Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.
Wednesday 19th July 2006
Today is the day we hear about how pro got on in the interview, and about slider's communion visits and hot rocks. Terri, Anouk, Jonny and todayfirst what are you up to today? Any lurkers want to join in?
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Hey, has anyone read my section today?!
Been working hard - could do with a virtual pat on the back to keep me motivated! ;) (My section's at the end because I posted first).
me! I read it!
I've been working for six hours straight, but I just got back and I see it now. You've been doing great!!!! :)
Normy's Ta Da's
Really good job! Sounds like you are moving strong. Good techniques of blending the Accounting (Stinker) with the fun, yet necessary, stuff. Keep stepping through it!
Thanks guys! :o)
I respond well to praise - it helps keep me going, LOL! ;)
Gwen D's To Do
10:30 - 11:30 Call Tech Support for Printer and get it running
11:30 make call to find out about content due from people for SC, WW
11:45 - 12:45 Lunch and Networking with K
12:45 - 1:45 put pixels down. One "Proof of Concept" PDF. Rough Ideas. The badge texture. Typography.
1:45 -2:25 Create rough fingerprint pattern brush
check in.
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
Gwen D's Ta Da Log
Ta Da!
11:15 Call Tech Support for Printer and get it running
Now to make the call or calls.... Yikes!
11:59 I'd made the calls and emailed
1:00 Finished Lunch. Made a great contact! It's so strange to be so professional. But I'm trying!
1:30 Had another fire to put out. Making new PDFs and delivering.
2:00 Solved yet another printing problem
2:30 -- Still no PIXELS DOWN!!! I have admin meeting stuff to do. I should do it while the folks are here. I can concentrate on art from 3 - 6...
Yeah, that's what I'll do.
I Must Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
Boy this work thing is a humdinger. Admin meetings were great, but the end result is a job I thought was deadlined in September is due in a week. Hah!
So tomorrow is the beginning of a bunch of fast moving days I guess.
I'll be checking in here for my sanity on a regular basis. Thank you all for making this. Love reading posts from newer folks. It's a great thing we got here.
Hi Gwen!
Good to see you :)
You're so sweet!
Hi back to you, Normy. It is good to see you too!
Slider's BE section, 8:17 a.m.
Ta Da!
*Got up at 7:42 (meant to get up at 7:30 but listened to news first)
*Checked yahoo mail and GOT OFF (Yea!)
*set up bookend
To do:
-call shut-ins for appointments for communion
-shower and shave legs
-finish laundry
-coffee and breakfast (don't skip!)
-call jail chaplain
-call re:premarital classes for August couple
-put SS materials in superintendant's slot
-get lesson sheet for Thursday svc
-find all notes, check planner for to do's I have forgotten
-call TAMU about tree
-be on time to appointments
-leave by noon to city
-be on time to meet daddy
-get cash for trip (remind DH)
-begin packing for trip (clothes, books/journals/mileage stuff)
-remember to check in
slider's CI 9:06 pm
Ta Da!
*Got up at 7:42 (meant to get up at 7:30 but listened to news first)
*Checked yahoo mail and GOT OFF (Yea!)
*set up bookend
*call shut-ins for appointments for communion
*shower and shave legs
*coffee and breakfast (don't skip!)
*be on time to appointments
*leave by noon to city
*be on time to meet daddy
*was on time for massage (OH MY!!!!:p)
*get cash for trip (remind DH)
*handled part of other chores in found in notes
*unexpected bonus: had a beer and a conversation with my husband about how things are going for him (he's not coming on the trip with me and the kids, so we really needed to do this)and how to handle things while we're gone :) (BTW, we Lutherans are noted beer drinkers);)
To do:
-finish laundry
-call jail chaplain
-call re:premarital classes for August couple
-put SS materials in superintendant's slot
-get lesson sheet for Thursday svc
-find all notes, check planner for to do's I have forgotten
-call TAMU about tree
-begin packing for trip (clothes, books/journals/mileage stuff)
-remember to check in
Guys and gals, if you ever get the chance to be massaged by hot rocks, GO FOR IT. The therapist did not just lay the stones on me (though she did that, too), she also oiled me up and massaged all my muscles with them. Heaven! I was hot at first, but after a moment it felt great.
