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.

Friday, 5 January 2007

Monica's picture

Last CI (1:30 am) for Lark

I made progress today, but could have done better: not enough to completely "check off" my "to do's". Tomorrow I'll clear them completely out--especially before starting anything new. Good night.

Monica's picture

Monica's CI - 1:45 am EST

Final Results:
[x] Wake at 5 am
[x] Shower
[x] Wipe down shower wall
[x] Oral care
[x] Devotional Time
[x] Facial
[x] Pedi-care
[x] Dress to shoes
[x] wipe down MBR vanity
[x] Get son ready for school
[x] Take son to school
[x] Scrub Kid’s Tub
[x] Leave for work at 9:45 am
[x] Pickup son from school at 3:15 pm
[Ø] Help son with HW
[x] Cook Dinner
[Ø] Give son bath before bed to streamline morning routine
[Ø] Type up next day's to do list
[Ø] Set out mouthwash
[Ø] Set alarm (Not tonight. It's almost 2am)
[x] Report Final CI
[Ø] In bed before 11 pm (Stayed out all night at a girlfriends house)

Bonus Item:
[Ø] Treat myself to a foot bath before bed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

jj's 11:20 p.m. CI

I don't think it's possible for me to break any more New Years resolutions than I did today :( I got up late, ate too much junk food and not near enough good food, didn't drink enough water, didn't exercise at all, didn't go shopping after work as planned, watched too much TV when I could have been read something informative or entertaining...

Anyone here have advice on limiting TV time? Once I turn it on, I'm sunk, but sometimes at the end of the day it's hard to resist. I'm tempted to heave it in the garbage sometimes.

DONE:
wash hair/face/brush teeth
take vitamins
make bed
get dressed
measure stuff for shopping tonight
check website
carwash
get coffee/breakfast driving to work
work 12-5 (check email on break, phone S about buying sofa bed)
eat fast food supper and lots of sweets
watched TV
wash face/brush and floss teeth
check email

TO DO:
read before bed

Not Done:
shopping for household items

Today I'm thankful for: (I'm struggling with this today) all the great customers we have at work that more than balance out the not-so-great customers

Limiting TV time?

Some things that have worked for me and tv use may help you a bit. I have a small alarm clock that I set atop the tv, and set it for a certain time. When it goes off I have to go over to the set, and it's easier to shut it off. Also, I put the remote on top of the tv. Another thing that works some is to turn the radio on instead. Nothing works perfectly, but these help. Good luck.

one hour per day max for TV

I realized not long ago that I was spending too much time each day watching TV, and I started limiting myself to one hour per day, maximum. That broke the habit of me watching certain shows, and now I don't even watch it for an hour, most days. I practice Chinese or read novels instead. :)

pro's last check-in - 11:30pm

I think I won't set the alarm tomorrow and just see when I wake up. Saturday is the best day to do this because I don't have to be anywhere until 11am.

To Do:
Empty dish drain.
Shower and dress.
Make and eat breakfast.
Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
Lay out pills for the day.
Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Put in contacts.
Clear spam folder.
Call about bicycle chains. (Left message.)
Call doctor.
Figure out budget.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Work on back accounting.
Bring down trash.
Buy groceries.
Get mail.
Go to meeting.
Meet with PR people (DA).
Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Bedtime routine.

Rollover:
Handle rest of pile.
One hour Chinese lesson.

pro's CI - 10pm

To Do:
Empty dish drain.
Shower and dress.
Make and eat breakfast.
Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
Lay out pills for the day.
Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Put in contacts.
Clear spam folder.
Call about bicycle chains. (Left message.)
Call doctor.
Figure out budget.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Work on back accounting.
Bring down trash.
Buy groceries.
Get mail.
Go to meeting.
Meet with PR people (DA).
Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Bedtime routine.

Rollover:
Handle rest of pile.
One hour Chinese lesson.

action plan

I left my PR meeting with some action items (naturally). The most important thing I got from the meeting was that I need to start scheduling time slots in my day to do the things I need to get done (different work projects, back taxes, etc.). I tried that before, but it didn't work because (1) I wasn't getting up early enough, and (2) I didn't make a good schedule.

I'm going to try it again. This time I'll schedule shorter periods of time for each thing - no time bingeing - and I'll stick to it religiously (or it won't work).

