Fill your days, no gaps

Good morning, I am waking up to sunshine yet again, long may it continue. I just thought I'd share this with you before I go out and enjoy the day. My calendar is on the wall next to my desk, in the office, ha ha, posh name for back bedroom. This room is where I plan my daily, weekly, and annual activities.   

I pin the new calendar on the wall, underneath the previous years, at about October time, so it's there and ready for anything I need to note down. So, by the time January arrives there are already some dates filled out. I need to keep track of what I need to do and when. Once something is on the calendar I don't like to change it if I have made a commitment, I hate letting people down.

The main reason people have a calendar is to organise their lives, future appointments can be inserted as a reminder so as not to forget them. Other people might have a diary for that purpose, but I much prefer a calendar, I don't like carting unnecessary stuff around with me. If someone asks me something about a date in the future when I'm out, I never agree to anything untill I have consulted the calendar, so they have to wait untill I get home for their answer. Sometimes I might get a text which requires a yes or no, again I can't answer it untill I see the calendar.

When I took the calendar down for 2011 I noticed that there were a lot of days where nothing was written down, blank spaces. Why was that I asked myself, surely I did something, I didn't just waste the time idling about, did I? Perhaps whatever I did wasn't particularly interesting, maybe mundane tasks that aren't worthy of an entry on the calendar. I was quite perturbed that I might have wasted a third of a year on doing nothing.

So when I started the calendar this year I decided to use it in a different way, to record most of the activities I had already done, so I could look back and say, yep, I did something every day. They don't have to be big important activities, they can be small jobs around the house, jobs where I have achieved a good outcome. A bit like a to do list if you like, but writing it down after I have done it.

I look at my calendar daily, and if I have a day free of commitments I think of something I can do to fill it. I don't want any gaps this year because every day is too precious to waste. The whole reason for me getting up in the morning is to enjoy the day, in whatever way I think fit. It may sound a bit selfish, perhaps people think all I do is go out a lot, but some of my enjoyment comes from helping others. Even though I don't work at a job any more, I still want to feel I am of use to someone.

Filling my calendar out in this way has helped me get more out of life in 2012. It's the way I shall do it from now on. It's the kick up the backside I need, because I can become a weeny bit idle if given half the chance. I've got a few gaps coming up in June, I think a holiday is on the cards for the end of the month, and maybe a few days out before that. Oooh I love organising my own life, much better than going to work, ha ha.

Anyone else going to give this a try? Write something down every day, not a full description, just a line or two, or even odd words if you don't have the space. Don't forget to allow yourself some 'me' time, chilling out with friends, or a glass of wine sitting in the garden. It's important to have a balance for your well being, do whatever makes you happy. Toodle pip.