I did not call the jail chaplain because I realized I do not have enough time left to visit my church member who is in jail before I go on my trip. I thought I would squeeze that in extra today or tomorrow, but I see it won't work (it's in another town and takes up about three hours round trip). I've seen him several times, so it's ok. It's just that I had been seeing him weekly and won't get to next week. I did not call the couple getting married, so I will do that right now. The folks I have yet to commune preferred that I do it tomorrow, so I must do it in the morning. I will keep working on laundry and packing tonight and tomorrow, and I must do a few office chores at the church tomorrow. I went over there yet I forgot to pick up the lesson sheet and move the Sunday School materials. I have yet to look up a few things at our church supply store online, too.
I am feeling a little anxious thinking I will (as usual) leave some things undone when I go, though another part of me is rearing it's frazzled and somewhat resentful head and saying WTH. I'll do what I can. I need to take a good look at everything I can think of, prioritize it, and make sure I don't forget something really important/urgent.
Great job to todayfirst, normy, and pro.
Hey, the page wouldn't post so I get to add one more Ta Da:
*call re: premarital classes for August couple
And before I posted THIS time, I got a phone call, so I have now also dealt with a prayer request regarding a death, and made an appointment in my planner to go by the funeral home tomorrow and visit with the family.
Oh! I also bought a new calculator today so I can do my mileage, since I can't find the old one. (I'll do the mileage on my vacation--yes, that sounds like doing work when I should be having fun, and I guess that's bad. But the point is, I'll also have a large block of free time, and my family spends large amounts of time just sitting around reading, so I'll do it during one fo those times, and if I put it off any longer the Treasurer will start voiding the oldest months past due). Gee, now it's 9:54 pm!!!
Doing work on holiday
Sometimes I don't mind doing work on holiday - depends what sort. If it's going to make life easier and more comfortable to do it than not, then why not? To my mind, a holiday is supposed to be about gathering our resources, so if it makes life harder it's not doing what it's supposed to!
TodayFirst's first bookending section
Good day to try this... didn't sleep well last night so I am tired which makes me very prone to procrastinate.
8am TODO list:
1) Test a sample program sent to me
2) Send a response to the tech who sent it
3) Complete the short doc I started yesterday
4) Email said doc to a couple folks for review
5a) If program in #1 works, spend 45 minutes integrating the code into my app
5b) If program in #1 fails, work on other sections of my app while waiting for additional input
6) Email the parents about a possible visit.
12:30 PM update
Tada!
1) Test a sample program sent to me
2) Send a response to the tech who sent it
3) Complete the short doc I started yesterday
4) Email said doc to a couple folks for review
6) Email the parents about a possible visit.
Todo:
5a) If program in #1 works, spend 45 minutes integrating the code into my app. Ok, it only sort of worked, so actually I should
- spend the time working on figuring it out better :?
- send an email update
5b) If program in #1 fails, work on other sections of my app while waiting for additional input - might still do this if I get time.
7) Meeting this PM... forgot about this one
4 PM updated
Tada!
1) Test a sample program sent to me
2) Send a response to the tech who sent it
3) Complete the short doc I started yesterday
4) Email said doc to a couple folks for review
6) Email the parents about a possible visit.
5a) If program in #1 works, spend 45 minutes integrating the code into my app. Ok, it only sort of worked, so actually I should
- spend the time working on figuring it out better
- send an email update (CANCELLED bacause I got what I needed to working on my own!! Really really good thing because I absolutely hate asking for help)
7) Meeting this PM... forgot about this one
TODO:
5b) If program in #1 fails, work on other sections of my app while waiting for additional input - LLet's be honest... this one AINT GONNA HAPPEN today but I'm happy because I made progress in other more urgent areas.
Good job!
You've done great today todayfirst. Did you find the Bookending helpful?
WTG TodayFirst
Thanks
Thanks Normy... and congrats on getting the account and taxes thing done early (and getting even more done after that!)
Good morning! I posted a new article today.
I just posted a new article on the site - this one about identifying the things on your list that don't need doing. I realized (again) recently that I was (again) trying to do too much and it was keeping me from getting done what I most wanted to get done. I wonder how many times you have to have the same insight before you finally "get it". :D
My interview yesterday went well. It wasn't an interview for a particular position. The position I was interested (and thought was still available) had been filled, unfortunately. If it had been open, I would have gotten it. So that was disappointing, but I made a good contact and it may lead to something down the road. The person who interviewed me told me to keep in touch because things do become available.
It's okay - I wasn't so sure I wanted a full time job anyway!
So it goes
Fine news about the interview. Thanks for keeping us updated. It's interesting that as a freelancer, just having a forum to get feedback can be satisfying. Sounds like you established a good contact, so congrats on getting through the whole experience in good order.
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
WTG Pro
I'm pleased to hear it went well pro. :)
Have you put a reminder in your GTD system to 'keep in touch'?
added yet ANOTHER article!
