I periodically spend more time then I should looking for this series of posts (1, 2, 3, 4).
They are entitled ‘What would Leslie do?’ and are written in memory of a friend of the blog. I keep going back to it because pretty much of it is the awesome a sort of advice that seems obvious and yet you need someone to spell it out for you.
The bits I like best are:
- The idea that you don’t buy presents or gifts for occasions but when you see something that is right for someone. I like that. It’s what I try to do, am trying to do right now as Xmas approaches. I want to buy something that someone wants, needs or just plain likes and not just because I feel obliged to buy them a gift.
- Sending thank you notes, or notes at all. Email’s immediacy, simplicity means sometimes the ‘effort’ of actually using a pen or a pencil can mean everything.
- ‘An instant message is not a phone call’ – Could easily replace instant message with email or especially text. They’re not the same. (I think I sometimes don’t because, I worry that what I want to be a short call won’t be. Ironically, the more you do it the less likely that will be true.)
- All of the third page especially making your bed in the morning.
- Enjoying your vices: ‘It’s your life. Live it how you want to. Accept the responsibilities of your decisions, but also the rewards and pleasures – without guilt.’
- Take a break often: ‘Taking a break, for Leslie, meant pulling yourself out of whatever creative hole you’ve dug or path you’ve been trodding and reboot. Whether that’s for 5 minutes or 5 days depends on your own schedule, but it was important for her to remove herself from where she was in order to see from a different point of view, or even to just forget the problem for the moment and let the frustration go. It’s easy to simply sit and stare and try to force your way out of a problem. Often, it’s best to get up and move around away from it for a while, then come back to it with a fresh perspective.’
- (Ooops, I liked that last block of text. It’s easy to think we’re taking a break sometimes when in fact we’re doing nothing of the sort.)
I suppose, I won’t need to go digging for it now. Occasionally I find the amount of good advice out there to be completely overwhelming. These bits, well they almost don’t feel like advice. Just ideas that make sense to me, that I can do and that I think will make a difference.
December 12, 2010