a'tris

I stumbled upon this article a few days ago about how a Senator named Bob Graham from Florida successfully disputed claims leveled against him by the CIA. From what I recall, the CIA had alleged that he attended four briefings in which the use of waterboarding during the Bush administration was discussed. As some of you may remember, not more than a month ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was also accused of having attended those meetings. Heres the kicker: three of them where never held& and the fourth was discussing another matter. How was that brought to light? Life Tracking.

It turns out that Bab Graham meticulously jots down what he does, as he does it throughout the course of his entire day. Doing this makes a lot of sense, especially for a politician right? One who is in that position  at the very least  has a lot of names to remember. Graham takes down far more than just contact information though; he charts everything from brushing his hair to the rooms in which he has stood throughout the course of any given day. Some might believe this to be eccentric but I think its brilliant. Im sure he would agree because, when the CIA came knocking he combed through a few of his (I cant recall the number but it was pretty ridiculous) books to find that they had their information wrong I wonder if Pelosi sent him flowers.

While thats a fun story I highly doubt that many of us will have such a need for this type of obsessive journalling. I am confident though that the daily logging of actions could help me to have a better understanding of how I manage my time. Songwriting is very much a process to me. It usually starts in the afternoon because Im not the biggest morning person  years of touring have probably irreparably damaged my ability to keep a regular schedule. Lyric writing takes research so I might take a trip to a library, or  when Im feeling lazy  launch Safari and do some googling. Crafting melodies that fit with the content Im creating also does not come from the heavens it comes from intense focus and concentration. Sometimes hours pass without a single note being sung or word being written. Why is that? When creativity strikes are there external or internal factors at work? Ive taken a page out of Bob Grahams book to see if I can track down some of the reasons behind my creative processes. Move over Jim Collins Give me a few years and Ill publish a book to let you know how that goes!

Heres a selection from the log I made yesterday:

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Aug 18 1:36 PM EDT  I believe were close to finishing Behave Yourself! Mike e-mailed me four points that he and Nate would like to discuss further before moving forward.
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I cant wait to share this one with you guys! Its going to catch you off guard.

If youd like to track my life please find me on Twitter @atris

and you can catch me on the Klicicious show tomorrow, 8/20/09 at 7:30PM EDT

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Erika Jessop @ http://www.erikajessopdesign.com
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Shawn Smith @ http://www.radioexile.com

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