The first month of the year, always seems to be very busy, but this year, I have many of my admin duties, a new drawing project that requires daily work, curriculum prep and translating, language classes, and on and on and on and on and on and on....I'm tired already...hmmmmm. To help me deal with all this and get organized and prioritized, I created a file on my computer that I call a project notebook. Everything I have to do (both for the year, and daily, and everything in between) is in this book and in a format I can easily see from my desktop what to do when and how. And most importantly, by when. It is working great so far. Now, I just need to find a way to add more hours to each day ;-) .
On another note: I want to share with you something a bit funny. Most everyone who reads this knows that I love to draw. Also, you should know, that to stay focused during services, meetings, and such, I take lots of notes. Otherwise, my mind is off in thirty different directions, and way ahead of where I am. During a particular meeting this past summer, I was sitting with many chinese volunteers who were helping us, and they were watching me take notes. (not sure why, most do not speak English). I knew the material being given, because I had prepared most of it. So, most of my notes were being taken from what I was hearing in my spirit. Well, when I take notes, they often come out in pictures, just as much as in words. On this particular day, my notes included: a round wall clock showing 7:00 as the time (I had noticed that too many volunteers were late to the meeting); A snake crawling across one of the pages with an apple laying on the ground nearby (I had picked up on a few pride issues with a few of the volunteers, and I could see that one of them would possible strike the Pastor at a later date due to a situation where his pride would not let him follow the right direction in a situation); The letters of the words "KEEP YOUR WORD" in 3D dimension (when the volunteers agree to do something, they should keep their word); and last but not least, a picture of an angel who had stood for a moment behind the speaker and placed his hand on the speaker's shoulder towards the end of the meeting). This is a bit funny because one of the volunteers came over afterwards and told me that I should not be drawing pictures during the meeting. I should pay attention. (My thought of course was "If you were paying attention yourself, you would not have been watching me draw"), but I just told him that the pictures were part of my notes and that each one meant something to help me remember the meeting. He was not too happy with my answer.
I saw the notes the other day while I was in the office, and the pastor in the office looked at them and knew exactly what each one meant and where I had taken the notes (drawn the picture) without my having to even explain what they were. So, I guess the saying is true, "a picture is worth a 1000 words). I will touch base with you after my return from Hong Kong. Have a great weekend. ---joy
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