Welcome back! It's good to see you again. Please note that I am now publishing all new material at my hub site: In Context Blog

I will be away from the computer for most of the day, therefore I submit this for your consideration, from Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… by Richard Carlson, Ph.D.:

“One of the major reasons so many of us remain hurried, frightened, and competitive, and continue to live life as if it were one giant emergency, is our fear that if we were to become more peaceful and loving, we would suddenly stop achieving our goals. We would become lazy and apathetic.

You can put this fear to rest by realizing that the opposite is actually true. Fearful, frantic thinking takes an enormous amount of energy and drains the creativity and motivation from our lives. When you are fearful or frantic, you literally immobilize yourself from your greatest potential, not to mention enjoyment. Any success that you do have is despite your fear, not because of it.”

Stop thinking. Breathe. Count ten breaths, in and out. Be mindful of your breathing.

Now, consider this: What is one thing that you can do right now to make your day better?

Smile to yourself, and do it.

What would you do, indeed. Share with us in the Comments.

There is still time to join in the August Project Weekend Collaboration:

What will you do with your weekend

Here is the reader participation part of the program: Leave a Comment below with some ideas for things that you could do if you scheduled a Project Weekend.

Be sure to include your e-mail address!

I will send an e-mail reminder to each of you on Monday morning, 13 August. You can then reply with your accomplishments and I’ll put together a summary post. Pictures of your projects are welcome, in fact, “Before” and “After” pics would be the best. Be sure to include your plans for your success and your reward.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

I am sure that you all have big plans for this weekend, right? Perhaps a ball game, a barbecue, some fishing, or just relaxing with the family. Summer is nearly over for those with children that will be going back to school in the next few weeks, so there is not a lot of time left to enjoy their company.

But what about those projects that you have on your @Home list that remain to be completed? Wouldn’t it be nice to get a couple of those checked off before the beautiful summer days are gone? Never fear, it’s not too late. Take some time today to plan a Project Weekend this month.

Set an appointment with yourself

I have offered this tip before, but setting an appointment with yourself is a great way to make sure that some of the “back-burner” things get taken care of. Some of the things that many of us like to put off because there are more important things that need to be done:

• Yardwork
• Painting
• Cleaning out the family car
• Replacing the filter in your AC unit
• Catching up on the Personal Development reading
• Updating your resume

As you can see, there are a range of activities that will occasionally get bumped by bigger, more important work. But the little things need attention too. So mark down some time for next Saturday (and/or Sunday) as the Project Weekend in your Calendar and make a list.

Reward yourself for a job well done

Not too many of us relish the thought of sacrificing a weekend to mundane (or undesirable) chores. This can decrease your motivation and enthusiasm, not to mention that of your family! So at the same time that you make out your list of Projects to accomplish, make a date to celebrate. Do something nice for yourself and your helpers - go out to dinner, see a movie, go to the park, whatever. Make sure it is something fun, and something that everyone can participate in and enjoy.

What will you do with your weekend

Here is the reader participation part of the program: Leave a Comment below with some ideas for things that you could do if you scheduled a Project Weekend.

Be sure to include your e-mail address!

I will send an e-mail reminder to each of you on Monday morning, 13 August. You can then reply with your accomplishments and I’ll put together a summary post. Pictures of your projects are welcome, in fact, “Before” and “After” pics would be the best. Be sure to include your plans for your success and your reward.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Rosemary of the Daily PlanIt tipped me off to this site by Peter Quily, ADDCoach4U, which has a wonderful list of positive attributes of the ADD adult:

Ability to find alternate paths to overcome obstacles
Able to take on large situations
Adaptive/collaborative
Adventurous, courageous, lives outside of boundaries
[…]
Philosophical
Holistic thinking
Playful
Pragmatic
Problem solver
Profound
Quick thinking
Quick witted

It is a long list and it was created by seminar participants asked to describe positive influences that their ADD has had on their lives. Many of these qualities are the ones that we see over and over in “self-improvement” articles. Take a few minutes and peruse the whole list.

Which of these qualities is descriptive of your own personality? How does ADD help you to become successful?

And the most important question: Which of these attributes do you think that you could add to your description in order to improve your productivity and the quality of your life?

I chose these:

• Compassion for others and for themselves.
• Learning as much as I can to help children and others with ADD.
• Thinks 2 meters ahead of the world.
• Very creative, able to generate a lot of ideas.

I am adding these qualities to my list of actions to review weekly.