fix Nook error with Netgalley
8. put together a tentative summer reading list
9. pick up The Roanoke Girls for July book club
10. write a Mama Shepp's Family Recommends post

We bloggers love our lists and always have tasks to be done. But what about my readers who aren't bloggers - do you ever put together a reading to-do list?

Task It Tuesday: May 22

This week's task list is all about finding the balance I need in my life to get back to blogging. I love this community, I love writing, and I love reading the books I need to read to be able to write posts. But how to make the time for all of it? Well...

1. Put it on the daily and weekly to-do lists. Not so much because it is a task to be done (despite the name of this post), but because I don't want it to get lost. If it's on my list, I will make sure I take the time to do it. And taking the time to do it is taking time for myself.

2. Work on ways to make writing reviews faster and easier. I used to spend hours working on my reviews, back when I thought that "someday" I might try to make this sucker pay for itself. But I've long ago abandoned that idea and I know that anyone reading the blog is also busy and would prefer that I just get to the point.

3. Use phone time to read more blog posts. This may mean I don't get any more comments left on blogs than I do now, but at least I will have the time to read posts which I find hard to do some weeks.  And, let's face it, I spend entirely too much time on my phone playing Two Dots and checking out Facebook updates so it will be easy enough to make that change.

4. Make a quiet place. I tend to read curled up on the sofa in my family room which is, oddly enough, filled with my family and the television is on. I like quiet so I'm not opposed to being off by myself in another room. I just need to get the right furniture in place to make that happen.

5. Turn off the t.v. I'm as guilty as the next guy of turning that thing on just to have it babble in the background. The thing is, even if it's just babbling in the background, it's a distraction, one I don't need. If I find I'd rather turn on the t.v. than pick up the book I'm reading, it's time for a new book.

6. Make time for Bloggiestas and readathons. I make time for all the other events in my life so why do I only do these things when I think I have "spare" time? Again, put them on the calendar and I'm more likely to give myself permission to do them.

So how about you? How do you find time to do the things that are just for you?

Task It Tuesday

Welcome to Task it Tuesday, created by the fabulous Geeky Blogger and adopted first by Because Reading and now by Bloggiesta!

What is Task it Tuesday? Task it Tuesday is a weekly meme dedicated to the list makers of the blogging world 🙂 It’s all about being productive and organized – on your blog and in real life (if you so chose). By sharing our lists we get instant accountability partners and also get ideas of things to add to our lists (or sometimes ways to tackle tasks more efficiently). We hope you’ll join us!

One of the reasons I started my bullet journal almost two years ago was because I like to make lists. I live by lists - if I don't have a list, I'm lost so I'm pretty excited about Task It Tuesday.

For my first Task It Tuesday, I'm actually pulling a list I posted here five years ago. It's not a task list, specifically, but in listing out the things that make me happy, I'm looking to remind myself to work those things into daily life, to work into my everyday lists. I've already got a couple of them worked into this coming week. I've made a few tweaks - there were some things I forgot, there were some things that I've learned I love in the past five years.

100 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Family
2. Friends
3. Chocolate
4. Coffee
5. Gerbera daisies
6. Fresh cut grass
7. Fields of wildflowers
8. Beaches
9. Blue
10. Sunshine
11. My cats
12. Homemade ice cream with homemade chocolate syrup
13. Vanilla
14. Lavender
15. Books and everything about them
16. Movie theater popcorn
17. Being silly
18. My faith
19. Office supplies
20. Candles
21. The perfect pillow
22. Smiles
23. Laughter
24. My kids being friends
25. The smell in the air just after a rain fall
26. A few hours of quiet
27. Being surrounded by the things my ancestors touched
28. Head massages
29. The perfect haircut
30. My favorite necklace
31. Refurbishing furniture
32. Musicals
33. Nebraska sports
34. NPR
35. Fluffy snowflakes
36. Lightning
37. Nebraska sunsets
38. Pouring rain
39. Chives
40. Homegrown tomatoes
41. Cheese
42. Newborn babies
43. Memories of my grandparents
44. High school football on a crisp fall evening
45. Sitting around the firepit on a beautiful summer evening
46. Hugs
47. The internet
48. Organizing supplies
49. Dolce and Gabanna Light Blue
50. Walks in fall leaves
51. Daylight savings time
52. A perfectly clean room
53. The possibilities of a full pantry
54. A toasty warm house on a cold day
55. Watching my kids succeed
56. Resting my head on my husband's chest
57. Old wooden boxes
58. Frogs - NOT live ones!
59. Going bare-footed
60. Taking care of my family
61. Finding the perfect gift
62. Watching people open gifts from me
63. Music - in general
64. Johann Sebastian Bach in particular
65. Crossing things off my to-do list
66. Being in control
67. Learning
68. Playing the piano
69. Swimming pools
70. Sitting on a bluff over the Missouri River valley with a glass of wine
71. Flea markets
72. Turning up the music and dancing
73. Volunteering
74. Gardening
75. The sound of waves crashing
76. A blank journal
77. Noodles
78. The afghan my mother-in-law made for my husband
79. The sound of mourning doves
80. Cookie dough
81. Breckenridge, Colorado in the summer
82. Champagne
83. That a-ha moment
84. My postcard collection
85. Fast boats
86. Truth
87. Rearranging furniture
88. Exploring new towns
89. White
90. A good day dream
91. Sarcasm
92. Movie nights
93. Inspiration
94. Girls' nights
95. Writing
96. Old movies
97. Boudin's sourdough bread
98.Crawling into bed at night on clean sheets
99. Waking up and realizing it's Saturday
100. Finishing things

What would you put on your list?