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Archive of ‘Life Without A Manual’ category

New Morning Routine

Almost all of the articles I’ve read about creativity and productivity begin with the same piece of advice: put down the damn cell phone.

I know! I know! But, it’s so hard, and I am trying!

Here is how this played out this morning.

6:00 am – I woke up to the alarm on my iPhone, hit stop, got out of bed, and went downstairs to let the dog out. Lately, I’ve been hitting the snooze button relentlessly and getting out of bed at 7:15. So, I’m already off to a good start.

Also, I left the phone upstairs.

I’ll wait for your applause…

6:15 am – I made my coffee and started to write my goals for the day. I was so proud of myself for not following my normal routine of checking email, solving Wordle, and doom-scrolling Facebook. I held off…for about 15 minutes.

Do I get partial credit? An “A” for effort?

6:16 am – I heard a pinging sound coming from my phone, and I didn’t want it to wake up my husband. (Wasn’t that nice of me?). I ran upstairs to fetch my phone and put it in my pocket. Once I had my phone on me, I couldn’t help but peek at the Wordle and Connections puzzles.

6:29 am – I solved both puzzles and went upstairs to take a shower. This is another breakthrough because I like to sit and scroll on the couch, until I force myself to get up and start my day.

7:15 am – It takes forever for me to do my hair in the morning, but I finished up and went back downstairs to start my daily writing routine.

8:30 am – I wrote 1500 words and read a few chapters of “The Book of Delights” by Ross Gay. I like weaving in 15 minutes of reading in between 25 minute stints of writing. It’s my own version of the Pomodoro method and so far, it’s working.

9:30 am – I did the first of three loads of laundry and applied for two jobs. I followed up with several contacts to schedule coffee and lunch meetings. I’m still waiting to hear from a few people, but I have a bunch lined up for next week. While I don’t mind the job hunting, I hate being cooped up in the house all day. I need to get out and see people, so I’m REALLY looking forward to these get-togethers.

The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful, but I learned a few things.

  1. Getting out of bed when the alarm goes off was not easy, but I did it. I hate that it is dark outside when I wake up, but it doesn’t stay dark for long. By 7:15, I was ready to start my day and got a lot accomplished.
  2. Every morning, I want to leave my phone upstairs a little longer. I don’t want to be tied down to it. It definitely hinders my productivity. However, it can be a great tool to feed my creative side if I use it right and not waste time scrolling.
  3. I need to fit in time to exercise into my morning routine. It’s not like I don’t have the time. I’m just not very motivated that early in the day.
  4. I didn’t finish my daily goals list. I need to get better at this. Maybe I should write it out before I go to bed so that it greets me in the morning. Right now though, I’m concentrating on making a habit of doing the dishes before bedtime so I can wake up to a clean kitchen. It’s a process.Are you productive in the mornings or is later in the day your sweet spot? Let me know in the comments.XO,
    Elisa

Why I Love Underdogs

“No one likes us. We don’t care. – Jason Kelce, Center for the Philadelphia Eagles

For as long as I can remember, Philadelphia sports teams have been seen as the underdog. That’s the team that everyone underestimates. The one national announcers clearly don’t favor despite their supposedly unbiased game time commentary.

Basically, any team from Philadelphia. 🙂

I love rooting for the underdog. It’s just fun. And when we win, it’s that much better! In baseball, every strike, catch, and out is meaningful. Every mistake is excruciating. Every play gets our team that much closer to or farther from our goal. And right now that goal is the WORLD SERIES!

Our fanbase is in the news just as much as our winning team. Sports reporters and commentators love to talk about and show the packed stadium, the decibel level, and the creative signage from die-hard fans. To understand the mind of a Philadelphia sports fan means sitting in the stands or wherever we watch the game, and  visualize ourselves swinging in the batter’s box, hanging out in the dugout, and playing on the field.

