Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend

It's You that Made Me Talk Again!

Getting back into writing for myself and blogging on this blog has been an ordeal for the past few weeks. I could never think of anything to talk about. The words did not flow freely! I'd want to write, and surely I've stumbled upon something during the day that merits 600 words, but the motivation and creativity just weren't there.

However, I begun to notice a pattern. Every time I would go to bed, that's when everything would come so easily. Full paragraphs and concepts would create themselves in my mind, keeping me awake as I tried to fall asleep. I couldn't figure out why it was happening, but it was a double-edged sword. I liked that I was finally getting some great ideas flowing through my brain, but they were also preventing me from getting enough sleep.

This happened several times before I figured it out: it was the silence. The absence of distractions and stimuli, even visual stimuli, helped my mind to focus for the first time the entire day. Being creative or "finding my creativity" was no longer an issue. When I take away music, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds and HipChat pings, my brain doesn't have any problems thinking and getting things done.

Once I figured it out, the thought of silence became incredibly exciting! If I make an effort to remove as many distractions and stimuli as possible, then what could I possibly create? How much would I be able to get done? What aspects of myself would improve if I were focusing and engaging in my work in the fullest capacity?

I Tried It Today and It Worked Fantastically

As I worked today, I kept the distractions to a minimum. Unfortunately, I have to keep HipChat on because I need it on for work and I need the pings to know when someone is trying to talk to me about something. I can't never ever log in and tell my coworkers to trust that I'm getting my work done, although they can. Part of it also is to build relationships with each other since we all work virtually, and HipChat and our daily meetings are the only ways to do that.

Besides HipChat, I didn't listen to any music or any podcasts throughout the day. I didn't have any YouTube videos play in the background. I just put on my headphones and had nothing come through them. The silence worked tremendously! It was so much easier to get things done, and I felt less hurried and frazzled throughout the day. It seemed like I was working at a pace that accomplished things on my to-do list, but it wasn't a pace that was rushed or that felt like I was conquering an insurmountable number of tasks.

Working in silence is certainly a habit that's going to take some time to develop. I've already found out today that once the distractions are turned on and allowed in, they are very difficult to turn off. It's become so instinctual to browse YouTube or to check Twitter for what's new, even when I don't have any notifications set on the tabs to remind me about anything new. Starting the day with all the different fun, distracting things turned off is the easy part. The hard part is turning them back off when I decide to take a break.

Overall, I'm relieved and freed. I was trying all sorts of things to "find something to write about" or to "find inspiration" or to "find creativity," not realizing that all that pursuit was really making things worse. All I needed was a minute or two to let my mind speak, and the epiphany hit me in the darkness. Clearly, I can't write in the dark, but it's with eyes closed that I found the light I so desperately needed..

All The Things I've Stopped (Part 1 of 9)

Ever since my blogging streak ended, I've thought about all the things that I said I was going to do on this blog. With the exception of one or two, I stopped doing all of them within a few months. Besides the blogging streak, there was only one other endeavor that ended in a matter of days. The others were either intentions that were never turned into action, or behaviors that I stopped doing after several months. I think it would be great if I went over each of these goals and endeavors, going into detail of why I wanted to do the project in the first place and why I ended up not finishing what I sent out to do. Not everyone enjoys going over their failures, or evaluating why they were unable (or chose not to) finish something, but I think the exercise will be valuable to me. I am in the middle of determining what I want out of life and how to get those things, so I think this exercise will show me why I wanted to do these projects at a certain point in time, only to decide later on that I wasn't interested in doing them anymore.

Bullet Journal vs Inferno of Productivity

For the first part of this many part series (the number of series parts has yet to be determined), I'm going to evaluate two similar projects where I've stopped doing one but I've continued to do the other.

The bullet journal and the inferno of productivity are two systems that organize your to-do lists and improve your productivity. The inferno of productivity is a system that I created about a year ago, while the bullet journal is a system that I found online and decided to try. I did both concurrently for about seven months, but I've stopped using the bullet journal system about two weeks ago and have continued to use the inferno of productivity system only.

The main reason why I stopped using the bullet journal is because the journal felt redundant. I thought the system, especially its inclusion of a monthly calendar, monthly task lists, and room for other necessary lists (like planning for a vacation or a separate to-do list for that trip), would augment my daily to-do list that the inferno of productivity specializes in. However, that didn't happen. Using both systems at the same time seemed like I was managing two to-do lists for each day with no added benefit in having both. If there was a discrepancy in the to-do lists, then it was weird and a hassle to remedy that discrepancy.

