We always seem to hunker down in the winter.  Whether it’s the cold (like here) or the lack of sunshine (like Berlin), January and February can start to really drag on.  This year, I started combatting it with overworking.

That was a bad mistake.  Days felt overloaded instead of simplified.

Finding a work-life balance is a constant struggle.

I want to make Gadanke the best that it can be.  I also want a clean house and homemade dinners and and and… I didn’t know where to stop.  With Martin completely engaged in school, I didn’t know how to separate my roles.  He’s up until 2:00 in the morning with school; I felt guilty walking away from the computer at dinner.  So I kept going back.  I was crossing off business goal after business goal, but I wasn’t as efficient or as  happy as I wanted to be.

So I set up a plan.  I’m incorporating a built-in schedule of work-life balance.  It’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Here are a few tips that are working for me; I hope they can help you:

1.  Stop working at a certain time.

My life doesn’t belong to the little white screen at my desk.  So I set a quitting time.  It’s pretty hard when my desk is in the bedroom and each room is divided by a long canvas curtain instead of a fourth wall.  Yes – I am Gadanke and Making This Home.  But I am also me.

2.  I don’t blog every day.

Maybe you noticed that.  I stopped writing posts the night before I’d let myself go to bed.  I stopped stressing about not having a blog post every day.  I write when I feel like I have something to share.  Later, I’ll probably create a schedule for days that I want to be sure to post.  But maybe not.  This decision to step back has been the most freeing thing I’ve ever done.

3.  Evenings are for hobbies and family/friend time.

Are there things you love to do when you’re not working?  What’s something you like that has nothing to do with work or running your household?  Happiness comes more plentifully when we’re doing these things or being with people we love.

4.  Work is more efficient when it’s limited.

When I know what time I have to quit and I also know what I want to achieve, a little less time is spent poking around the internet.  The biggest challenge now is trying to stop thinking about work so much when I’m done for the day.

5.  When I think of something during off-hours, I write it down.

I don’t sit down and do it.  I don’t figure it all out.  I just write it down.  It’s something I’ll take care of tomorrow.

6.  Sundays are work-free.

I’ve talked a lot about Sundays in Germany: all the stores are closed.  People have the day off.  It completely changes their perspective on the entire week.

Students can’t always do that, so I figured that if Martin kept working, I needed to, too.  So now even if we’re not going anywhere or don’t have any plans, I keep my Sundays work-free.  Those Germans know what they’re talking about.

7. Work could never stop if I didn’t draw the line.

The internet has made us a world of 24/7 work.  But it doesn’t mean that you and I need to work or be available to work 24/7, too.  Our jobs are not us.  They are a part of us.  We are so much more than that.  We just have to know when to shutdown the work version of ourselves and embrace all of the other beautiful pieces.

I *think* that I am getting there.

How about you?  Have you struggled with this balance?  Have you found ways to make it work?  I’m still learning; please share your thoughts.

Here’s a little something to love today.

** GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED – THANK YOU! **

Jane from The Borrowed Abode opened her handmade shop – Flourish Pets & Home – on Etsy a couple of months ago.  Go Jane!  I think it’s a huge step to open your own shop.  Don’t you?

I love Jane’s eco-conscious style of living.  She spotted a recycling bin at Blissdom so we could recycle all the pamphlets and papers we got at the conference, which was such a perfect find.

Jane is sewing up a storm with awesome little pet beds, gift bags from old coffee sacks, and these…

They’re reusable produce bags.

Jane noticed that while the reusable shopping bag movement is certainly catching on in huge waves, we’re still consuming heaps of plastic bags for our produce and bulk purchases.  I never thought to bring fabric bags for our bulk goods, but now that’s just what I’m going to do.  Awesome idea, Jane!

See all these produce and bulk food bags?  Jane hand-stamped and sewed these 100% unbleached cotton muslin together.  Now she wants to give one of you all FIVE bags.

Please show Jane your support.

Here’s how to win:

Prize: 5 drawstring bags from Jane’s new shop
Entries: One entry per email address and per household please. Leave a response in the comments section below with your answer:

Tell us a trick you use (or would like to use!) for reducing the plastic garbage in your home.

Ships to: anywhere!!
Contest ends: Thursday, February 17, 2010 at midnight in the Rocky Mountains. Winner announced here shortly thereafter.

The thing I love about grandmas is that connecting with them still requires an old fashioned letter.

