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, September 3, 2008

computer crash

Sent off update email to M. letting her know I've done my part but still haven't gotten the necessary answers from T.W. to move forward.  Correspondance with her is almost always stressful, so it feels good to know that I took action in the way of communication and not of avoidance.

Ok, I am not responding to this emotionally.  My Microsoft Word just crashed and lost ALL OF MY FORMATTING FOR MY ALMOST-DONE RESUME.

 I will not let this stop me.  I am continuing without looking back

Lark at 8:38pm, Things got better.

Hi again, and thanks again everyone. My one MIT is totally finished and the other is as far as possible toward completion. I didn't allow myself to get sidetracked, and while I did do some netsurfing a couple times, I focused on the two tasks at hand. Seems both clients suddenly became more lax when told things were nearly done, but that's not an invitation to slow my progress on things. I get easily distracted, and while I don't like to call whatever this is ADD, I've found a great ADD forum which helps me alot. There are good ideas there like the "Don't do list", etc. If anyone is interested send me an e-mail through this site, and I'll forward more info to you. Thanks again folks. and see you later.

kromer 8 CI

OK, very late today (it was the first day of classes, and I'm still moving/shopping, and generally feeling behind).

My MITs for this evening are:
*Do laundry (Started)
*Finish repairing JB's wall
*Finish unpacking everything in my room except books (Working on this now)
*Do pset on tumor growth
*Check on WM jobs
*Start next stage of NRIP1 randomizations

I'm going to start with laundry, JB's wall, WM jobs and unpacking. Back when those are done.

kromer 10:20 CI

Did laundry, unpacking, wall repair, checking on jobs. Then I lost focus for about 30 min, but now I'm back and prepared to concentrate. I'm going to do the tumor growth pset, back when that's done. 

kromer 11:40 CI

OK, working slowly, but I finally finished the pset. I'm exhausted, but I think I can get the next step of the randomization runs started if I work efficiently, and be in bed by 12:15 or 12:30. It's really important that I work steadily on this coregulator project so I can get a paper done! Here are the small steps I need to complete tonight:
*Copy files to other computer (DONE)
*Try a test job (DONE)
*Change paths to be correct for this computer (DONE)
*Write script to run all (DONE)
*Launch script (DONE)
*Check progress after a few minutes
*Go to bed!

Updates as each of these mini-steps is completed.

kromer 12:15 CO

Finished my MITs for the evening, going to bed now.

Recycler CI 6:45pm EST

Hi Pro Buddies!

I love the Tire Swing! :) Looks Fun! :)

Today: walked, stretched, work. Doing projects, keeping up with Assignment List a little more than usual. Had a number of "pop up" projects. Approved something, but then another department had to re-do it; felt kind of bad about that, but at least they didn't get mad (they had made one of their own mistakes in it, too, so that's partly why they didn't get mad). Met with other boss; continued to revise Project List. Walked home.

Even though I have 1 therapist appt a month, trying to decide if I need an extra one this month ...

Tonight: do I want to wash a load of clothes? Do I want to straighten up the condo a little? We'll see. ;)

Have a great night, everyone! :)

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here! :)

Journey 3:00

Worked some on MIT #2, had trouble getting started because this is a new project and it will be long, tedious, and complicated.  Ended up surfing for about 40 minutes after I innocently googled something for work, and got lost in the tubes.   :O 

I realized that the little slip was caused by the fear of the unknown scary new project, and that I didn't really know where to start, so I sat me down and made a list of itty bitty tee-tiny steps to take.    Now I have started, and I know what to do next.8) 

Now a couple of administrative tasks, then an hour on MIT #4, then pack up everything to lug into the office tomorrow.  Then done with work for the day! 

I'll make a quick dinner starting about 5:30 and if all goes well, I'll have a couple of hours of guilt free down time at the end of the day. 

Jo

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." 

Ag checking in 12:45

I was actually here working at 8:30 and thinking, man, I could actually do an early PA check-in today!  And then, the phone rang....sigh.

It's so great to catch up here. Each of you is really dear to me. Thanks for being here and sharing your walk.  I gather strength from every post.

Amazingly I got through 27 doc-edits yesterday and still managed to turn around a couple of other MITs, even without orderly prioritizing or posting. But it definitely is time to prioritize!

  • Lunch and review AP Proj workplan
  • Schedule workplan MITs to meet 9/5 and 9/7 deadlines
  • Update and re-prioritize to-do lists
  • clean out Outlook Inbox
  • 4 pm date with J
  • 7 pm support group meeting

I will check back here by 1:45 with an update.