I found the inferno of productivity to be easier since I like the tangible aspect of using index cards (something that I'd like to make less disposable with reusable index cards. I just need to find something reusable that I can use.) I also found this system much more flexible with tasks that I wasn't able to get done and with organizing my day, since I can put the cards/ tasks in the order that I wanted to do them. In the end, I stopped doing the bullet journal because it wasn't adding any value, and I was crafting my daily task list from what was already set up in the inferno of productivity system.

I'm Starting with a Softball

The bullet journal and the inferno of productivity were easy ones to evaluate because:

• I'm still doing the inferno of productivity, which is awesome. It's also a system that I'd like to improve upon in several ways.
• Since I'm still doing the inferno, stopping the bullet journal was somewhat inconsequential.
• Seven months is a pretty good run, but since the main reason why I stopped was because it wasn't adding value to my life, the bullet journal wasn't tough to quit. The failure was in the system, no myself.
• Quitting the bullet journal is not the same as not following through in learning how to drive a stick shift or with anything on my five-year plan. I will cover both in future parts of this series. Both of those do reflect a failure on my part.

But, I gotta start somewhere. It was easiest to start with my productivity systems since they are/were a daily part of my life. The others involved more long-term work, dedication, and planning.

One thing that does need to happen: finishing this series.

Bullet Journal, New Gigs, and Getting Things Back Together

Been spending my time over the past few weeks working to get everything back together. I think much of it crumbled from under me because I wasn't spending enough time working, and because I didn't spend any time planning my branding. For my branding, I just threw something together, never really thought about, and so the mantra, positioning, and statement weren't as solidified and unique as they could of been. I don't think I would have gotten into trouble if I had planned those things because I would have had more concrete ideas about Stirring Media as a brand and business. I'm now spending time thinking about the business' brand as well as my own personal brand.

One Month of the Bullet Journal

I've given the Bullet Journal note-taking system for over a month now, and I like it very much. I actually find it to be a good complement to my inferno of productivity because it's two to-do lists instead of one, and also that the Bullet Journal can accommodate scheduling and longer lists. Longer lists can be lists that all have to do with one topic i.e. I have a list of the web pages I need to write for one client's project, but there also a tidy, safe place to keep my big-fat lists that come up from time to time. The big-fat list often contains many little things that I need to get done, most often things like updating my social media profiles or figuring out how to set up Google Authorship when you contribute to several blogs and publications. I would highly recommend the Bullet Journal for anyone who has never been particularly satisfied with the selection of planners and calendars that are currently available on the market.

Two New Gigs!

I"ve gotten two new news writing gigs, and I am very excited about both of them! One I started last weekend, and the other I'll be starting over the next few days. For the first gig (which needs to stay nameless because it hasn't yet launched), I essentially find news stories, read the story, write a 300-character summary, and upload the summary to the content management system. Kind of like a dream job for me, because I have to cover anything and everything, and the sooner I can summarize a breaking news story, the better. I work on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, so the only downside is that Friday night is particularly slow. It's the weekend for the whole world, and not much is happening on a Friday night or Saturday morning. Saturday and Sunday are a bit better, primarily because all the sports games are finishing up during my shift, and I can easily write a few summaries by simply reporting on a college basketball or professional hockey game that just finished.

My second gig is with News Headquarters, where I"ll be doing some general news article writing for one of their sites (not sure which one yet). The work sounds similar to the articles I wrote for Technorati, although this time I'll be getting paid, where I find a story and then create something new using a variety of sources. On the surface, it sounds like article rewriting, or rehashing, as I like to call it. The job totally can be, and that's the easy way out to do the job in my opinion. However, I do think that this practice could be done in a way that doesn't involve selling out your soul, where the sources and story are used to offer a new perspective instead of just write another article saying what everyone else has said. It means you have to be more creative and try to present an angle that hasn't been presented yet. I think that's where you'll differentiate yourself while creating something that will actually generate buzz and properly newsjack a story. Perhaps I should just think of this gig as getting paid to piggyback on the news.