Yes, we have a few crazy people who run across the outfield for the thrill of it, even if they are ultimately tackled by stadium security. At least they get their viral moment and 5 minutes of fame. I’m not one of those fans. I prefer to sit on my couch, scream at my television, wake up the neighbors, and post on Facebook. I’m just as passionate as the crazy people, but I’m focused on the game and eventually the glory.

I’ve written about my Phillies fandom journey in this blog before (here). Right now, I want to talk about why I root for the underdog.

Underdogs let underestimation become their motivation.

Don’t believe me? How many times have you heard a commentator underestimate one of our players seconds before they hit a ball out of the park? Trust me it happens, ALOT! Our team loves to prove everyone wrong. Someone is in a slump? That’s okay. Their time to shine is right around the corner.

Go ahead. Keep underestimating us. We love it!

Underdogs know that heart, grit, and the will to win is just as important as talent and skill.

The Phillies have the talent and skill, but we also have a vibe. Just as fans wear our hearts on our sleeves, our players are just as emotional and committed to bring us a win no matter what it takes.

In the words of outfielder and heavy hitter, Nick Castellanos, “You’re not going to find a group of guys who care more and want to win for each other than the guys in this dugout. That matters because not every dugout is like that.”

And Bryce Harper, “I hit the ball and it’s for this whole team, this whole organization. It’s for every single fan that’s here and now…Everybody that has Phillies on their chest is family.

Check out this video showing our heart and grit.

Underdogs succeed because they say no to fear.

We steal bases like there’s no tomorrow. (Let’s go to video…)

We fall into the dugout to catch a fly ball. (See Bryce Harper…)

Phillies manager, Rob Thomson, told the team to be aggressive, but not stupid. Like the fans, he likes to see his players take chances, and understands that you win some and lose some. Whatever happens with this team, the one thing the Phillies won’t lose is the love and loyalty from their fans for years to come.

Successful underdogs respond well to adversity.

See Jason Kelce’s quote at the top. We don’t just respond well to adversity; we thrive on it. Enough said.

Go Phillies! Let’s bring home the National League pennant this weekend!

XO,
Elisa

Airplane! – A Mini Book Review

Back in 1981, Dad rented a movie and a VCR from the local video store. We didn’t own a machine yet, so Dad had to rent that too and figure out how to hook it up. Mom made popcorn in the kitchen, and we all sat down in the living room to watch Airplane!

Airplane! is one of those movies that you always quote and never forget. Like:

“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking.”

“I just want to tell you both good luck. We’re all counting on you.”

“Excuse me, stewardess, I speak jive.”

If none of these classic one-liners are ringing a bell, please stop reading my blog right now and go rent this movie.

For the rest of you, this movie cemented my love of comedies. Up until that point, I may have watched an old Woody Allen film, whose humor I never understood, or TV reruns of “Your Show of Shows” with Carl Reiner and Sid Caesar. But this movie was different. It was smart, original, and hilarious. The jokes never stopped and in between them was a storyline I had to see to the end.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie, but it remains one of my all-time favorites. This is why I couldn’t wait to read the book “Surely, You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane” written by the three directors who made the film.

Unfortunately, this book was not what I expected. Let me just say this is one of those times when the movie is so much better than the book. I was expecting a lot more behind the scenes stories from the movie. The authors did include tidbits about casting and production, but not enough for me. Instead, they wrote all about their journey from Midwest novices to Hollywood royalty, and how the film went from the screenplay to the silver screen. They dedicated so many pages to their first film “Kentucky Fried Movie” which I have never heard of and have no interest in seeing. When they start to talk about Airplane!, most of that story focuses on who turned them down when they tried to sell the script. The rest of the book is a trip down memory lane filled with all of the mistakes they made along the way.

In general, the book is self-serving to the authors and not the fans. It’s not that I don’t like the back story. I read “The Church of Baseball” which was about the making of Bull Durham and that author did a much better job creating that balance between film production and movie trivia.

I’m not saying don’t read the book. I’m just saying borrow it from the library. And definitely don’t listen to the audio version. It’s cringy. The writers are the narrators, and they should really stick to film making.

So there. 😉

XO,
Elisa

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