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.
Gwen D's Book Ending
Today I have to do these things before I go to a shift at 6pm.
1. change window sizes for quicktime for 33 pages on a site I'm finishing up
2. edit a licensing doc and save as PDF
3. bill my client and send back up copies of finished work
I will try to just get things done quickly and not make major productions of each thing. They shouldn't take very long to to!! And I will be working until 10:30 tonight, so...take it easy.
I should remember that this is the minimum just for the day and and there is still more to do. I so easily forget that work is actually a recurring event!
I will check in as I complete each task.
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Saturday Bookkeeping Goals
It's raining. Perfect day for this. I did my tai chi this morning. I've been psyching myself up. I bought hanging file folders and plastic boxes. I've read the finance help at lifeorganizers.com. And so, I set out to clean my file cabinet and organize my receipts. Conscious that I don't want to time binge, I'm going to set an absolute limit on this of two hours. It's noon. I'll stop in the middle and eat lunch.
1. go buy manila folders now (wish I'd gotten them yesterday)
2. label them Q1, Q2, Q3. Q4 for each of my regular paid bills for last two years..
utilities, cell phone, dsl/phone, health insurance, credit cards
3. have a folder only for current pending bills
4. have a folder for my bank statements, all I can find
5. divide three years of cash receipts into plastic zip lock bags (bought yesterday) and label Q1, Q2 etc. (I will sort this and catalog this further later)
6. sit and sort it all out
-----
There's more I want to do. But let's keep it there. (Boy it's hard to limit my goals to what I REALLY think I can accomplish in two hours!! I'm so impelled to tell you all my master plan for perfection.) Okay. Here I go.
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
Doing (Ahem) Fine..... 5 hours later
Okay, first let me say, I'm actually not putting anything else at risk with my mild, productive, Saturday binge. At least I'm going to stick to that story as long as I reasonably can.
I got distracted with the quick shopping errand, an important forgotten chore, a telephone call, lunch, and house cleaning---but I got going on the aforesaid bookeeping chore at 2:30. So, my planned "binge" went half an hour overtime. Not too bad.
BUT...I have done something that I think has been so repugnant to me that I haven't done it.... well, let's see.... EVER.
Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 -- 2003, 2004, 2005
Yep. I have sorted three years of receipts, that I had been hoarding, in the hopes of someday understanding money and understanding my taxes, (This is procrastinator's ANONYMOUS, right?) and not being clinically depressed. I have been hoarding, and waiting, and circling this task. I honestly can't conceive of what might be next, I'm not sure I should indulge in feeling good about this, I really hope it was productive and not just obsessive. I think I learned a lot. I am not feeling anxious or high, just kind of glad, and looking forward to more baby steps that will make some Big Steps possible soon.
Thanks for letting me bookend with you.
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
5 weeks later
I kept on with the filing and organizing off and on and finally sent off my taxes for 2003 and 2004. (Ahem.)
Procrastination is a big theme of Hamlet.
....That we would do
We should do when we would, for this "would" changes
And hath abatements and delays as many
As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents,
And then this "should" is like a spendthrift sigh
That hurts by easing.....
I think the last two lines mean that by saying, "I really ought to have," or "I really ought to," you ease the pain of having missed doing a thing. The last line is hard. I have never been able to get my head around the word "spendthrift" because it means someone who is not thrifty at all. So, maybe it means--the sighs of "I should have," or "I should" are cheap and are dispensed of too easily. Thus, the easy excuse or palliative conclusion "hurts", because you don't heal the bad behavior, instead you just say, "Oh well", and ease on through it yet again.
That's the Shakespeare lesson for the day.
Hah!
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
Well done Gwen!
I do do my receipts each year, and I just about understand my tax enough to do my own tax return (I had an accountant check it over and he said it was fine). Having said that, my tax return is now due, and I haven't done it, so it's something I need to get moving on too.
Normy
Day is Stymied--Trying to Recover
So...Yesterday I was good. Yesterday I got up early, got stuck here for a bit (and elsewhere), then got going at 11 am. I worked in the company of a friend and got stuff done then went to a shift at the theater (ushering). A no brainer evening, but I worked until 10:30. This morning I slept in to 9am. I didn't do a good breakfast and instead thought I'd treat myself to---get this---a video. My friend was waiting for me to come over and work again. He has to go on a field trip at 2:30 and I invited myself along. I thought I'd just take a break then get moving. But even when the video was over, I started surfing the net. And now my friend just called to say he doesn't want me to come over because it's too late before we leave. That he's frustrated. It's 1:30! I'm not dressed! I am very embarrassed. I think I can redeem myself. I have to work with theater friends again tonight, so I'm expecting to be up lateish.
Okay. Here's the plan for the hour.
Make mac and cheese or grab fast cheap food outside
Get (ahem) dressed.
Do a work task that I can get paid for. (that pdf from yesterday)
Clarify arrangements for my 6pm appointment
Be ready to go at 2:30
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
Hooray for Peanut Butter and Jelly
Okay. This was good. I REALLY tried. And I really thought of this bookend. It's amazing what you can do in only an hour. Flylady consciousness made me wash my dishes and make my bed. (Cool!) I started the work task, was foiled by crashing tables, tried instant Indian food, was repulsed, resorted to the delicious satisfying PB & J.
I went back to the work task and finished it. Sent it to the client just now.
I dressed up.
I talked to my 6 o'clock (He called me)
My friend is on his way over and we're off to nature to take pictures!!
Life is good.
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
Yay!
What a turn around Gwen! You've really bootstrapped yourself!
Normy
Good Luck!
I've found it really does help when I work with someone else in the room working too - I call it a 'workshare'. It doesn't even have to be the same sort of thing, and we don't even have to interact. I just have to know that they're working. I guess I don't want to suffer on my own!
Hmm - that mac and cheese sounds good :p
Normy
Workshare. Yes, Yes.
I depend on it. Need to go to cafés to have people around sometimes. My friend is a freelancer too, so we do it often. But he has to be at his house and sometimes I feel bad for leaving my cat, and not having my stuff.
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
How are you doing?
What time zone are you in Gwen? How are you getting on?
from Normy (in GMT-land, and off to bed shortly)
Done! (in San Francisco)
Thanks very much for checking on me. After a slow start, I did think of this book end and it spurred me through some obstacles. I tackled everything in good time. Didn't have time to report after each task as I was multi-tasking, and now I've got to go to work, but...Wow! This really helps!
Gnothi Seauton ~ Know Thyself
Yahoo, Gwen!! :)
I should do more bookending. I've been in total hyper-focus, time-bingeing mode, and not being good about breaking this because I'm so happy to be getting stuff done. But I know time bingeing isn't sustainable, and I need to do it "right" or I'll end up in a procrastination pit down the road.
Re the tasks on your list... Are you a Web developer? I am, too (obviously - since I put up this site).
WTG Gwen!
Well done! I now wish I'd bookended 'going to bed shortly' (though I wouldn't have been able to post the other bookend!) as I'm still here at 2.07 am. I'm off to start a bookend... LOL!
Normy