The Value of an Accountability Buddy

In case you haven't yet noticed on this blog, Hacking Your Education: Ditch the Lectures, Save Tens of Thousands, and Learn More than Your Peers Ever, is a great book. It's worth checking out if you're interested in ways to continue learning, to get an education without spending a ton of money on college, or to do things that help you figure out your passions and what you want to do with your life, The idea of an accountability buddy also came from this book, where you have someone (or maybe a small group of people) hold your feet to the fire in regards to your goals and/or your to-do lists.

Losing Your Accountability Buddy is Tough

About six months ago, the coaching program with my business coach ended, and I think things went downhill since then. The most valuable thing that my business coach provided me was accountability, which is difficult to have by yourself when you're an entrepreneur or self-employed. You can't rely on your clients and customers to do this, and you may not necessarily have a boss or business partner to hold you accountable if you're an entrepreneur or self-employed. Without an accountability buddy, all you have is yourself and when you only have yourself, it gets easy to put off a task, to make an excuse, or to say that you're going to do something else that's equally productive instead.

I loved having a business coach to hold me accountable because I know that she cared about me, and I cared about her. When it came to my goals and to-do lists, I was much more motivated to get things done because I was left with two choices when I didn't do something. I could either tell my business coach I didn't do it, or lie to her about doing it. Since I never liked either of those choices, the best option was always to do what I needed to do and what I set out to do. After all, there's nothing to it but to do it! I lost much of this motivation when my coaching program ended, as I no longer had someone who was going to ask questions and to check up on these things.

I Have an Accountability Buddy Again

Starting in January 2014, I'm restarting my business coaching with my business coaching (I'm only putting it off because I need to save money for my end-of-the-year expenses, such as the holidays and my coworking membership). Even through I'm not officially under her tutelage for another two months, just knowing that I'm going to have to talk about these next two months in January and show something for myself is enough to keep me productive and pushing forward. I haven't been this motivated in a long time, and it's great to be energized with visions of accomplishment. What I really need is a trusted adviser who can keep me on track without micromanaging and who can who can ask the tough questions without being condescending or placing blame. My business coach fits the bill, and is also wonderful because she's shared with me several great resources that have helped me improve my business and business knowledge.

I do have a few goals set for the next two months, so it's not as if I'm wasting this down time. I do need to refine these goals and actually get them down on paper, but I at least have an idea of what I'd like to achieve in these last two months of 2013. I can't believe the year is almost over! I've come a long way, so I need to do what I can now so I can go further in 2014. An accountability buddy can help me with this.

I'm Giving the Bullet Journal a Shot

I came across this the other day, and it's genius. So simple, yet so effective at keeping track of everything and being flexible as life comes at you, I've only tried it for a day, but I like it so far. It's way better than having a ton of apps or trying to make a planner from the store work for you. Take a look.

What I Love Most about the Bullet Journal

My favorite aspect about this system of to-do lists and organization is that everything can be on one page. That's the problem with most other planners: you very rarely can have everything on one page. You have your month, but very little room to add things in. Or, the pages are too small to do anything with in the first place. With this system, your month is on one page, right next to a to-do list for the month. It's great for setting goals for the month, and keeping track of those things that only happen monthly, like paying your bills, doing certain chores, and moving your car for the street cleaners.

I also like the idea of running to-do lists, as one of the most frustrating things about preparing it the day before is that things can come up. Then, you spend your day doing the things that come up, and you get a lot done, but because you didn't do much from you list, it looks like you actually didn't get much done. It also means that a lot of your things from your to-do list have to be moved to the next day, which isn't fun. When you have running to-do lists, where you can add things as they come, you don't quite have that problem.

This Doesn't Replace My Inferno of Productivity

I'm still going to have my point system, but I have run out of index cards and old business cards to use, so I'll see if I can incorporate this into my inferno of productivity. Each task will still be a point. At the end of each day, I'll just tally up my points and then keep a running total somewhere else in the notebook. It wastes a lot less paper and everything gets to be in one place, which is the ultimate goal of the bullet journal system. I'll also still be able to add notes to each task like with the system I came up with. My system also has rewards, and who doesn't like rewards?

Speaking of rewards, I still haven't bought that file cabinet I've been wanting for a few months. If I finish my September goal of completing those DMV appointment articles, then I'll have the money to purchase that file cabinet. I have over 500 points accumulated, so at this point I can get much more than that file cabinet. I do need a haircut, as well as some new music and a few things for the apartment. I can do it! I can finish those articles, accumulate more points, and finally get a few things that will make my life that much better.