I'm thinking about letting myself get up naturally tomorrow - no alarm - and see what time I wake up. It's 10pm now. If I wanted to get up at 6am and get 8 hours sleep I'd have to be closing my eyes right now, but I'm not sleepy. Also, I'm eating a snack (I didn't have much dinner). On the other hand, I'm tempted to get up at 6am again just because I'm stubborn. Eventually it would seem my body has to adjust.

pro's CI - 6:40pm

To Do:
Empty dish drain.
Shower and dress.
Make and eat breakfast.
Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
Lay out pills for the day.
Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Put in contacts.
Clear spam folder.
Call about bicycle chains. (Left message.)
Call doctor.
One hour Chinese lesson. (Decided to skip - not enough time.)
Figure out budget.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Bring down trash.
Buy groceries.
Get mail.
Go to meeting.
Meet with PR people (DA).
Bedtime routine.

Mollie's Check-In 5:55pm

Done
All the stuff on my earlier list plus:
Plan points to make
Draft writing project
Deliver writing project
Defrost shrimp
Do OK

To Do
Draft ltr for JL
Reread RH response
Organize RL file
Do CG bill
Do BM bill
Leg exercises

Rollover:
Meet w/WOB

5:30PM CI from Lark

This has been an "off day" for me. I was outside and got wet, and I've been cold since. I focused on what needed to be done, but not enough. There were also some interuptions, good and bad, so that about evened out. Now, after a snack, I'm going to do as much as I can for work. I lost a client's number, so I tried to find him a little while ago. I stopped short of knocking on doors. At least I tried, so I'm hoping he'll call me, or I can find someone who knows him.

pro's CI - 3:15pm

One of the things on my to-do list is to return a book I bought from amazon.com. I was hoping I could use one of the boxes my new books came in, but they're too big. I had to buy one, and now I have to go back downstairs (again) to mail it. I'm getting exercise today.

I'm tempted to skip my Chinese lesson today because I have so many other things to do, but I need to learn to budget my time. I'm going to spend the one hour I committed to (and not go overboard).

To Do:
Empty dish drain.
Shower and dress.
Make and eat breakfast.
Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
Lay out pills for the day.
Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Put in contacts.
Clear spam folder.
Call about bicycle chains. (Left message.)
Call doctor.
One hour Chinese lesson.
Figure out budget.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Bring down trash.
Buy groceries.
Get mail.
Go to meeting.
Meet with PR people (DA).
Bedtime routine.

low energy

My energy is still low. It's got to be the withdrawal from caffeine. I was okay for a while, and now I'm sinking again.

I'm looking at the time, and thinking maybe I shouldn't try to study Chinese today because I must get my budget sorted out before I leave at 6:30pm, and that's not much time.

I'll decide when I come back from mailing my package.

Microsoft Money

I'm realizing that a major reason why I've been procrastinating on my accounting lately is because of how much I hate Microsoft Money. I recently switched because Quicken kept crashing, and if I upgraded my version of Quicken I'd lose the ability to import QIF files, but I just hate Microsoft Money. It's much harder to use. Also, I've been using Quicken for years and know it cold.

I need to resolve this. Either resign myself to Money or go back to Quicken.

I agree about MM

I too changed from Quicken to Microsoft Money. What a mistake. I hate MM and loved Quicken. Now I've switched the whole thing to QuickBooks. I guess if I could learn the darned thing it would be great. But so far, I'm clueless. If I could go back to Quicken, I would, but I need to use QuickBooks for my small business, unfortunately.

money mgt programs

I need to leave for a meeting so I have to be quick...

I was using Quicken Home & Business for years, and I was very happy with it. But then they said that after Quicken 2004, QIF files could no longer be imported. That's unacceptable to me - PayPal data is only in QIF form, and also data from other accounts I have. I stuck with Quicken 2004 for as long as I could, but it was starting to crash regularly, and I was having to reinstall it several times a day. I finally had to bite the bullet. I couldn't upgrade Quicken without losing a functionality I need, so I had to switch to Money - which I HATE HATE HATE, but need to stick with.

