I am fascinated with Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and all the wonderful-ness that has come from that project. What I find most fascinating about her is not her work, her writing or her message. What I find truly amazing is her ability to pick a topic, a passion and turn it into an amazing writing career.

I am ‘borrowing’ my blog post from a post that Gretchen shared last week.

She wrote, “Here is a list of questions meant to help you think about yourself, your daily habits, your nature, and your interests. There are no right or wrong answers; they’re fodder for reflection.”

Gretchen’s questions are in bold and my responses follow. I’d love to hear some of yours.. this was a revealing exercise.

If something is forbidden, do you want it less or more? Less. I’ve never really been a risk taker.

Is there an area of your life where you feel out of control? Especially in control? I am totally out of control when it comes to the mess on my desk. I always thought of myself as a neat person but I just can’t control the mess on my desk. I remember my  mom’s desk at work was always a disaster but she could find anything on it. Somehow, I have developed this same habit. As we hit the end of the school year and mere weeks before our move, I would not say I am particularly in control of anything.

If you unexpectedly had a completely free afternoon, what would you do with that time? Read. And then maybe clean my desk.

Are you comfortable or uncomfortable in a disorderly environment? Gosh. I didn’t really mean for this to be all about my desk but I find this answer to be about the desk as well. I tend to hate disorder. In fact, I am definitely that person who will shove clutter in the closets or under the bed right before company comes to make the house appear neat. That said, though, maybe I don’t mind it so much or I would have my desk under control.

How much time do you spend looking for things you can’t find? Too much.

Are you motivated by competition? No. Much to my husband’s confusion. I remember purposely loosing tennis games because I was just really ready to go home. Shh… don’t tell my old team mates.

Fill in the blank: “I really wish I could make consistent progress on my project to _______.” Stop eating sugar.

Do you find it easier to do things for other people than to do things for yourself? Depends on my mood.

Whom do you envy? Why? People, like Gretchen Rubin, who set goals and meet them efficiently.

What do you lie about? The truth is really awfully important to me. I don’t think I really lie about much of anything. In fact, some might argue that I should lie a bit more. My girls know way more about the ‘birds and the bees’ than their peers do…

What did you do for fun when you were ten years old? Do you still do that activity–or would you like to do it? Read and write. Still doing it…

Do you work constantly? or think you should be working? I do always think I should be doing something.

Do you embrace rules or flout rules? Total rule follow here.

Do you keep New Year’s resolutions? No.

Do you work well under pressure? Deadlines? Yes. This is something that has changed drastically as I have gotten older. As a student, I would be that annoying girl who turned papers in way ahead of time. I considered a project late if it wasn’t done the day before. Now, I desperately need a deadline to get anything done.

How much TV do you watch in a week (and yes, this includes computer time spent watching videos, movies, YouTube)? Not much at all.

Are you a morning person or a night person? My terribly boring answer is neither. I could go to bed early and wake up late every day.

What’s more satisfying to you: saving time or saving money? Saving time.

Do you like to be in the spotlight? Yes.

Is your life “on hold” in any aspect? Until you finish your thesis, get married, lose weight, move? There are definitely things I am waiting to do until after we move.

What would you do if you had more energy? Stay up later. Write more. And honestly, I would watch more tv. I feel like entire cultural movements have passed me by. The Office. Gray’s Anatomy. I could go on.

If you suddenly had an extra room in your house, what would you do with it? I would have a library/office space. No tv. Comfy chairs, desk and book cases.

Is it hard for you to get rid of things that you no longer need or want? No. I am a huge purger.

On a typical night, what time do you go to bed? How many hours of sleep do you get? I go to sleep by 10 and am up by 6:30. I know, I know. See the question above. Boring…

If at the end of the year, you had accomplished one thing, what is the one accomplishment that would make the biggest difference to your happiness? See above re: breaking my sugar addiction.

Is there an activity that you love to do–yet somehow never seem actually to do it? I am finally taking more pictures but I would like to make more purposeful time for photography. Photography was one of my most favorite classes in high school and somehow, like my writing, it was completed dropped in college.