Structuring My Time, Busting that Routine

In order to be more awesome and to spend more of my time doing awesome things, I chose to stop sticking to a routine. In thinking about how to bust my routine and not have one, I came up with a really good idea as I was going to bed the other night. I realized that one of my current problems with being productive and doing everything I want to do is that my time has lost structure. My days felt chaotic and out of control.

I lost this structure when I switched to my inferno of productivity game, when I put all my tasks on the point system. When I made this switch, I took away any sense of doing work at certain times, taking breaks at other times etc. My time was disorganized, so I wasn't maximizing my time or using it efficiently at all. To be more awesome while managing not to have a routine, I think structuring my time would be the best thing to do.

What Structuring Your Time Even Means

Structuring your time, in my opinion, is not the same as a routine. A routine is defined as, "a sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed program." Structuring and organizing your time isn't the regimented, as there isn't a sequence of actions or a fixed program. It's merely arranging it so that time is set aside to do work, to take a break, to play poker etc. It's not necessarily doing the same things each day, or doing certain things at certain times. It's making sure that you make the time to do what you need to do as well as what you want to do. This ensures that you don't waste time and that you don't let your time fly by without you.

How I'm Accomplishing This

One of the things I lost when I started my inferno of productivity was my planner. Since I moved my task list from the planner to the point cards, I stopped looking at my planner and I stopped using it organize my day in any way. I exacerbated this problem when I purchased a set of Day of the Week binder clips. This allowed me to create point cards for the next week, instead of just the next few days like I started. Doing so much in advanced actually made organizing my time harder, since I needed to have more in my head and I didn't have all that on paper. I've had those binder clips for several weeks now, and I think that's when things began to fall apart.

I'm fixing all this by bringing the planner back in, using it to create this structure while also using my point cards to keep track of what needs to be done. With the planner, I can also get a sense of the events and meetings coming out, and gauge how much time out of my day each of these events will take up. This prevents me from trying to cram too much and from stressing out because I didn't get as much done as I hoped.

I started this process today, and so far, I think it's working well. This organization gives me a good idea of what needs to done, as well as what's possible to get done during the day. It also puts me into a more productive, motivated, and coordinated mindset. I understand that it is a bit early to call things, so with just about every other thing I've tried, I'm going to give this several weeks and see if things improve.

Goals, Updates, and What I'm Capable Of

My parents say I shouldn't be so negative on this blog, referring to my previous post on how I'm so horrible at this new niche (and considering that I haven't written a single post this week, I'm still very horrible). However, I say that it's important to be open and to be honest about these things. Besides, if I put my mistakes and shortcomings into writing and admit them to the world, then I can acknowledge them and fix them. If I just go one pretending they don't exist, then I'm probably not going to do anything about them.

Goal for this Week: Do One Post, Just One Post

Apparently, two was much too ambitious for me. I couldn't discipline myself to do the research. I also got busy and distracted, although I was way more distracted than busy. Below are the 10 possible topics that I might do for my one post (since these are rather engaging and interesting topics, I might actually do more than one like I'm supposed to. Some of these actually sound fun.)

1. Will Cristina Fernández de Kirchner succeed in amending the Argentinian constitution so that she can run for a third term?
2. What reforms are needed to the Mexican judicial system?
3. Should India avoid an upcoming meeting with Pakistan due to the recent violence in Kashmir?
4. What changes should Hassan Rohani make to Iran’s nuclear program?
5. What role should the European Union play in the Gibraltar dispute?
6. Is America winning the fight against obesity?
7. If you were the chief executive of AOL, what would you do to make it relevant again?
8. How can the U.S. make itself less dependent on foreign oil?
9. Is the GOP’s refusal to participate in CNN and NBC 2016 presidential primary debates justified?
10. Will privacy rights be a major issue in the 2014 midterm elections?

I'm So Close to My File Cabinet!

My main goal for my inferno of productivity is to accrue 300 points so that I can get a file cabinet! I ended the previous week with 271 points, and after tallying this week's points, I have 322 points. This means I can finally get that file cabinet! I am excited since I've need a file cabinet so badly, and never got around to getting one. Now, all I have to do is redeem those points and get one. I took a quick look online and there's nothing that I really like. I'd really like a wooden file cabinet to match my a little bit, but perhaps I'll settle on a metal one because they are cheaper.

