the perils of life completely, you have to periodically step outside of it's chaotic circle, saturated with distractions and compassion fatigue.

Needless to say, I had to shut several things off, before I was forced to shut down. These “things” are distractions that keep you “unproductive” in the important things, because you’re so focused on the challenging things monopolizing your time. You find yourself complaining, being tired and going through your day, barely able to function prop

Everywhere I turn now-a-days, it seems like far too many people are stressed out, burned out or heavily medicated on some type of unpronounceable drug prescribed for some indescribable condition. In your mixing bowl of life, when you add a cup of over-work, a dash of under-appreciation, a gallon of over-whelming, a tablespoon of under-pressure and a pinch of over-load, you will microwave an entr?e called “beat-down!”

At times, our writing rhythm comes to a screeching halt. Our creative juices aren’t flowing and like a pen, we run out of ink with no refill in sight. As a writer, I discovered that I am the “least” productive when my daily activities remain in a frenzy. You can probably accomplish quite a bit in overdrive, but at some point, it will eventually send you spinning out of control.

After evaluating my daily routine, I realized that I had too many things going on at once. One day, I suddenly dumped all of it off of my plate, like trash in a dustpan. This was an emergency exit that I had to make in order to maintain my sanity. After discussing this situation with some close friends, we came to the conclusion that a few of the following things were our biggest culprits:

• TV

• Work

• Your Computer

• Your PDA

• Telephone and Mobile Phones

• Too much multitasking

• Online video games

• Idol conversations

• Worriation

I had to back away from the morning and evening news for a while, because it seemed like every time I watched it, the first five stories were depressing, tragic or violent. This weighed heavily on my spirit and caused me to loose sleep. The result: I woke up so fatigued that I would drink 2 cups of caffeinated coffee and chase it down with an ice cold caffeinated cola to give me a burst of energy…or so I thought! I found that my energy levels became erratic, my concentration was off and my creativity was slower than a snail. Although you cannot realistically turn off the perils of life completely, you have to periodically step outside of it's chaotic circle, saturated with distractions and compassion fatigue.

Needless to say, I had to shut several things off, before I was forced to shut down. These “things” are distractions that keep you “unproductive” in the important things, because you’re so focused on the challenging things monopolizing your time. You find yourself complaining, being tired and going through your day, barely able to function prope

juices aren’t flowing and like a pen, we run out of ink with no refill in sight. As a writer, I discovered that I am the “least” productive when my daily activities remain in a frenzy. You can probably accomplish quite a bit in overdrive, but at some point, it will eventually send you spinning out of control.

After evaluating my daily routine, I realized that I had too many things going on at once. One day, I suddenly dumped all of it off of my plate, like trash in a dustpan. This was an emergency exit that I had to make in order to maintain my sanity. After discussing this situation with some close friends, we came to the conclusion that a few of the following things were our biggest culprits:

• TV

• Work

• Your Computer

• Your PDA

• Telephone and Mobile Phones

• Too much multitasking

• Online video games

• Idol conversations

• Worriation

I had to back away from the morning and evening news for a while, because it seemed like every time I watched it, the first five stories were depressing, tragic or violent. This weighed heavily on my spirit and caused me to loose sleep. The result: I woke up so fatigued that I would drink 2 cups of caffeinated coffee and chase it down with an ice cold caffeinated cola to give me a burst of energy…or so I thought! I found that my energy levels became erratic, my concentration was off and my creativity was slower than a snail. Although you cannot realistically turn off the perils of life completely, you have to periodically step outside of it's chaotic circle, saturated with distractions and compassion fatigue.

Needless to say, I had to shut several things off, before I was forced to shut down. These “things” are distractions that keep you “unproductive” in the important things, because you’re so focused on the challenging things monopolizing your time. You find yourself complaining, being tired and going through your day, barely able to function prop

n emergency exit that I had to make in order to maintain my sanity. After discussing this situation with some close friends, we came to the conclusion that a few of the following things were our biggest culprits:

• TV

• Work

• Your Computer

• Your PDA

• Telephone and Mobile Phones

• Too much multitasking

• Online video games

• Idol conversations

• Worriation

I had to back away from the morning and evening news for a while, because it seemed like every time I watched it, the first five stories were depressing, tragic or violent. This weighed heavily on my spirit and caused me to loose sleep. The result: I woke up so fatigued that I would drink 2 cups of caffeinated coffee and chase it down with an ice cold caffeinated cola to give me a burst of energy…or so I thought! I found that my energy levels became erratic, my concentration was off and my creativity was slower than a snail. Although you cannot realistically turn off the perils of life completely, you have to periodically step outside of it's chaotic circle, saturated with distractions and compassion fatigue.

Needless to say, I had to shut several things off, before I was forced to shut down. These “things” are distractions that keep you “unproductive” in the important things, because you’re so focused on the challenging things monopolizing your time. You find yourself complaining, being tired and going through your day, barely able to function prop

seemed like every time I watched it, the first five stories were depressing, tragic or violent. This weighed heavily on my spirit and caused me to loose sleep. The result: I woke up so fatigued that I would drink 2 cups of caffeinated coffee and chase it down with an ice cold caffeinated cola to give me a burst of energy…or so I thought! I found that my energy levels became erratic, my concentration was off and my creativity was slower than a snail. Although you cannot realistically turn off the perils of life completely, you have to periodically step outside of it's chaotic circle, saturated with distractions and compassion fatigue.

Needless to say, I had to shut several things off, before I was forced to shut down. These “things” are distractions that keep you “unproductive” in the important things, because you’re so focused on the challenging things monopolizing your time. You find yourself complaining, being tired and going through your day, barely able to function prop

the perils of life completely, you have to periodically step outside of it's chaotic circle, saturated with distractions and compassion fatigue.

Needless to say, I had to shut several things off, before I was forced to shut down. These “things” are distractions that keep you “unproductive” in the important things, because you’re so focused on the challenging things monopolizing your time. You find yourself complaining, being tired and going through your day, barely able to function properly.

Try to be still and quiet every now and then. Know when to shut some of these energy robbers and time wasters off. On a positive note, take some of these personal accounts and compose poetry, an article or include them in a novel. You’ll be surprised by how much your creativity and productivity levels will increase.