Ag 2:45

Oh-oh, this is not a good sign - checking back in an hour later than I said, having managed only to start lunch and all else was distraction - saw a personal email right after I posted above, and took too long to reply. Then got three important personal phone calls, a fax, and did a microburst to find the late car registration for J  ($10 fine, not bad as my late fees go...what will life be like without late fees?  Hmmm....)

Up next: review the workplan and pray to prioritize.

Journey noon

Twelve o'clock already?! 

MIT #1 is done, and I've attended a (non-boring) hour-long meeting about another project. 

Lunch break . . .

 

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." 

working hard, but next time...

Still working very very hard because of an imminent deadline.

It's the old thing of getting a lot of support and attention from allies to help with this, and that rewards the last minutism. The relief of this kind of pressure, though, is that I am succumbing to minimal distractions. And I remember how good it feels to really give the work my all. There is just kind of no choice of 'shall I do x instead.'

Resolution: hang onto this mode of strong focus and try to get it going under other circumstances. and try NOT to reinforce the addiction to last minutism.

I can really identify with that.

I'm experiencing much the same thing here, and the desire to follow the same new path as well. Hang in there...

how to find a new path

Thanks George.

How to get on the new path?...How to create a little more structure and sense of urgency every day so I don't need these intense pressure phases... I am going to be trying to see a way...

One thing I've tried before...

...with mixed success but want to try again:

Scheduling incremental steps in a task.

Example: Suppose I need to write a 10-page paper. I put a due date on my task list 15 days before it is do to write 1 page. I make that a recurring task for the next 10 days.

It's a good idea if it works. But I'll also confess that it's not unusual for me to see it and discount it when it starts because the REAL due date is so far off. Even if it works it needs to be tweaked for shorter-term tasks, although they often carry their own urgency in my experience.**for example: I've put a recurring task on my task list to spend 15 minutes a day writing my mother. But I've ignored that for the last week as it ages and ages.

 

Again, I'd hope to use accountability here to help stick with this strategy.

 

I wish I knew...

...I've had some luck with Microsoft Outlook and using the task pad, customized as suggested in a book called Total Workday Control, by Michael Linenberger; he takes his ideas, in turn, from Getting Things Done by David Allen.

 

But it's not as simple as that, as I've proved to myself :-( in the last week or so.

Checking in here is also helpful.

More later...

some days suck less than others

Right -o !  Anytime I have a really good day, I start thinking, "why can't I be like this EVERY day?!" 

Jo

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." 

Gratitude, Jo

One of the most "moaned over" topics at my 12 step group meeting is gratitude, but we all need it, huh? I think it was George Carlin who said something like if all our days were wonderful, we'd be complaining about most of the days we're now hoping we'll have. Hmm. I still don't like that topic, but...

Lark at 9:51am , Bad day and week...

Hi everyone. I haven't been posting well lately, and for whatever reasons my world is starting to suck. While trying to finish a MIT yesterday a friend had a moderate emergency, so I left to help for a short time. To save time and your sanity, things went wrong with the MIT which could've been easily corrected if I was here, a parcel I needed to sign for came and went, and my client who's owed me a large bill came in and left while I was gone. Hrmph. I'm really upset, and don't feel like doing anything today. But...I know I can't, as yesterday's stuff will crash into today's, and the entire week will be a trainwreck. I guess I need to finish MIT's one and two today. Simple but not easy. I'd appreciate any postive thoughts my way. See you.

Sending my hopes for you...

...Hang in there... take some deep breaths, take one moment and task at a time... Figure out what the very next thing to do is to advance the ball on your two MITs...

Sending virtual hugs...

 

GS

hugs to lark

sending good vibrations to Lark

good vibes ~~~~~~~~~~> Lark

You did what you had to do!  Today will be better. 

Jo

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." 

positive thoughts to Lark

Positive thoughts coming your way now Lark. It sounds like a bummer of a day; hang in there if you can and keep going...And remember the the week's still got half of it left, no?

Thanks to everyone from Lark

Things aren't quite a bad as they were a couple of hours ago. I'm making progress on both MITs, and while I'm sort of procrastinating now, I figured a few minutes away from work, a banana, and a cup of leftover coffee can only help--I've never heard anything to the contrary. I did make a simple "Do not do." list, and am focusing only on my main tasks. I also turned the ringer off on my workshop phone, and I checked the answering machine while the computer was booting up. No messeges. Yippee! I'll be rewrding myself with a little online time in a couple of hours, so I'll see you all then. Thanks.