Once I achieved my goal, I said that I would evaluate my inferno of productivity to see if it really worked at boosting my productivity and to make a decision as to whether or not to continue the game. I think I will continue it because it's a record of what I accomplished each day as well as a fun way to work toward rewards and to give myself those rewards. Also, by assigning points, I can prevent myself from overindulging on these rewards One of my prizes is eating out, and eating out is much less appealing when it means I have to give up points and it means one more week until I can get that file cabinet, or that haircut, or whatever it is I want.

It's also a good way to ensure that I purchase things that I've been intending to purchase for a while, such as that file cabinet. It's really easy to forget those things and to work around the problem (the problem with the file cabinet being my papers and files are in piles on the floor, unattended and dusty). For my next goal/reward, I want a haircut. I badly need a haircut, as my hair is way too long. It gets in the way when I sleep at night.

Speaking of sleep, I should go do that.

I'm Not Doing Too Well at this New Niche

Of the four questions I planned to do last week, I only did one of the four on the obscure topic of the national horse slaughter ban. The post did rather well for this blog, but I failed to keep the momentum going and to offer insight on a more mainstream topic. I also think my analysis could use many more facts, figures, and demographics to support it. The horse slaughter post was a bit philosophical. I can do much better.

This Week's Possible Topics (of Which I Will Do at Least Two, for Improvement)

1. What reforms should be made to U.S. surveillance efforts?
2. Will the newly signed student loan rate legislation make higher education more affordable?
3. Does Bill Gates have the right ideas to reform American education?
4. How can the federal government better the plight of wounded veterans?
5. Should there be an increase in the federal minimum wage?
6. What should Russia do with Edward Snowden after his one year asylum expires?
7. Are European governments too lax in their protection of the Roma?
8. What grade should the Turkish government receive for its human rights record?
9. Is time running out for the Israelis to make a suitable peace with the Palestinians?
10. Has Venezuela’s international profile taken a serious hit since the death of Hugo Chavez?

I Need to Change the Task

Currently, doing one personal blog post is part of my task list for each day. Because of my new niche and my goal for this week, delegating the task in that manner doesn't actually help. What I think I need to do is set that as the task for every other day, and then the days that aren't assigned to writing the blog post will be assigned to the necessary research. The main reason why I didn't get anything done last week was because I didn't spend the time doing the research. I am getting a late start to this week, which is why I'm shooting for two, but including the research as part of the points I can get for each day will incentive me to do the research. This also prevents that overwhelming writer's block, that burden where I need to do research and do a blog post in the same day.

Currently Reading Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In and It's Amazing

I am almost done with Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (which is good, because I have way too many books to read right now, and this one wasn't on my summer reading list) and I think it's an absolutely phenomenal book. I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and I'm so glad that I finally have! She makes great points throughout the book, and what I particularly love is that I could relate to them even though I'm not a senior executive with two kids. The most profound point, to me, is that it's stereotypes about women that are holding women back because women are held to those stereotypes by others (and then punished for not adhering to them) and because women hold themselves to those stereotypes at times. It's ideas that women are supposed to be nice and nurturing, that women are always going to be the ones to take the brunt of the child caring duties, that women always have to worry about a family/career balance.

I loved that Sandberg encourages to break those stereotypes and not to worry about what others think about you. She says that it's more important to be comfortable with your own choices, to do what's best for you and your family, and to not leave the workforce before you've actually left. Don't turn down responsibilities and new opportunities because you're afraid a child is going to get in the way, so you're making room before there is even the prospect of a child in your life. Go for success now, while you can, before the child is expected.

OMG, I'm Going to Go Hog Wild on Video Games

I know I'm supposed to be working toward that file cabinet, that really awesome $25, $50 file cabinet that's going to cost me 300 productivity points to get (see, I redeem the points so that I can spend the money on the file cabinet. The idea is that by earning 300 points, I would have also earned enough money to reward myself for my hard work. It's also good to set goals, and with these sort of goals, I can be conscious of them and save the money as well. Plus, I really need that file cabinet. I've been putting it off for about a year. I probably could have bought it earlier, but never made any solid plans to buy it and to get it back to my apartment.

