How much longer is this semester?

After not taking college classes in quite some time, and then jumping in over the summer with the shortened time frame, I have to say this semester seems to keep going and going.  I'm sure everything that is going on at work and home are adding to the feeling but it seems to be stretching endlessly ahead.  But onward and upward we go.

This post we are thinking about Technical Writing as a whole, new skills learned, old skills sharpened, how our writing has changed, what did we gain and how will this help us in our professional journey.  I think for old skills, the reminder to review, edit and proofread our writing before we publish it is always beneficial.  New skills I've learned is formatting different types of documents and when to use them.  I've gained some more experience creating and using templates, using different programs more like PowerPoint and allowing some creativity out with design and layout.  But I will also say that I'm glad my professional writing needs to be more concise, to the point with basic/standard letter formatting so that you don't have to think about all these aspects when communicating with clients, coworkers and peers.

Now I am off on vacation and will be completely disconnecting from the outside world with very limited wifi and no cell service.  The only things I'm checking off the list this week is to get more sleep, enjoy the sun with lots of sunscreen and no sunburns, eat some good food, especially desserts and enjoy a few adult beverages.  There may be too much to do but this week it will all have to wait.  Happy Thanksgiving, relax and enjoy your time with friends and family.

Public speaking

I'm still in the fight.  That's what life is feeling like right now.  I'm just trying to keep my head up and my eyes forward.  I have a vacation coming up soon - it is much needed and hopefully will go a long way to recharging the batteries, regaining my focus and help me power through the rest of the year. 

The second prompt this week is about public speaking.  My "public" speaking is done in the office at committee and board meetings.  Is this true public speaking?  No, I'm not out giving lengthy speeches or presentations in public.  I don't have to prepare what I am going to say.  But as the only trust administrator, and the secretary for the investment committee, the audit committee and the board of directors, I am involved in all meetings and duties of trust administration.  For the audit and investment committees, I prepare and distribute all meeting materials and take minutes of the meetings.  I have to prepare and present annual administrative reviews for all accounts to the investment committee.  This involves reviewing the assets held in the trust, distributions that are made, the fees that are charged, a risk assessment and any special considerations that are being taken.  In the investment committee I also review new and terminated accounts, new assets for purchase, and general updates about the accounts.  For the audit committee, I help answer questions about current audit and exam findings and provide the schedule and status updates of the various audits.  For the Board meeting, I prepare and distribute all meeting material and take minutes.  The various committees report to the board and I will often provide the review for the investment committee.  If there is other business that needs to be discussed with the board, I will provide input as needed in relation to client matters that need to be reviewed.  I also update all the members and attendees of future meetings, training that may be required and other miscellaneous information.  So do I have any public speaking duties at work?  At least once a month, and often more frequently as needed for special meetings.  Do I want to go into public speaking?  No - I'm more than happy listening to others give formal speeches and presentations and will keep my speaking to the main conference room at work.

It's Friday.  We made it through another work week.  It's going to be cold tonight - hopefully you have taken care of your plants, pets and pipes.  Hopefully you were able to cross off at least one item from your to do list - I'm checking this one off right now.  But when I think about everything, I'm sure another 3 items will take its place because there is always too much to do.

Creativity in Technical Writing

Life is full of ups and downs.  Right now, I'm having a down time.  It's easy to get discouraged and lose focus - my school work has definitely suffered in the last couple of weeks.  I feel like I'm being pulled in several different directions.  When you have those times in life, just stay strong and keep going.  Keep trying, keep your focus, your why in front of you.  Keep doing.  It may take some time but you will hit an up swing and things will work themselves out.  Now onto school.

I watched The Godfather this past weekend for Drama.  Sometimes when I watch a movie, I get hung up on odd details, wondering how did they do that, why did they do that, that can't really happen.  If you've seen the movie, my side thoughts started immediately - he couldn't even enjoy his daughter's wedding day because he was too busy working.  And then the horse's head in the guys bed - how did he kill the horse with nobody hearing, how did he get in the house, upstairs, in the bedroom and get the head in at the foot of the bed with the owner under the sheets - that were tucked in at the foot of the bed - and the owner didn't hear him or feel him, or feel the wetness until the next morning?!?  I had to remind myself that I'm supposed to be looking at camera angles, lighting, music, casting, props, scenery, costumes, etc - not focusing on the impossibility of these odd details in the scenes.  I've seen bits and pieces, and maybe have even seen the entire movie at one time but it had been a while.  This week we move on to Star Wars: A New Hope.  I'm always up for a movie in the Star Wars empire.  Economics - I have got to set aside more time this week that I have been able to the last couple of weeks.  But I will keep working and improve.  

