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This is no confession. It is a known fact that I multitask. It’s a blessing and a curse. I thrive on stress, and yet stress is stressful. I think I was peaking recently, so I’m taking stock of how to take control of balancing myself. As a result, Bill heard a lot of clunking and near-crashing coming from within my office walls last night. I decided my schedule needs an overhaul, and instead of chopping down responsibilities and commitments, the smarter place to start is reorganizing the origin of all my planning and execution.

I’m pledging to commit to the clean desk, clean mind mentality, but since I’ve attempted that before and slippery sloped away from desired results, I’m taking some drastic measures. I’ve just rearranged my desk to de-emphasize all the typical signs of “getting things done.” I say NO to ten thousand labels, lists, and uniformed folders ordered to increase efficiency. No, I will not buy your P-Touch Nimbus 2000!

So how am I decompressing? Two things: words and art.

The pile you see above is my first attempt at reclaiming “The Analog Hour.” (Minus the iPad swathed in Pad & Quill – Fooled you for a minute there, didn’t I?) It’s a pile of books and magazines, and…it’s a pile of books and magazines! (Please ignore the iPad in the midst of the following discussion. It does not get an invite to The Analog Hour party.) Nearly every job I’ve held has been in a Web-based product. I’ve even worked in e-publishing. Yet I can’t not read paper. My “Eventually” collection of books and periodicals only grows, and the idea with placing my “In the near future” collection just to the right of my monitor is that I’ll be distracted by paper instead of links. You can see by the seeming variance in subject, timeliness, age, and…gender (That’s an issue of Nylon Guys, which prominently states “not for girls” on its cover.) in my selection that I’ve got a ways to go if I’m really going to catch up with all the ideals I hold for my own worldliness.

I’m just forcing myself to read more. Over breakfast, before bed. In terms of relaxation, it’s the way to go. You cannot process the printed word with the minimal focus that you can get away with in online reading.

What about the “art” part? Glad you asked! Note the brown-and-white triptych behind The Analog Hour. Something I acquired at last year’s Alternative Press Expo, it’s Aggie Cheung’s “Monster Family.”

I have to admit when I first bought it I was purely reacting to the appeal of its shapes. I don’t mind superficial buys of art. I liked the sketchiness of the lines and all the textures Cheung achieved while using just one color of ink. When I asked to purchase it, Cheung explained it was a story of a monster family, and the whole thing just got way deeper:

They are all still monsters if you just look at the silhouette!
mom is usually very gentle and small…while HER MONSTER IS A GIANT!
Isn’t that all the moms are giants when it is about holding the family together:P
daughter is the most bossy monster! just like every kids but we still love them
Daddy is tired all the time because he went to work from day to night, but he is a gentle guy.

Wanna know more about their individual story
go to www.thelittleredhouse.me

Each individual square, triangle, and circle is a job, to-do, or pressure for the Squarely Mom, Triangle Ballerina (Oh this just got so much more interesting thinking of Black Swan…),and Circle Monster Mr. Burden. Cheung basically took Atlas’ globe and made it a helluva lot cuter. Umm, considering I’ve had this “problem” with juggling work, life, and hobbies for all of twenty-seven-plus years, this just hit right home. What a pleasant reminder that life is busy, but also full of nice things to look at.

Art makes me ruminate and slows me down. It’s always been a rose worth smelling, and thankfully since Bill came into my life I have had zero chance to ignore it. We recently got off our butts to actually hang up most of our art, and it has changed all my little everyday routines. Trip to the bathroom? Nicer because of the vintage movie poster-inspired Joey Chou Yuki 7 print on the wall. Brain lapses in writing? Inspiration jump-started by tilting my head and staring at Kei Acedera’s baby dragon print.

Now The Analog Hour blocks me from appreciating the Monster Family triptych, compelling me to get through that stack so I can appreciate the prettier representation of people juggling complex lives. Instead of coloring in one tick mark on a posterboard thermometer, I get to see more art. So much smarter than giving in to whatever excuses I had before.

These days, I feel you don’t have time. You make time.

Remember, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight to learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors. I was selected and paid for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.