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Getting Things Done, Intentionally

Published on July 20, 2013 By Emily. Updated on July 20, 2013

Back in January, in lieu of a list of 2013 goals, I wrote a post about being intentional for the coming year.  Since then I have not been intentional about sharing how that’s going.  My apologies, but luckily there’s no time like the present.

Certainly my level of intention has ebbed and flowed as the year has progressed.  Overall, however, I feel like I’ve been more content about how I’ve spent my time and less annoyed about the amount of time wasted.  At the end of the school year, partially due to factors beyond my control, I found myself making much better use of my prep time and getting more done during the school day.

One of the recurring themes of my intentionality is doing things when the opportunity presents itself and not waiting until the following day, even if there appears to be ample time.  In other words, when in doubt, do it.  Case in point: Wednesday was one of the hottest days of the summer.  We were almost out of bread and I needed to make more (I promise, the post about baking my own bread is coming!).  So after much hemming and hawing about it, I finally forced myself into the kitchen and made bread.  And, as is so often the case, completing the task was much less of an ordeal than I’d made it out to be in my mind.  I am very familiar with what it takes to make bread, but when I don’t want to do something the job becomes so much bigger in my head.

Not the bread I made this week.

Not the bread I made this week.

And its a good thing I made the bread on Wednesday because on Thursday it was ridiculously hot (88 inside the house with the fans running) and the only thing I felt capable of doing was lying on the couch, watching The Rescuers on Netflix and sleeping, which is exactly what I did.  When I awoke in the late afternoon, I headed to the supermarket.  Originally my plan for Friday, the grocery store was the only place I could think of that would be cool and actually let me accomplish something.  I cannot fathom how miserable baking on Thursday would have been.  Nor can I express how wonderfully cool the store was.

And on Friday (which was also painfully hot), I needed almost every moment of the day to finish getting the house ready for company, plus running a few errands and showering for a second time because of the heat.  Our guests ended up being able to arrive a couple hours earlier than planned which was awesome and thanks to being intentional with my time, we were ready.

This isn’t the first time I’ve chosen to do something immediately instead of waiting and it always seems to work out well.  Interruptions always seem to come up and it’s nice to be able to take advantage of last minute changes and opportunities because I made good use of my time earlier.  The moral of the story: if you can do it now instead of later, do it now.

Related Posts

Making My Menu Plans More Efficient
Kitchen Tricks and Tips
How I Rehydrate Dried Beans
Being Intentional
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Filed Under: life Tagged With: advice, intentional, time

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Comments

  1. pat brunell says

    July 20, 2013 at 8:39 am

    Your dad will be proud of you!

    • Emily says

      July 20, 2013 at 10:31 am

      Apparently it took 28 years, but I guess I finally learned what he’d been trying to teach me all this time!
      (But I’m still not as good at it as he is.)

  2. Ashleigh says

    August 13, 2013 at 6:27 pm

    Found your post via Healthy Living Blogs on twitter, and I must say — I needed to read this! Lately I’ve been putting a lot of things off until when I thought I would have more time…and several times have been burned as a result. Thank you for this reminder to stop trying to predict the future (i.e., assuming I’ll have more time later) and as Nike says, just do it!

    • Emily says

      August 16, 2013 at 7:11 am

      Thanks so much for stopping by Relishments, Ashleigh! I’m glad this post helped…your comment reminded me to go back and reread this post, because it’s definitely an easier lesson to write about than to really learn. Procrastination is so much easier, but it feels so good to get things done and have more time available in the unpredictable future.