For Technical Writing this week we are focused on speeches and presentations.  I need to create an event where I will be speaking, and create the advertisement with my bio.  I will have to think about that tomorrow.  The first blog prompt this week is about creativity in Technical Writing.  How does creativity fit, can you be too creative or not creative enough?  Technical Writing covers a wide array of documents from spreadsheets, presentations with graphs and charts, brochures, memos, different types of letters, emails and instruction manuals.  Some of these documents need more creativity than others.  If you were sending an email to a client to confirm a meeting, you wouldn't really be creative - you don't need to adjust the font and color, you don't need pictures and visual aids.  But if you were creating a brochure for an event that you wanted people to attend and contribute to, you would want something that grabs people's attention when they pass by - you need to be creative and add pictures, think about placement, color, font and texture.  Can you be too creative?  Absolutely.  You can get so caught up in the idea of "I need to grab someone" that you add too much - too much color, too many pictures, too much information in a small space and you lose the intent and content of the original message.  On the other side, you can not be creative enough.  You don't add enough visual content and your document gets lost in the volume of what people get, read and act on.  You always have to keep your audience and message in mind when creating any document.  And if in doubt, seek advise from a friend or co-worker to see what they think about your document.  Creativity can be a useful tool when used in the right way.

If you are feeling down, remember, keep fighting, keep going, keep trying, keep doing.  I keep adding things I need to do, calls to make, documents to find, appointments to make.  I get lucky every once in a while and get to mark something off - like right now, I can mark off a blog post from the assignment list.  As always, there is too much to do and not enough time.

Am I using what I've learned?

Things continue to be hectic and crazy right now.  It's been a long week that has felt like a year and it's only Thursday.  But it's almost done and soon we can say we made it through another week.  My measurement of a successful day has changed right now and it's all about finding the positive, finding something, anything that you can say you survived and made it through.  And when you adjust what "normal" is and adapt to the new normal, count it as a success.  Now on to school stuff.  The current module for economics is due Monday - I've not even started on it so I have so a long weekend ahead and hopefully I can pull out a half way decent test score and just make sure I do the assignment and quiz enough times to get a high grade to balance out the test.  For drama, we are watching The Godfather this week.  I know I've seen bits and pieces but I'm not sure I have ever sat down and watched the entire movie so we will see what my thoughts are next week.  I watched The Graduate this past weekend for the first time.  It was good and I'm glad that love won in the end.

For Technical Writing, the prompt for this post is what have I learned in this class that I have used in my professional or collegiate area.  I know the importance of page layout and design, editing, revising and proofreading a document and the benefit of adding visual impact.  Although I am using those things a lot more right now, they are skills and techniques that I have always used.  I am more aware of properly citing references, but after I finish school, that won't be something I will use so I would have to research and relearn again.  I will continue to proofread and edit my documents.  I will continue to get peer review and input when needed.  Although my PowerPoint skills have improved some because I am using it more often, in the last 18 years of my career I have never done a PowerPoint so again that will be a skill that, without practice and use, will fade.  I have learned to create a blog, but again I'm not sure how frequent my posts will be when it's no longer a requirement.  Some of the skills of page layout, formatting, and even editing and revising may be learned and used more for someone that hasn't been in the professional arena for over 20 years.  The class is more practice of the skills and process I already use and that's okay.  

I need to start a new list to get ready for vacation soon.  I need to find the list of what needs to be done at school and work this week to see what might get checked off tomorrow and what will be pushed off until next week.  It's crazy and busy with to do lists about everything.  The lists are growing and multiplying, time is still zipping by and not enough is getting completed.  But I will just keep plugging on and working through everything, because as always, there is too much to do.

Do I have any writing tools?

It is Friday - finally.  I am happy that we have made it through this week.  I even managed to have the information ready for the audit next week at work and was able to leave early today.  It's always nice when you can start the weekend an hour early.  A co-worker is getting married tomorrow evening and I know she is happy the rain has moved out.  What a beautiful day it was today. 