It's not in my reminders yet - maybe I should put it there (ya think? ;) )
I seem to be on an article roll this morning - I just posted one about perfectionism.
I've been thinking about a lot of things and getting insights into where my stumbling blocks and I wanted to share what I learned. Perfectionism has been a major problem for me - especially spending too much time on things that aren't that important.
pro's bookending section
I enhanced the "how to bookend" instructions to include the to-do/ta-da list suggestion. This really works for me, so I'm going do it regularly.
I showered last night and was up very early. I'm already dressed and I'm finishing breakfast. I just need to make my bed and then I can get to work (dishes can wait!).
I'm going to start by really thinking about my to-do list - categorizing it as I described in the article I wrote this morning. I need to make my to-do list shorter so I can get done what I really want to get done. I'm going to schedule time for each thing I want to do to make sure it really happens. (I've read this suggestion in many books.)
pro's CI - 3:48pm
Since my last post (oy - six hours ago!) I have been catching up on business email that I'd been ignoring for the past several days. This takes me too long. There has to be a way to do it faster.
At least I'm caught up now. I need a break badly. I'm going to go out and check the mail and do some errands.
Ta Da
- Got dressed.
- Made bed and picked up apartment.
- Made and ate breakfast.
- Washed dishes.
- Posted two new articles on this site.
- Answered business email.
To Do
- Handle stuff in pile (includes lots of unpleasant horrors - insurance stuff, etc.
- Spend one hour on each task I'm seriously backlogged on.
- Spend one hour on my #1 important but not urgent task.
- Do various errands (drug store, etc.)
pro's CI - 9:36am EDT US
Ta Da
- Got dressed.
- Made bed and picked up apartment.
- Made and ate breakfast.
- Washed dishes.
- Posted two new articles on this site.
To Do
- Answer business email.
- Handle stuff in pile (includes lots of unpleasant horrors - insurance stuff, etc.
- Spend one hour on each task I'm seriously backlogged on.
- Spend one hour on my #1 important but not urgent task.
- Do various errands (drug store, etc.)
This is a very general To Do list. I need to make it more specific. I'll do that after I handle the business email and pile horror. (Those two tasks are specific.)
My air conditioner is frozen and not cooling, making it quite unpleasant in here. I have it on fan to thaw it out. I think I may go do my errands now so it can thaw while I'm out.
Norm's Section
Well, I had a good old chinwag to myself yesterday and got a tonne of stinky, rotten jobs accomplished or part accomplished! Feeling very pleased with myself and hoping to continue - at a mellower level - today.
It was talking to pro about doing the worst jobs first that got me started on this. I prioritised my list according to the 'Urgent & Important' etc categories. Then started with the ones that made my heart sink. I feel so much better knowing I don't have ~anything~ left that's a bad as what I did yesterday.
What I've learned is that if I'm doing really stinky, horrible, long-drawn-out jobs I could probably do with a bit more fun stuff than one in every six tasks. So today I'm going to try a different pattern - a Stinker; a Neutral; a Nice.
Let the Games begin!
Norm's 9pm BE
Housework
Do you know, I swear this house looks bigger now, LOL! I finally, finally unpacked from my holiday (we got back 4th July!), and put my stuff away properly - I wondered where some of that stuff had gone! I'm going to be packing tomorrow to go away on Friday for my course at the weekend, but it's totally different stuff - books, files, sleeping bag etc (don't wanna go! Well, I ~do~ want to go on the course, but I don't want to be away from home for yet another weekend. I keep reminding myself this is the last one until September).
I also put away all the laundry, tidied up DSO's hotspot around his chair, and made mine behind my chair a bit more compact (actually getting rid of it is a long-haul job). I also dog-proofed the big chair in here as much as I could now that she's incontinent. We've just had it without the seats on it for a fortnight, so it looked awful and we couldn't use it either - in fact, I'd begun using the frame as a dumping ground for paperwork (which I've now dumped into boxes, which is a step in the right direction).
OK, Last up - fun thing. I don't normally consider baths to be much fun, but I'm so hot and sweaty that a cool soak actually sounds quite pleasant. I'm going to take my book with me. DSO should be home from work in about 30 - 45 mins, and I've got some organic cider stashed for him that I'm going to put in the fridge for when he gets back.
It's been a good day's work I think. I'm tired now, so I'm going to shutdown the computer and just chill out (hopefully literally as well as figuratively).