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Emily
New on the blog: a 2 week menu plan featuring the New on the blog: a 2 week menu plan featuring the vegetables from our CSA share at @mightyfoodfarm. Link in my profile.
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
We finally made it to the @berkshiremtdist tasting We finally made it to the @berkshiremtdist tasting room in Sheffield today after years of talking about it. The indoor and outdoor atmosphere was lovely and we took advantage of the complimentary tasting to try some of the products we haven't had before. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area and enjoy distilleries.
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#BerkshireMountainDistillers #igers413_food
#igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #DrinkLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #SheffieldMA
On Friday we headed to Springfield for an appointm On Friday we headed to Springfield for an appointment and made a day of it by visiting @forestparkzoo afterwards. For us, the Zoo in Forest Park's size, layout and number of animals (over 225 exotic and native animal residents) is the perfect size for our 2 and 5 year old kids. We went in the afternoon, when day camps were wrapping up and it wasn't busy overall. We were able to easily view all of the exhibits and let our children move at their own pace without interfering with other people. Despite the heat, the animals were pretty active and it was a joy to see my kids spot, identify and appreciate them.
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#ZooInForestPark #SpringfieldMA #igers413 #WesternMass #WesternMassachusetts
Brian and I had lunch at the @firehousecafebistro Brian and I had lunch at the @firehousecafebistro in Adams today. We enjoyed falafel bites, cocktails, papas bravas, and a buttermilk chicken sandwich. All of the food was really delicious and the service was excellent, despite very limited staffing. The patio seating was fun for people watching and enjoying the sunshine. I highly recommend the Firehouse Cafe and Bistro if you're looking for a more upscale lunch or dinner in the northern Berkshires.
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#igers413_food
#igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #AdamsMA #FirehouseCafeAndBistro
It's blueberry season in the Berkshires! My favori It's blueberry season in the Berkshires! My favorite girl and I headed to @mountainviewfarm413 this week to pick ours, as is our tradition. We had a great morning resulting in 7 pounds of berries. Some blueberries will be frozen and others turned into muffins, but most of them will be eaten just the way they are. The season is short, enjoy it while you can. @whitneysfarmmarket and @seconddropfarm are doing picky-your-own as well. 🫐
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 #igers413_food
#igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #blueberries #BlueberryPicking #MountainViewFarm #LanesboroughMA
We're back from vacation and back to picking up ou We're back from vacation and back to picking up our weekly share of @mightyfoodfarm produce. My latest menu plan using these vegetables is live on the blog, link in my profile.
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Tomato season is my favorite season. If there is t Tomato season is my favorite season. If there is the opportunity to eat something that features a combination of tomato, mozzarella and basil, chances are good that I'm ordering it. Yesterday I needed to make a dish to share for a church gathering so I put together this incredibly simple pasta salad. I hope it's useful to you during this time of summer heat and summer gatherings.

RECIPE:
1 lb pasta (I used bowties) 
7 oz fresh mozzarella
1 pint grape tomatoes 
30-50 fresh basil leaves 
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste 

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and place in a large bowl. 
2. Prep the other ingredients: cut the mozzarella cheese in bite size pieces if needed, quarter the grape tomatoes, finely cut the basil with scissors or a knife.
3. Add the quartered tomatoes, mozzarella and basil to the pasta. Drizzle the olive oil into the bowl and miX well.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Enjoy!

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#igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies #caprese #CapresePastaSalad #PotluckFood #SummerFood
I could watch birds on the beach all day long. We' I could watch birds on the beach all day long.
We're wrapping up our time in Wilmington, North Carolina with lots of time at Wrightsville Beach. The ocean never ceases to impress.
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#WilmingtonNC #WrightsvilleBeach #BeachBirds #Beach #Sandpiper #NorthCarolina
This @smittenkitchen Zucchini and Ricotta Galette This @smittenkitchen Zucchini and Ricotta Galette is one of my favorite summer recipes. The crust is perfectly flaky and the mix of squash and cheese is delicious. I always use summer squash and my husband, who does not typically like summer squash, loves this galette. Though it takes a bit of planning ahead - the crust dough needs to rest in the fridge for an hour and the squash needs to be salted for 30 minutes, the recipe is straightforward and the final produce always impresses. I expect it will make another appearance on my table before the fall.
Link in my stories.
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 #EatSeasonal  #SmittenKitchen #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies  #ZucchiniAndRicottaGalette #SummerSquash #galette #BakingFromScratch
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