This post is about writing tools that we use regularly.  What are they, how do I use them and why are they important to me?  I think I have said it before, but just in case - my primary writing is done at work.  It's letters to clients, spreadsheets that I use templates or previous spreadsheets.  Other than this required blog, I don't write.  I've never been good about keeping a journal or diary, have never wanted to write a story or poem, that's not where my interests are.  So it's hard for me to think about what writing tools I use on a regular basis.  I don't make notes or outline what I need to write for letters, I just start typing.  When I need to create a spreadsheet, I just start adding and then make changes as needed.  The most important tools I use are editing and revising.  I make sure that I read every letter, and edit as necessary before sending it out to a client.  I will also ask a coworker to review if I am not sure about the correct wording or document sections that may need to be referenced.  I think proofreading and revising are important to make sure the message is clear and concise, the information is accurate and essential to the document and it's not cluttered with spelling and grammar errors.  And I definitely thank the spell check function to help with the proofreading. 

I am off to have dinner, find The Graduate to watch and go to a wedding this weekend.  I marked several things off the to do list this week, but never enough, because as always, there is too much to do.

Online job sites

Last week was definitely one to be thankful it's over.  I missed a blog post, missed a discussion board follow up, didn't get near enough work done and spent the weekend with either a nasty stomach bug or food poisoning.  I'm leaning a bit more towards the food poisoning since no one else at work or home is sick - and I am very thankful that nobody at home is sick.  It's a new week, and hopefully I'm back on track.  This week I will be watching The Graduate for drama class.  I've never seen it so I have to solely focus on the movie to be able to participate in the online discussion.  We have an audit starting Monday at work along with a Board meeting to review and approve third quarter financials.  And my co-worker is out for the rest of this week at a seminar - there is a lot to get done in the next few days.  Now on to the topic of this post.

Online job sites.  I've never used one.  When I started working many years ago, it was done the old fashioned way - you looked through the newspaper, called each posting that looked promising, went and dropped off a resume or completed an application.  My next few jobs came from friends and family - personal referrals and recommendations.  Then I went back to the newspaper and happened to fax my resume to a headhunter.  The company she represented was looking for administrative support, didn't need experience in the industry and they were willing to train.  Honestly, I took the job because I had to - I was being laid off with two week severance and had bills to pay.  Through hard work I was able to advance and grow.  After 10 years, they closed the company and through personal referrals and recommendations, I'm at my current job for over 8 years.  How can these sites be helpful to someone starting out in the work force?  I think if you are new to the work force or looking to switch careers, online job sites can be a wealth of information.  You can find what opportunities are available with your skill set, training and experience.  You can see what additional experience or training you may need to acquire.  You can see what employers are looking for, where the jobs are, what benefits are being offered.  You can see new companies, or companies that are growing and expanding - find a chance to get in on the ground floor and make an impact.  I think in this day and age online job sites can be very useful in matching potential employers and employees - but I hope I never need to use one, hoping my current employer is my last employer.

Now it's time to wrap up and get some rest.  I've got a couple of busy days ahead to get ready for next week.  The to do list is growing, because there is always too much to do.

Bad habits

What a week.  It's wet, cold and dreary.  This weather is making everyone crazy, ill tempered, irritable.  Work and home are all over the place, add school into the mix, and there is no time to think.  I haven't made it to the gym in several weeks, my relaxing "therapy" time spent with my sewing machine has been cut short recently and with no outlet, it's all building up.  But onward we go.

Let's see what's on the agenda for school this week.  In Drama I had the Module 2 exam and our first major project which is a movie critique.  I chose Singin' in the Rain and I am watching it for the third time this week.  The problem is, I enjoy the movie and have to keep reminding myself to watch it for the items needed in the critique - camera angles, props, scenery, etc. and not just for the enjoyment of watching Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds dance together.  We are in Module #4 for Economics and I think I finally have the formula to calculate real GDP from nominal GDP.  And then there is Technical Writing.  We are approaching the time for peer reviews and have been looking at constructive criticism and what can be learned and taught with peer reviews.  I'm used to having colleagues review my documents at work and although those don't require an intense review, I am not too concerned with giving or receiving peer reviews for the class.  There is always something to be learned and having another perspective can be helpful in clarifying your original thoughts and writing.