Norm's 8pm BE
I've gone a bit out of order but never mind. I don't ~think~ I'm procrastinating on housework - I think I just wanted to see how I could plan tomorrow playing with my new system. It looks good :) Lots of fun things, and still getting lots done. I'm running out of 'Stinky' things so they're getting less onerous as I go along. I'm still using the 'Urgent/Important' etc categories to prioritise, plus my usual Basic Weekly Plan.
2) Neutral: Check calendar and task list for tomorrow (don't forget menu planning and shopping list)
* Read/play on the boards (Fun fun fun!)
Next three (now two):
1) Stinker: It's getting a bit late for me to start another big thing tonight, so I think I'll just do some housework. It's not that stinky really, but it's not something I enjoy.
3) Nice: (Oops - good job it previewd - I nearly forgot the 'Nice' - funny how I keep forgetting the nice things). Hmm - I see what I fancy at the time, maybe a Yoga Nidra CD (deep relaxation!)
Norm's 7.15 pm BE
*Daytime Routine (mostly)
*Bookcrossing registrations (Neutral)
I could easily have put the Bookcrossing off, but it wasn't that big a deal. I ~did~ spend an hour on it though (and I got the registrations from the convention finished), and I've not felt that I could dedicate that much time to it before when I had other more 'important' things to do (like insurance, accounts, tax, etc!). It's nice to just be able to putter about with a hobby and not feel stressed about it.
* Read/play on the boards (Fun fun fun!)
Next three:
1) Stinker: It's getting a bit late for me to start another big thing tonight, so I think I'll just do some housework. It's not that stinky really, but it's not something I enjoy.
2) Neutral: Check calendar and task list for tomorrow (don't forget menu planning and shopping list)
3) Nice: (Oops - good job it previewd - I nearly forgot the 'Nice' - funny how I keep forgetting the nice things). Hmm - I see what I fancy at the time, maybe a Yoga Nidra CD (deep relaxation!)
Norm's 5pm BE
It's 5pm. FIVE PM!!! How did that happen!!!
A fanfare please, for my big TADA!
I must have been really engrossed in my:
That's my big STINKER for today. And I did it! I did it! WOO-HOO!!!
Not only did I do it, but I did it EARLY! That's a first.
I'm also due some money back - enough to make me a bit nervous, but I'm not going to say no!
ToDo
* Bookcrossing registrations (Neutral)
* Read/play on the boards (Fun fun fun!)
Huzzah!
Those sure were some terrible stinkers--and YOU DID IT!!!! Great going, Normy! I guess by now you are in bed--it being so much later for you than than for those of us in the States, I suppose you often have to wait around on us, don't you? Especially those of us who stay up too late! Sorry you don't get your pats till later.
Thanks Slider
That's why it's usually me or Anouk who starts the daily thread - it's not that we get started that early, it's just the time zones!
We do have some cross-over - when it's evening here it's morning/afternoon in the States. I was well and truly asleep when you posted (your post was at 3.02 am BST). Gwen and I once met up 'real time' for a chat in the chatbox, but it took some organisation!
Norm's 3.15 pm BE
* Morning Routine
* Finished off sorting out the home insurance (and paid the bill)
* Finished off sorting out the car insurance - switched provider (and paid the bill) (this took me a couple of hours but was worth it)
* Moved money around in accounts to make sure there would be enough in the joint account to cover the bills!
* Ddog walk
* Dinner
*1 hr 'fun time' that I didn't get last night (chatting on boards/read a chapter of book)
*Accounts - I've nearly finished last year's accounts! (2005-2006) It took me a long time to get into it, and I've got a few delicate threads hanging in my head now that I don't want to lose, so I'm going to put my timer on for another 45 mins and see if I can crack it.
* Bookcrossing
* Whatever the Nice Thing was (see previous post)
Norm's 12.30 pm BE
* Morning Routine
* Finished off sorting out the home insurance (and paid the bill)
* Finished off sorting out the car insurance - switched provider (and paid the bill) (this took me a couple of hours but was worth it)
* Moved money around in accounts to make sure there would be enough in the joint account to cover the bills!
* Ddog walk
* Dinner
I never did get to do the last 'fun thing' on my list last night - Internet shopping, and now I've done the money transfers to pay the bills I don't have enough to go shopping, so I'm going to save that for another day.
*I still owe myself a 'fun thing' from yesterday, so I'm going to start with reading a couple of chapters of my book.
Stinker: Accounts and Tax (max 1 hour to avoid time bingeing)
Neutral: Bookcrossing journalling (I want to get the books off the desk - max 1 hr, but I don't think it will take that long)
Fun: CUOP SHEsInTouch and reading (max 1 hour)