The main thing

This is such a hard thing to do, yet it sounds so simple.

Keep the main thing the main thing.

All kinds of books on organization and management expound on this. One of my favorites is Stephen Covey's "First Things First."

I highly recommend reading for personal development, but I will save you some time on this one. Figure out what your main thing is, and then make sure that thing is taken care of. You can take care of other things, too, but they come second to that main thing.

And don't worry, you can have several main things. I do. I think we all have to have several main things.

Mine are:

• My health, physical, mental, spiritual. If I am not at my best, I can't give my best to others. Don't neglect this because I know women especially can neglect themselves. This is time for praying, thinking, reading, moving and otherwise being good to myself.

• My children. They're why I do what I do. They're my heart.

• My relationship. Having a healthy, happy relationship is such a blessing, so that doesn't need to be neglected.

• Then comes my career. I love what I do. I love being a features editor. I love being a writer. Don't tell the Boss Man, but I am amazed I get paid to have this much fun. And I have to keep this as a priority because my name is not Mrs. Rockefeller. I need to keep the lights on. But this is fourth on the list in value. And that is OK, because I bring a healthy, happy me and a healthy, happy life to my job and to my craft, and that only makes me a better employee and a better writer.

Then whatever doesn't fit in these isn't a red-hot emergency, so I don't sweat it.

Make your main things list, and it does not need to look like the list above. Yours is unique to you, mine is unique to me. But once you know what the main thing is, then its easier to keep it the main thing.

Happy publisher, happy author

I have tried hard not to be that writer.

The one who bugs the fool out of the editor/publisher. "Have you read my draft yet?" And that's five minutes after hitting "send" on the email of the draft.

I edit as my day job, so I know the other end. And I know my publisher has plenty of other authors to deal with. So I hit "send" on  the draft email earlier this month and resisted the urge to worry the man.

And to be honest, I had lots going on with work, projects, friends, family, and of course, my second book.

But it was great hearing from James Dickerson of Sartoris Literary Group yesterday. His take on the book was, "It's terrific!" So I was wanting to jump up and down with excitement, but I was sneaking a look at my phone in a Wednesday night church service, so, yeah, that would not have been good. I was doing the happy dance in my mind, though.

The editing starts in November, and "Because I Said So: Life in The Mom Zone" will hit shelves by April 2014.

Celebrating some good news with a little funny about authors. True? Not true? You all make the call.

The myth of getting it all done

OK, me pretending to know how to get it all done in 24 hours is pretty funny, because "it all" never gets done. I just do the best I can.

A friend of mine who spoke on stress management brought out two facts. One is that we all have 24 hours to play with every day. The other is that the absence of stress is being dead.

I don't want a stress-free life. I think it might be a little boring. But certain times should be stress-free. After a stressful day, I enjoyed a little Mexican food and an adult beverage with the people I love, and that was stress-free. I got up early the next morning and took a long, stress-free shower. Then, after my first cup of coffee, the stress was allowed to begin again.

In those two dozen hours, we need a few pockets to escape. At lunch, I had a conference call, but I took it in a lounge area away from noise and my computer and my to-do list. An escape from stress!

And that brings my to the 24 hour-fact. We get a finite amount of time each day, so a big part of handling stress is realizing choices have to be made. You can't get everything done. You have to pick what you will do a bang-up job on, what gets a lick and a promise and what will be pushed to another day or reconsidered.

Walking it off

I got my writing in Monday, working on book number dos, but I got to go walking with one of my besties. We went for about an hour and a half, and let me tell you, few things are as good for you as walking with a friend.

You get in good conversation, a good workout and before you know it, you have burned off some calories and solved the problems of the world. 

Here are my walking tips, if you want to take this up:

• Bring a friend. It makes walking more fun.

• Get good shoes. And good socks. Comfy feet are healthy feet.

• Hydrate. Very important this time of year as you may not feel thirsty in cooler weather. Experts say, though, that when you feel thirsty, you actually are a little dehydrated. So drink up.

• Pick a park. Some like treadmills. I don't get those people. Find some nature. Park walking trails are much more relaxing.

• Bring a jacket. I like to wear mine the first mile or so, and then I tie it around my waist.