The blog prompt this week is about bad writing habits.  Do I have a bad writing habit?  Should I change it?  Why or why not?  I'm sure we all have bad writing habits.  And what one person might consider a bad writing habit may be another's best writing habit.  Since most of my writing is brief, professional communication, I don't outline and plan what I am going to write.  I basically skip the first step of the writing process of gathering information, making notes, research and organization and just start writing.  I read and edit quickly and am able to complete the document and move on to the next.  Even with these blog posts, I don't think too much about what I'm going to write - I just start typing, read and edit as I go along.  Should I change this habit?  Maybe.  If I were doing an essay or more in depth project, skipping that first step would likely lead to a jumbled mess with the writing that would be difficult to edit and revise.  Do I need to outline a memo to the file about an asset that we purchased?  No, it's sufficient to start writing immediately, editing and revising as I go along and doing a final sweep of the entire document before publishing.  Is this a bad writing habit?  Possibly.  Is it going to change?  Probably not.  Does it work for me?  Yes and right now that's enough.  Because as always, there is too much to do.

That looked different...

I was reviewing my blog to provide a progress report to my professor as an assignment this week and noticed the posts did not appear uniform with font color, size and style.  Since Technical Writing is about design, layout, editing and revising, I decided to practice these skills and have updated all the posts to have the same font style and size.  Of course it's getting late and my eyes are dry so hopefully I was successful in my attempt to make all the posts uniform.  I'm sure the difference came from starting some of the posts on the blog and transferring to Word to finish and starting some in Word and transferring to the blog when completed.  Hopefully I can get everything the same going forward.  

It was Columbus Day yesterday and it was floating holiday at work.  I enjoy the extra day off, but sometimes those Monday holidays make the rest of the week seem to last forever with everyday feeling like a Monday. Here's to hoping this week will keep on moving and I can check something off the list.  As always, there is too much to do.

Page design

We made it through another week.  I can’t believe we are entering the second week of October. Thanksgiving (family vacation in a tropical place) and Christmas will be here before we know it.  This week I will be watching Singin In the Rain for drama class.  I’m happy to have a musical this week – I haven’t seen a good, classic musical in a while.  I struggled this week with economics – never could find the formula or figure out how to calculate the growth rate of per capita real GDP.  Even though we are moving to the next module, I will be asking the investment guys I work with if they can provide some guidance. 

Last week in Technical Writing, we focused on design and layout of writing.  We had to take a document that was not well designed and redesign it.  I found it easy to make changes and make the document my own design.  One of the major changes I made was to adjust spacing and alignment of text, and to me it was surprising how much a change it made to tab something over and delete extra space.  With my career, most of my writing is a professional letter to my clients or excel spreadsheets.  Although I will not be using all the aspects of design and layout in these types of documents, like font styles, colors, images, etc., I still want to make sure that the information is laid out well, formulas are accurate and understandable.  I can say the design is important for documents like brochures, fliers, pamphlets, etc. that are displayed in a public area for people to choose.  You want to grab the attention of the audience, make them pick your brochure over all the others and that is done with design – colors, pictures, different font styles and sizes.  Just like the other steps of the writing process, you should take a few minutes to design, and if necessary redesign, your documents.

I am off to start working on the first major project for Drama class which is a movie critique essay due next week.  For Technical Writing we will be working on Peer Reviews and starting the next module of economics.  Throw in normal work and family stuff and as always, there is too much to do.

How do I feel about writing?

How do I feel about writing?  I don't mind writing emails to coworkers, or letters to clients.  They are quick, short and have a clear purpose which is to provide information in an easy format.  Beyond that, I will never claim to be a writer.  I don't care for writing stories, poems, essays or book reports.  I'm not going to be designing brochures, or pamphlets.  Let's be honest - I'm only doing this blog right now because it is a requirement of my Technical Writing course this semester.  Will I continue afterwards, who knows?  If so, it won't be consistently once or twice a week, it won’t have a specific topic or prompt that I need to wax on about.  How do these feelings about writing compare to feelings about technical writing?  Probably about the same - writing is writing.  My view of writing hasn't changed with this class.  Sure, I'm learning about different types of documents, when to use them, how to format, revise and edit.  And can see the impact of having a well-designed document with graphics, fonts, pictures, etc., but overall this is not something that I will be using on a regular basis in my life.  My writing will continue to primarily be to our clients and presented in a professional manner which is not with colors and fonts, pictures, etc.  Is there value in writing, in Technical Writing?  The answer is absolutely.  Am I going to write more than I need to?  Probably not.

This week in economics the main topics are inflation and employment/unemployment rates.  I’m trying to calculate work force, unemployment rates, frictional/structural/cyclical unemployment, inflation rates, CPI, GDP, Real GDP, Nominal GDP, PPI, PCE, GDI, NDP and several other letters of the alphabet.  Of course, I’m using my standard 10 key calculator at work but keep getting the answers wrong on the rounding because I forget to change the settings on the calculator to go out a dozen decimal places.  For drama, we are watching Casablanca this week.  I also need to pick one of the movies from the first part of the course and do a critique that is due next weekend.  That to do list just keeps on going, because as always, there is too much to do, not enough ti

Too much to do and can't do any of it....

