A Great Stocking Stuffer!

A sweet blogger friend of mine has written a book called Shock the Clock: Time Management for Writers and Other Creatives. I whipped through it yesterday and took a page of notes on time-saving tips for writers specifically, but everyone, in general. 

This is my kind of instructional book - short paragraphs, bullet points and a few wacky graphics for fun. This is Jeanette Levellie's third book of tips on how to manage life from a spiritual perspective. There is always a dose of humor tossed in.

Shock the Clock opens up with helping readers recognize themselves based on the four temperaments first defined by Hippocrates: choleric, sanguine, melancholic, and phlegmatic. I was a bit of a mix (as most people are), but dominantly melancholic. Based on your temperament, you can easily see how you best work, what your weaknesses are and how to overcome them. Isn't all of that good to know?

Jeanette then writes about how to remain steadfast in your writing (if you are a writer) and how to de-clutter your life in general, (writer or not) because cleaning out your life gives you more time to do whatever it is you love. There were my favorite tips:

1. "Don't buy clothes that need to be dry-cleaned." Yay! I always avoided anything that had to be dry-cleaned because of the time and money involved. I just didn't want to mess with it. Now, I have confirmation that I'm as smart as I thought I was.

2. "It's OK to do nothing for an hour a day." I loved reading this. I think most of us operate on the premise that if we are busy, we are important. We tend to think we are indispensable in all our activities. But, if we take an hour off, the world really does go on.

3. "If you had two years to live, what would you spend your time on?" Wow. Everyone could benefit from answering this question. I'm still thinking about my answer.

Jeanette offers many suggestions to help writers organize their schedules and stay on task. Writers tend to get side-tracked with social media. We also tend to doze off while reading a great book or studying the writing of a favorite TV show. It's not important how I know this, but Jeannette's tips might help you, if you have this problem. She's got great ideas on time management, in general. When I finished her book, I hopped up and organized my work station. No joke.

Check out Jeanette's website for more info. on this talented writer and speaker:  www.jeanettelevellie.com.

Visit her facebook page here: JEANETTE's FACEBOOK

You can pre-order her gem of a book here: SHOCK THE CLOCK.  (Release date is Dec. 14.) It's a quick, easy read that would make a great Christmas gift. Gain some tips on how to start fresh in the New Year.

Thank you, Jeanette, for sharing your book with me!

About Jeanette Levellie: A spunky pastor’s wife of thirty-plus years, Jeanette Levellie authors a weekly humor/inspirational column, God is Greater, a popular feature in her local newspaper since 2001. She has published stories in Guideposts anthologies, stories in Love is a Verb Devotional with Gary Chapman, articles in Christian and secular magazines, greeting card verses, and poems for calendars. She is also a prolific speaker for both Christian and secular groups, and loves to make people laugh while sharing her love for God and life. 

Jeanette is the mother of two grown children, three grandchildren, and servant to four cats. She lives in Paris (not the French one), IL, with her husband, Kevin. Her hobbies include dining out, talking baby talk to her cats, avoiding housework, reading, and watching old classic movies.