Now they might try to get into the whole email thing, but if you ask either of my grandmas, it’s not the same.  They want something concrete to hold in their hands.  They want to see your handwriting – an extension of you.

So I write to them on a regular basis.  It’s a part of my routine that I love.

Sometimes they write back; sometimes they don’t.  They’re always telling my mom about the letters and occasional German chocolates, which has to be a good sign!  I hole punch their letters and put them in my journal.

But most of the time, my stationery remains organized and decluttered… but completely untouched.

Can you relate?

Every once and a while, I go on a huge writing spree with postcards and silly, nonsense notes on the back.  The entire family gets into it.  We raid those old vacation postcard piles.

All I’m trying to say is that when you make writing notes a habit, it’s incredibly fun.  We all know that we love to receive notes.  So what if we all sat down and sent a few?  I like to pull out my address book, flip through it, and write to people who catch my eye for whatever reason.

A lot of people write back.  That’s awesome!  Most don’t… and that’s okay.  It’s not the point of this mini-adventure.  What is the point?  Trust me –  you’ll feel it in your heart when you sit down and start.

So you ready for this weekend’s challenge?  Remember that February is Giving Month here.  Last week was all about knocking on neighbors’ doors and bringing treats.  This week, it’s all about writing a hello or an i love you or thank you for what you have done.

Who are you going to write to?  What is your letter writing style?  Often?  Rarely?  Not enough?  Never?

Hey – if you’re extra fast, some of those letters might just make it for the big Valentine’s Day peek in the mailbox on Monday…

Today’s been just an incredible day around here.  The blizzard is gone.  The sun and frost are here.

Here’s a page from my {She} journal in the shop.  It says:

09.Feb.2011  After days of blizzardy-weather, I went charging outside this morning.  It’s 10* F in town right now, so I managed to walk around the house until my nose was numb and bright red.  These days are my favorites in winter.  They always have been.  I used to eagerly wait for the sun to rise so I could see if the willows behind my childhood house had frost.  Today, everything did.  It still does!  This is the February that I know and love.

For those of you who have asked about shoveling ourselves out of the house, we’re not using the front door for obvious reasons:

Just for a fun little comparison, here’s what it looks like sans snow.

Martin shovels around the back door on a regular basis so we can get in and out.  I love that about him!  Snow drifts love to snuggle up against the house.

I am a bit heavier footed than some of the other morning explorers.  (I would guess these are coyote tracks that I just crossed.)

With a FROZEN nose, I was forced to turn back to the house far sooner than I wished.

But gosh it feels good to be outside and walking again.

So there you have it!  I joke that the whole purpose behind Gadanke journals is to get away from journaling about the weather – my stereotype of boring journaling that can happen instead of capturing life and who we are.  But weather can also carry memories and emotions with it.  I’m trying to write conscious entries.

How’s the weather where you are?  Are you embracing it?  Maybe today’s a good day to try to journal about the weather… in a different way.

It’s here!  It’s here!  The newest member of the Gadanke family…

{Seeking Grace} ~ Prayer Journal

The energy behind this journal came to me in a giant burst.  Martin woke up to my furious typing the first rough draft.  The house was about 62 degrees, but I didn’t even notice.  I was hooked.  I hope that you will be, too.

The journal covers a lot of prayer – from praying for mistakes, to praying for others and thanking God for answered prayers.  This book becomes a love story between you and God, which feels like such a beautiful story.

It’s a Christian prayer journal.  It’s filled with 100% recycled papers and fun extras.  It also includes some pretty powerful Scripture.

This journal takes the crown as the fattest and fullest journal of all.  It’s available individually or in packages of three.

I hope you love it.

Howdy all.  Today was such a busy day around here.  An incredible blizzard canceled everything I had planned in town.  So I poured myself into the finish details of this:

Oh my!  I am so excited about this journal.  It’s been a long journey to put this one together because I wanted to get it just right.  In addition to my regular editors, I added an awesome roommate from college to my “please proof this for me” list of helpers.

I’m feeling grateful.  I’m feeling excited.  I’m feeling soooo tired.

{Seeking Grace} will be in the shop tomorrow.  I can’t wait to show you a few peeks inside.  But for right now, it’s time to relax around here.  There will be some watching snow fall and blow against the windows, popcorn on the stove, and some reading of a really good book.

How will you be filling quiet nights at your house?  (Is there such thing?)