I finished watching Citizen Kane.  They did an excellent job with the cameras and angles to make him appear giant, in business and in personal settings.  He was larger than life but learned that money can't buy you happiness.

I am almost done with all the assignments that are due this week, I just need to read and reply to a couple of discussion board posts but those will have to wait until tomorrow.  And hopefully tomorrow will be more productive than today.  Shortly after I got to the office this morning and logged in, we lost power in the building.  It was out from 8:20 am until 1:15 pm or so.  Of course I had planned on using the quiet time first thing this morning to read the discussion boards but that didn't happen.  I was going to use the time to catch up on some filing but, the information that needs filing is stored in a closet that is locked and controlled with an electronic keypad.  I then thought about trying to use my personal laptop to start school work and could not get any hotspot or wifi to connect.  Of course I had to leave the office this afternoon about 1:30 pm for appointments so I accomplished nothing this morning.  Which means the daily work items are pushed off until tomorrow, and the to do list gets longer and longer.  I may have to leave early tomorrow so it will likely be another day with more to do than time to do it in, because as always, there is too much to do.

The Writing Process

How much is there to do this week?  Fortunately, there were no major issues this week that add more tasks to the list, and no need to re-prioritize the list.  But I do not think anything came off the list last week.  It was hard to focus on the details, and when that happens, you do what you can and keep going.  For my drama class this week we are watching Citizen Kane.  I have not seen this movie in a long while and although I do not always make enough time to watch some of the great classics, I am glad that we are watching various movies in this class and discussing them in the forums.  

This week we are looking at the writing process.  How can it be helpful to writers, to not feel overwhelmed with writing, to become more confident in their writing?  There are three steps in the writing process: Pre-writing, Writing and Post-Writing.  Pre-writing is the planning stage.  We ask questions like: What am I writing about?  Who am I writing to?  What information do I need and what format should I use?  This is where you start jotting ideas, researching material, making notes and an outline, and tracking your sources.  Next you start writing.  Follow your notes, stay on topic and make sure all information clearly adds to the main goal of the document.  Be aware of any requirements for that document, formatting, deadlines, etc.  The last stage is post-writing.  This is where you seek peer review and input.  Read your document and make sure it is clear and concise.  Did you deliver the all the pertinent information in an easy to understand way?  Is it accurate?  Did you use a spell check or some other type of review function to check for grammar, spelling and punctuation?  Did you cite all your sources properly?  Writing is not done until the work is published or distributed.  This can be done online, through email, or regular mail.  It could be done by setting the document in a public place for others to collect and read or included in a product packaging.  

We often see a big project and wonder how we can get that done when all we need to do is step back and take it one step at a time.  The writing process can help you do that.  It forces you to look at each stage and the steps in each stage, to break it down.  If you take the time to make notes and organize them in a way that works for you, then the writing will come together.  Use a review function, have someone read and edit for you the apply the final touches and you will have a polished and concise piece of writing that is ready for distribution.  

 We have almost made it through the week but there is still work to do.  I am off to finish watching Citizen Kane, do an essay and a couple of discussion posts because there is always too much to do.  

Why is Technical Writing Important?

The ever present, always changing to-do list seems to constantly grow and it often feels like no matter how many items I cross off, at least three more replace it.  This week for drama I need to watch Gone With the Wind.  I have seen it before and enjoyed it but need to watch it again so that I can post on the Discussion Board.  The only thing is, the movie is nearly four hours, so it will probably be done over a couple of evenings and normally the discussion is due on Sunday, but it is due early this week because the exam for module one is due on Saturday.  For Economics, Learning Plan #2 is due on Monday, this includes an assignment, a quiz and an exam.  I am allowed, and take full advantage of, the opportunity to do the assignment and quiz multiple times to practice for the exam.  I also do the study guides online.  For Technical Writing we are creating an E-Portfolio and starting to work on the Employment Packet project.  Both of those, along with this Blog, are the three major projects of the course with additional weekly assignments and projects based on the textbook, and discussion posts added it.  Yes, there is a lot to do.  

