You haven’t missed that it is Breast Cancer awareness month this month have you? This is the month to indulge in pink but also to participate in a very important campaign; to help spread the word about breast cancer. Please visit Pink for October to show your support.

To help you go pink this month we have created a few special pink backgrounds for your blog or Twitter account.. By repeating the image it creates a seamless pattern that will work as a background. Credit: The backgrounds are all made with brushes from B. Silvia at Graphics-Illustration. Thanks!

They are all free but we would like to ask you that you blog or tweet about the backgrounds
quickly to help more people go pink for October.

Please read before downloading:

You may
These backgrounds are free for personal use only. You may use them on your personal blog
or on your Twitter account.
A link back to RS Designs is appreciated but not necessary.

You may not:
You may NOT re-distribute them or put on your website for sale or
claim you are the designer.
You may Not use them as part of any packages you intend to put up for sale.

Instructions: Save the image and upload to Photobucket or similar service. Insert the URL into your html body: Example:

body {
background: #ffffff url(“imageurl”) repeat;
}

Please do not hotlink.

Twitter: save the image and upload under design.

If you would like a custom background for your blog or twitter account please send us an email.
The backgrounds:
The backgrounds are number 1-5 starting from the left, the fifth one being the one in the middle.

Background #1

Background #2

Background #3

Background #4

Background #5

Want to add the above Pink for October button on your blog? You can find it here.

That’s it. If you need any help, send us an email and if you use the backgrounds or button we would appreciate a comment

Here are my 5 Steps for Successfully Finishing Any Task:

1. Be Selective – Don’t accept a task just because someone asks you to do it.
   Pastor Bill Wingard says some profound things, and one of my favorites is the following:

   “You can do just about anything in life that you want to do, but you can’t do everything.”

   I have found that to be absolutely true.  I want to help everybody, and I have a very hard time saying no to a request.  However, if I were to accept every job offered to me, I would be overwhelmed and would end up doing a poor job on every job.  If, instead, I carefully select which jobs I will accept, I will have time to give my best to each job.

2. Be Realistic – Allow yourself enough time to be able to complete a task without having to sacrifice quality to be able to finish that job on time.
   I am an optimist, and that is not a good thing when it comes to determining how much time it will take me to finish a job.  I always think I can finish a job sooner than I really can, and I end up stressed out when the time comes that the job is supposed to be finished and it isn’t.  I’m learning to give myself double the time I think I need to finish the task.
3. Be Organized – break a task into smaller portions and set goals for when you will complete each portion.
   When I work on a custom design package, I usually begin with the header and give myself 2 days to come up with 3-5 designs.  After a header is approved, I proceed to work on the background.  Then comes signatures, buttons, banners, and so on.  This keeps me motivated, because I can see the progress I have made when I check off another goal.
4. Be Accountable – tell someone what you have and have not accomplished for your task.
   There is nothing like having to tell someone what you haven’t done to motivate you to get moving!  For me, this step means keeping my clients up to date on the progress of their design, including having to tell them if I am behind schedule.  Having to tell them they will have to wait a bit longer for a design is not a good feeling, and it motivates me to stay on track and keep working.
5. Be Determined – don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked
   I have found that I accomplish more by only tackling one task at a time.  When I “multi-task,” all too often I waste valuable time trying to figure out where I had left off in each task.  Instead of multi-tasking, I need to focus on completing one task (or one goal for a task, like in step 3) before going on to something else.

When I follow these steps, I am able to completely finish my work (home, design, or otherwise) more quickly.

How about you?  What is your secret to gettings things done?

Last Saturday, September 13, she announced at her personal blog, Mama’s Coffee Corner, that she had just found out that she was expecting a baby.  She had told me in our business meeting on the previous Tuesday, and we were both excited and having fun talking about her new little one.

Sadly, on Tuesday, September 16, she had to announce that she had lost the baby she already loved.  I have spoken with her since then, and she is doing as well as can be expected while dealing with her loss and the grief she is experiencing.

Here’s where you come in.  Would you please leave a kind comment at her blog,  send her a free e-card from Hallmark.com, or pray for Linda?  She could really use the encouragement right now.  Her e-mail address is linda@designsbyrs.com.

Thank you for your concern.

The giveaway starts on January 28th so make sure you have a few days of nothing to do so you can visit lots of blogs and their giveaways.

For those not familiar with the giveaway I can tell you that it is the biggest giveaway in the blogosphere! Read more on how you can participate and join in the fun by clickig on the image.

Have fun and we will see you shortly!

Beginning tomorrow (December 26, 2007), we will be running a week-long contest in which we will be giving away two headers each day. Check back tomorrow to see the first two headers.

Again, Merry Christmas from us here at RS Designs!