I guess I'll get used to it. ::sigh::

doing stuff you hate to do

I'm working on my back accounting and budget now. I absolutely hate doing this. How do you deal with tasks that you absolutely hate doing? Is there any way to make this less torture?

re: doing stuff you hate

I find putting on a CD of my favourite music helps, along with a good cup of tea, perhaps? I guess nothing will make the task itself more pleasant, so I focus on making my surroundings as pleasant as possible while I work on that dreaded task.

re: re: doing stuff you hate

I, too, try music and nice tea. I also try to do it in small doses. Set the timer for 15 or 30 minutes. And when it goes off, I'm done for the day. Also, if I do things that are really nurturing first, I can sometimes tolerate the stuff I don't like more easily.

making it palatable to do what you hate

Sometimes I turn on the TV to distract myself from the deadly boringness of it, but then I can get drawn into the TV program and not do the work. More often than not it works, though. I haven't tried music.

not doing what I said

I said I had no time to practice Chinese now, so what am I doing? I'm translating the Tao Te Ching. I just got a talking dictionary, which I installed.

Enough of this - I need to get my expenses compiled for the meeting tonight.

definitely time for accounting/budget stuff

I mailed the package, and picked up one that had arrived - my prescriptions. That was good timing since I didn't have enough medication for today.

I need to get right to my accounting - no time for Chinese today.

scarlett CI 3 pm EST

Slowwwwww. Now I'm shopping for a jacket. Need to stop that.

Eat breakfast
Respond to C email
Order pack
Fill out leave slips
Update upcoming reviews
Review 1
Update master to-do
Delete 'almost deletable' file

BALANCE. PATIENCE.

nice boxes :)

I see you found the new boxes. That's good. They look very nice. :)

>Slowwwwww. Now I'm shopping for a jacket. Need to stop that.

I can relate!! No shopping now.

pro's CI - 2pm

I'm working on my pile, slowly. There are a lot of different things to take care of in there.

To Do:
Empty dish drain.
Shower and dress.
Make and eat breakfast.
Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
Lay out pills for the day.
Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Put in contacts.
Clear spam folder.
Call about bicycle chains. (Left message.)
Call doctor.
One hour Chinese lesson.
Figure out budget.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Buy groceries.
Get mail.
Go to meeting.
Meet with PR people (DA).
Bedtime routine.

jj's 10:45 a.m. CI

DONE:
wash hair/face/brush teeth
take vitamins
make bed
get dressed
measure stuff for shopping tonight
check website

TO DO:
carwash
get coffee/breakfast driving to work
work 12-5 (check email on break)
supper out with R
shopping for household items
feed cat
wash/brush
read before bed

Mollie's Check-In 12:30pm

Done
Read CwG
Write in journal
Make bed
Shower & dress
Breakfast & vits
Wash dishes
Feed Mattie
Clean litter box
Reread what I wrote
Reread what they wrote
Read #1
Read #2
Read #3
TC w/BK
TC w/NW
Reschedule WOB mtg
Call FP re: TL (left mssg)
Call TL re: release
Draft m to c & fax
Call JV
Call MP
TC w/DLV
Draft dec. (started)

To Do
Plan points to make
Draft writing project
Deliver writing project
Draft ltr for JL
Reread RH response
Organize RL file
Do CG bill
Do BM bill
Defrost shrimp
Leg exercises
Do OK

Rollover:
Meet w/WOB

pro's CI - 12:25pm

I lost time from my 2-hour nap, but apparently I needed the sleep. I'll continue to try to get up at 6am. My body has to adjust eventually (I think).

To Do:
Empty dish drain.
Shower and dress.
Make and eat breakfast.
Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
Lay out pills for the day.
Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Put in contacts.
Clear spam folder.
Call about bicycle chains.
Call doctor.
One hour Chinese lesson.
Figure out budget.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Buy groceries.
Get mail.
Go to meeting.
Meet with PR people (DA).
Bedtime routine.

oops

I'm out of medication, which isn't a good thing. I don't even have enough to get through the day. I reordered it just before the New Year. I hope it arrives soon. I wasn't really procrastinating on this - I just wasn't on top of how little I had left.

books, books, books

I ordered a few more books on Chinese (talking dictionary, another writing book), and that has created a new bookcase crisis. Something else has to go - I haven't yet decided what. Or maybe I can find somewhere to put another bookcase. Or maybe I'll start stacking them two deep in the closet (though that does make access pretty difficult).

book solution

I found a way to stack the books two-deep in the closet without completely obscuring view and access to the first layer. That worked. Now onto the next thing...

scarlett CI 12:10 pm EST

Been a really rough week in terms of productivity, y'all.