The blog prompt this week is to discuss the importance of Technical Writing for professional careers, how it can help in their career and what skills should be acquired.  Do I think Technical Writing is important in a professional setting?  Simple answer is absolutely.  In fact, I think Technical Writing is important in a personal setting as well.  It is important to know your audience, what knowledge do they have, what knowledge do they need from the document.  What type of document is the best instrument to deliver that information, whether a letter, memo or even email.  Should the document be attached to an email or printed and delivered.  If you are starting your own business, knowing how to deliver information about your company will help you spread the word and reach new clients or customers.  Even if you think you do not have a professional need, you may need to write a letter to a company to report an issue with a product, ask for a refund, work with an insurance company to file a claim.  Knowing the best format needed to deliver your message will benefit you in any setting.  

What skills can be learned from the Technical Writing Course?  To learn why you are writing, is your purpose to inform, instruct, propose, recommend or persuade.  Document type and format including font, margins, spacing and headings.  Using appropriate voice and tone, efficient wording, presenting accurate information in an organized manner while eliminating noise.  All these skills are beneficial to learn for effective communication in any setting.  

Of course, while I was going through the to-do list this week, life through a curve ball and added some unexpected items to the personal list, as it often does.  When that happens, prioritize and keep going, because there is always too much to do.

Two Weeks In...

I am just over two weeks into the fall semester at school  As I mentioned before, I am taking a Technical Writing class to fulfill my English core requirement.  I chose the Technical Writing over the Composition II class because the thought of reading books and writing reports, doing research papers, etc is not my strong suit and did not sound all that appealing to me.  The course description of "Intensive Study of and practice in professional settings" from letters, to memos and emails sounded more practical and applicable to where I am now and will continue to be in my career.  After two full weeks of class, I can definitely say that it is an intensive study in writing.  Although some research is needed in preparing and responding to the weekly discussion posts, and in the various letters and memos we have created so far, I feel confident I made the right choice in picking the Technical Writing class over the Composition class.  The writing assignments and projects we are doing are covering a wide variety of subjects and audiences.  I am currently working on a letter to my senator or representative about something that needs to change at school.  I will admit this is a topic that is taking some extra time to get started on because I am only taking online courses and since my employer is helping to pay for my education, I do not encounter the issues that a typical student may have.  But I will put pen to paper and brainstorm in the next day or so and it will come together it always does.  I will just keep it on the "To Do List", because I always have too much to do.

I'm going back to school

How much is too much to do?  I work full time, am a mom and decided it was time to go back to school.  I set a very aggressive goal to complete the first step of an Associates degree at the local community college and started taking classes over the summer.  This semester I am taking 9 credit hours on top of my other work and life commitments.  I am taking Intro To Cinema, Technical Writing and Principles of Macroeconomics.  In Intro to Cinema, we are reading about the evolution of the film making industry and will be watching and discussing several movies that I am looking forward to seeing the first time, or seeing some again, including Metropolis, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain and Star Wars: A New Hope.  Macroeconomics is what it is.  It is required for the business degree along with Microeconomics that I hope to take next semester.  For the Technical Writing class, we are working on different types of letters and memos along with creating and maintaining this blog.  Last week we looked at plagiarism, how it happens and what we can do to prevent it.  Plagiarism is passing off another person's thoughts, ideas or work as your own.  There is intentional plagiarism where you are buying a paper, having someone else write a paper for you or copying information directly from the source without citing and giving full, complete credit to the original person or source.  If you are even thinking about this - just do not do it.  It is stealing and fraud.  You are doing everyone a disservice including yourself.  The consequences are not worth it.  Then there is accidental, unintentional where you misuse quotation marks, paraphrase, or not cite the original source properly.  In my professional career, my writing consists of letters to clients, memos to document the client files and emails so plagiarism is not a concern on a regular basis so I had to refresh my mind about how and when to cite my sources.  I think a good rule of thumb is, when in doubt CITE!  So now as I work on these posts, I have another thing to do - I have to remember if I am using anything other than my original thoughts, if I look something up for ideas or reference, to cite and give credit.  This is just one more thing to do, because there is always too much to do.

Resources

https://www.grammarly.com/plagiarism

https://www.quetext.com/

Welcome

Welcome to "Too Much To Do".  Too Much To Do is a pretty accurate description of my life - and I'm sure most people can relate.  I feel like I'm always running, trying to give those important to me enough of my time and energy while saving some for myself.  This blog will be about a variety of things that I have to or want to do, what's important for me to do, to commit my time and energy to and things I do to allow myself to feel relaxed and refreshed.  You may also see random thoughts about this journey of life we are on.