But, Steam is Having a Summer Sale

Steam is having a summer sale! So, tons of games are anywhere from 30% to 85% off! There are now TONS of games that I want to get, not only because they are on sale but also I now know of games that I didn't know existed. For example, I can get several of the Grand Theft Auto series for maybe $15 or $20. I can also get really cool games like Rogue Legacy, Trine 2, Spore, Orcs Must Die 2, The Cave, Evoland (this list could go on FOREVER). Since Steam saves games to the cloud and delivers them digitally, I don't have to worry about them running out. However, I do need to worry about the prices going back up once the sale is over.

I already had to take a huge hit to my points because I needed to eat out. I recovered most of those points last week, but I still have less than half of the required 300 points. It will cost half of what I have to buy one video game, and the summer sale ends in one week. Perhaps I could consider this extra motivation to get as many points as possible over this week. If I get at least 11 points each day (including today), then I could 77 by Sunday, which would allow me to get a couple of games with the $20 budget allotted in the reward.

Decisions, decisions. I need to sort out my priorities over what to do with the points, as well as what games I want to play first. The latter will be in a future post. But, I do need a file cabinet really bad. My files have been piles on the floor ever since I brought them home when I moved offices.

By the way, if anyone else if on Steam, then please add me as a friend! You can find me under my (not so) secret identity, Pocket Aces Agnes!

So, About that Meal Plan...

I still haven't finished it (I've started), so I've turned it into a point and I'll get it done tomorrow/today (I am writing this after midnight). I really don't need more to do, but I'm going to keep forgetting about it or pushing it back if I don't turn it into a point. So, I've turned it into a point, which are badly needed now so I can get video games and/or a file cabinet. I also need to stay productive and to stick toward my goals. Right now, I'm not doing too good a job with my SuperBetter project, primarily since there is meat in the apartment again and I need to get rid of all the meat. I will be better! Things will be awesome!

I am Back at Lab1500!

After almost a two-month hiatus, changing the direction of my business, giving my laptop a bath, and accommodating my night owl habits, I'm finally back in Lab1500 working again! It's so nice to be back in downtown St. Louis, typing away at my favorite table and getting more things done than ever before. I get lots more done here than I do at home, and that is still the case today as it was in the beginning of the year when I first joined Lab1500. This is exciting because, as of yesterday, I was one-third of the way to my file cabinet (which I understand costs, like $25, if I know where to look, but the point is to work for it so it's a huge achievement and my home office is that much better when I finally get it). At this rate, I'll have that file cabinet in another month. Perhaps I'll be able to get a bookshelf or a dresser too.

Being SuperBetter is Super Amazing

It's only been one day of me playing SuperBetter, and I'm already having a blast and feeling extra motivated to do everything! It' so easy to get caught up doing quests, using power ups, and killing the bad guys. I also love how all this can be incorporated into my day and into my own Inferno of Productivity game. I get a point when I complete my SuperBetter quests for the day, and what I plan to do over the next few weeks and months is incorporate other goals and tasks into SuperBetter i.e. poker goals, business goals etc. In SuperBetter, you can create your own Power Packs, with its own set of bad guys, power ups, and quests. It would be really cool if I could eventually do this with my own goals, and then write blog posts on how to set these up so others can do them as well. It's exciting because I am essentially talking about a game, but I am also talking about building identity capital and helping others. It would also be really neat to create a Power Pack that works in conjunction with one of Stirring Media's digital content sites. I don't see how coffee would work for this, unless a lot of people really want to increase their daily coffee intake, but it's a good vision nonetheless.

I Want to Play Poker Tonight

Because I am burning in my inferno of productivity (Completing this blog posts puts me at 1o points for the day! And it's only 4 p.m.! I am amazing!), I do believe I will play poker once I get home and have my dinner. I will play at least three sit-n-gos at the smallest stakes, since I haven't played in a while. I played one over the weekend, and I won that, but I did get lucky in a few spots. I don't see it as too much indication of my skill level.

I'm making it a point to get back into playing again and to go for some of those items on my life goals/bucket list because two women have won an open event at the World Series of Poker, and I AM NOT ONE OF THEM! Too much time is passing with me wishing I was playing more poker and being more awesome and winning tournaments. Spending too much time wishing and dreaming, and not enough time making it happen. I need to change this, and then create a Power Pack for this so I can add it to my SuperBetter.

In the meantime, I will try to make it 11 points.