I'm glad you're hanging in there, Lark! :)

Hi Lark!

I'm glad you are hanging in there! :)

Hugs! :)

Recycler

Thank you, gals & guys, for being here! :)

encouraging Lark

Your kindness to me during my recent trials meant so much, that it's a joy to return the encouragement, Lark. Sometimes, for me, leaving aside my appointed MITs to help someone else seems to be God's will for me (Step 3). But other times it turns out to be just codependent chaos that fosters more procrastination. So far, I can never really tell except in retrospect, honestly. But what I know of you from sharing here, I am completely confident that you are on track with your Higher Power!

And, I really like this idea you had: <<<I also turned the ringer off on my workshop phone >>> Sounds to me like your Step 2 is in good working order!

Journey 9:30

Well, it took me an hour to do my 20-minute day starter.   But it is done, and I have my MITs.  Now I can has coffee? 

Jo

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

GeorgeSmiley 8:20 AM

I came down to my basement home office at 7:30, nearly an hour ago. What followed was a case study in one of my procrastination patterns.

I got a message from a networking site that I belong to. Next thing I know I'm at the site, reading my profile, tweaking it some, etc. etc. etc.  And finally at 8 or so I'm off it and checking other email. Then following messages to other spots.

So here I am...

MIT#1: Advance the ball on Project R so I can then send something to my editor and get a better sense of my time frame.

 MIT#2: Finish Project PS

 MIT#3: Get my outlook task list up to date again.

 Back here in 30 minutes

GS: 10 AM update; 10:38 AM update

Aargh... 30 minutes turned into 45 minutes. That was a good thing. Then I was all set to go here at 9:15 and then the next thing I know another 45 minutes have passed with no particular accomplishments.


I did get some more progress underway on Project R.


Before that I also did something radical (for me): I deleted my Freecell statistics. Not freecell itself. But the fact is I've been artificially keeping a "perfect" score in Freecell with  some 360+ wins in a row and no losses. That's only because when I see I'm going to lose I reboot the computer before the loss occurs. So it's a phony statistic anyway. 


Anyway, playing freecell is a routine task avoider for me, and then engaging in the above gyration  to keep my perfect score just adds to the delay. So deleting the score and not playing again is a way of trying to break with that habit.


Still, it's not the be-all and end-all by any means. The 45 minutes I lost up to now didn't involve any freecell at all. Just a snack, and then some email, and then some calendar fiddling around, and so on.


Next task: Work on MIT #2, which is Project PS. 

UPDATE 10:38 AM

Starting again again!

Somehow I never got to that MIT #2, but instead followed one side track and then another. 

So here again: MIT #2, Project PS.

Update: 11:30 AM; 12 Noon; 1 PM

Well, I managed to stick with Project PS, just barely.


I'll spend another 30 minutes on it then have some lunch, and check in here just before I eat.

UPDATE: 12 Noon: Again, mostly stuck with the project. A couple of brief side detours, but then I successfully returned to the task at hand.


Now, lunch. I'll check back after eating with a plan for the afternoon.

 

UPDATE: 1 PM: Back from lunch. Ready to go back on to Project PS. 

 

 

Update 2:25 PM; 6 PM

I did some work on Project PS from 1 to 2. Made progress.


Fairly distracted for the last 20 minutes or so. 


And now Project R is nagging at me.


Right now I'm going to work on Project R for 30 minutes.

UPDATE 6 PM: Well, I worked on Project R rather aimlessly for a total of about 3 hours, making a little bit of progress but still feeling badly blocked and having trouble getting very far. At 5 I returned to project PS, which I need to finish today and move back to the clients. (This is an easy project, because it's just editing, but still time-consuming.)

I'm going to spend a few more minutes on PS then do some things in the kitchen so that the lovely and talented Mrs. GS needs less time to fix supper when she gets home from work.

 

George!

"But the fact is I've been artificially keeping a "perfect" score in Freecell with  some 360+ wins in a row and no losses. That's only because when I see I'm going to lose I reboot the computer before the loss occurs. "

I'm laughing so hard I have tears in my eyes. 

Jo

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." 

Glad to leave you laughing...

...and realizing, through your tear-filled eyes, how silly it seems (which i already knew even if I didn't quite admit to myself) makes me laugh out loud, too :-)

 

 

Journey 8:30

Mornin' peeps. 

Been to gym, haven't done the day starter.  Doing that now, then I can have coffee . . .Back in half hour. 

If you can’t ride two horses at once, you shouldn’t be in the circus.”  - Jimmy Maxton, Independent Labour MP for Glasgow Bridgeton