Productivity Link Up with Uncustomary

Every month Mary from Uncustomary hosts a link-up and this month it's about Productivity!

This is something I've been thinking a lot about lately and I've really been trying to not feel like I'm on the brink of my life falling apart.

Last semester a few friends and I started what is commonly called a Mastermind group. I came up with the name that we are using now... are you ready for it?

P.L.A.N!     which stands for... Productivity Lovers Assemble Now!

Awesome huh?

We are a small group that gets together every other week to talk about the projects that we are working on. It helps to have people to talk to about the things you want to do that aren't just the getting by daily tasks, like checking emails. It's also nice to have people hold you accountable.

Each meeting we go around the group and give a quick update on our projects and how we are progressing. Some of my projects have been things like: submit a piece to the mail/art/book art call, figure out a budget, and some wedding planning details.  Then there is one person on the hotseat each meeting who gets to go into deeper detail about their projects.

One of the members of the group also gave me a copy of the book Getting Things Done by David Allen.  I haven't finished reading it yet, but I have started implementing the process. Basically you write EVERYTHING down. The idea is that if you have everything written down in a place that you can check frequently then you will be more at peace because your brain will calm down and not feel like it has to remind you about everything. He points out that frequently you remind yourself of (and stress over) things that you can't do at that moment.  I think that after implementing the system I do feel less stress over things.

There is also a big emphasis on next actions. You think in terms of projects (the overall thing) and next actions. What do you have to do next to get this done. This helps me a LOT because I frequently get overwhelmed by things. If I break it down into smaller actions then it seems less overwhelming. I can make progress.

This is just a very general overview, but it's really helped me a lot. I've also started using an app called Todoist. Previously I was just making lists on google docs, but I really like Todoist.

I've also learned that sometimes I really just need to call it quits. This is especially the case with the internet and wedding planning. Most of the time I really enjoy the wedding planning, but if I'm doing things for too long, like I'm looking for something specific online and I just can't find it, then I get stressed out and unhappy.  I've learned that I just need to walk away when I'm ahead, before I start to feel like that.

So, those are my thoughts about productivity. Thanks so much to Mary for hosting these and coming up with interesting topics!

My entry for mail/art/book

So I managed to send something in for the mail/art/book show happening at Ex Postal Facto.

It felt rushed and I wish I had done a bit more, but I'm glad I sent something in!

From September

Trying to go through my backlog of photos and post the ones that slipped by... 

This passport booklet thing came in some sort of junk mail. REPURPOSE!!

California Dreamin' on such a winter's day

Is anyone else green with envy over Ex Postal Facto??

I won't be there, but my mailart will be! I submitted a piece to the art/book/mail call for mailart for a show there.  I sent my last three postcard save-the-dates out in early January- mostly to family to show them where my mailart was going.  Maybe they'll have it again next year... in Chicago!  It should totally move around the country, don't you think?  Where would you want it to come?

a couple outgoing letters:

 This "Kind" heart comes from the Penzey's spice catalogue. 

Their motto is "Love people. Cook them tasty food." 

My kind of people.

Can you guess where this square tan thing came from? 

hint: it's stamp selvage!

Visit to Maryland and the U.S. Postal Museum!

So this winter I went back to Maryland to visit family and I got to go to the U.S. Postal Museum! It was awesome and it was way bigger than I thought it would be! I didn't get to see everything. I definitely want to go back.  I took some photos with my phone while I was there so here they are...

If you can't read the caption it says : Hope Diamond wrapper, November 8, 1958.
 And yes, that means they mailed the Hope Diamond!!!!  I couldn't believe it. This was one of my favorite parts of the museum because I was so surprised.

 beautiful mailboxes. I wish I was a better photographer because this is the kind of thing that if photographed well I would love to frame and put on my walls!

 Hey look! It's kind-of-creepy Owney the Postal Dog!


The next 6 pictures are all from one delicious room of the museum. 
Below is an advertising cover.  You might already know how much I love horses, so I just had to take a photo of this beauty.  (By the way, it's the Year of the Horse!) Such a great motto. "Horse Blankets. You want'em. We've got'em."

 This one is really cool too! Okay so it was ALL cool and I was beside myself the whole time. But you see that on this postcard one of the stamps is cut in half. It used to be the case that if a stamp was of a higher denomination you could cut it in half and use it separately!

 And then there was the case of mail art. Beautiful beautiful mail art. 
I love the "Mail Art is Big in Lomita" postcard. Awesome.

 I also loved the presentation. The addresses were covered with papers that said "You cannot see the addressee." Perfect.

 And finally, leaving the museum, we saw the wonderful stained glass stamp windows.  This was such a great museum. Highly recommended.

I must say though, that the gift shop left a bit to be desired.  I only ended up buying one postcard and some stickers that were half off because they were Christmas-y.  There was quite a bit of stuff available for starting your own stamp collection, but I wish they had fun t-shirts and things like that.  Also, the best postcards at the museum were free for the taking at different exhibits! That was pretty awesome.

And... I will leave you with one more photo.  Since we were back in Maryland we just had to have some seafood.  Oh woe is me, out in Illinois!  I bought some lump crabmeat and Clay made us crabcakes!!! Soooo delicious!

Mail of Holidays Past

I've been using my phone to take a lot of my mail photos lately, but I just used my real camera and realized I had quite a few photos on there too.
So without further ado...

Thanksgiving mail!

And when I got back from visiting family for Christmas, I had a lot of lovely mail waiting for me!

 mail, delicious mail!

Some awesome Star Wars stickers and a cool card from Tara

I love the Grinch!

Dana gave me this really cute Christmas tree card.
On the back was this sticker...

It's so perfect because her puppy's name is Olive. I think the sticker is from a book called "Olive, the other reindeer". And the photo is of Olive at her puppy school graduation! So cute!

 Not one, but two cards from Tenzin were waiting for me when I got home.

From guess who? StoneZebra of course!

A really fun envelope! I love bright envelopes! And a cool Dickens card from Becky

A horsey!! Christmas card from Alison (fellow LEP member) in South Africa.

I currently have 3 cards from Danielle that I need to respond to!

I've got a lot of writing to do! I can't wait to send everyone pink and red envelopes for Valentine's Day!

time for joy and time for cheer

 Christmas, Christmas time is here! (or past)

I've had the Chipmunks Christmas song stuck in my head for a while now and I learned that my fiancé hates it! Not like I think it's the greatest song, but I'm attached to it from childhood.

In any case, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Anyway, I thought I'd take some mail photos with my fir tree candle as a prop. It smells so wonderful!

 Received from Taradactyl

 sent to Taradactyl

 two outgoing Xmas postcards- made from a box of green Christmas lights I got at Goodwill, sticker selvage, washi tape and a couple old stamps.

and Christmas puppy gets a treat!

We've been traveling for the holidays and this is my mailart travel pack.

Inside are : stamps, gluestick, scissors, red and green markers, pens, address book, address labels, Xmas washi tapes, a box of assorted holiday cards, and a big batch of mail to respond to!

I really love the gingerbread house stamps this year!

Oh! For Christmas one of my gifts was the Harry Potter stamps!!

I wish that instead of stills from the movie the USPS had chosen to use illustrations, but maybe it only happened because of the movie tie-in. Anyway, they are still really fun and I'm so glad I have some!