I'm about to go out to lunch but I'm going to see if I can get the next thing done before that.

Already done:
Eat breakfast
Respond to C email
Order pack
Fill out leave slips

To do:
Update upcoming reviews
Update master to-do
Delete 'almost deletable' file

9:30 am CI from Lark Good morning everyone

I had a huge day yesterday, and it was okay. Often when I'm "at the mercy of others", it can get pretty freaky and difficult. Today I have alot of things to do here. There's one project that my client's getting anxious for, and another huge one I've been pecking away at forever. It's as if I have to keep everyone happy, and things get drawn out. For this morning I'm focusing on the big one. If I hit a difficult spot, I'll have lunch and decide the next move. Some house work is in order, too, which I like about as much as Pro does accounting! Gee, I wish we could swap tasks there. Since posting here, the house is loads better than before, though.
Ta Da:
morning things
phone calls

To Do: (TILL LUNCH BREAK)
work on above project
try to contact a client for scheduling
a bit of housework
order supplies.

I'd switch with you any day!

>Some house work is in order, too, which I like about as much as Pro does accounting! Gee, I wish we could swap tasks there.

Oh, how I wish that were possible. I just detest accounting, but I find housework to be meditative and pleasant. With accounting, you're forced to focus on something boring - sheer torture. With housework, my mind can wander - much more pleasant.

Monica's picture

Monica's CI - 9:50 am EST

Current Results:
[x] Wake at 5 am
[x] Shower
[x] Wipe down shower wall
[x] Oral care
[x] Devotional Time
[x] Facial
[x] Pedi-care
[x] Dress to shoes
[] Make bed (Husband is in it again, this morning)
[x] wipe down MBR vanity
[x] Get son ready for school
[x] Take son to school
[x] Scrub Kid’s Tub
[x] Leave for work at 9:45 am
[] Pickup son from school at 3:15 pm
[] Help son with HW
[] Cook Dinner (I need to think about what to fix so I don't procrastinate on this)
[] Give son bath before bed to streamline morning routine
[] Type up next day's to do list
[] Set out mouthwash
[] Set alarm
[] Report Final CI
[] In bed before 11 pm

Bonus Item:
[] Treat myself to a foot bath before bed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

Mollie's Check-In 8:30am

Done
Read CwG
Write in journal
Make bed
Shower & dress
Breakfast & vits
Wash dishes
Feed Mattie
Clean litter box

To Do
Reread what I wrote
Reread what they wrote
Read #1
Read #2
Read #3
Plan points to make
Draft writing project
Deliver writing project
Meet w/WOB
Call FP re: TL
Call TL re: release
Draft m to c & fax
Draft ltr for JL
Reread RH response
Call JV
Organize RL file
Do CG bill
Do BM bill
Call MP
Defrost shrimp
Leg exercises
Do OK

pro's first check-in - 7am

Thanks for the nice "good morning" greeting, Monica!

I was up at 6am today, and again awakened by my alarm. It's odd to me that I don't start waking up at 6am on my own. I think it's because it's still dark.

To Do:
Empty dish drain.
Shower and dress.
Make and eat breakfast.
Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
Lay out pills for the day.
Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Put in contacts.
Clear spam folder.
Call about bicycle chains.
Call doctor.
One hour Chinese lesson.
Figure out budget.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Buy groceries.
Get mail.
Go to meeting.
Meet with PR people (DA).
Bedtime routine.

too tired

I don't think this 6am thing is working for me. My body can't adjust. I'm always exhausted when I get up. I just lay down at 8:10am and slept for two hours. I try to go to bed earlier, but I'm not tired and I just toss and turn.

I think my body doesn't like getting up before it's light. I'm going to wake up without an alarm this weekend, and see what time that turns out to be. I think I may do better getting up at 7am than 6am.

problems with early rising

Maybe the reason I had so much trouble this morning with staying awake - even though I was showered, dressed, and the bed was made - is that I had a migraine that was unmedicated. I was waiting for it to go away on its own, which it wasn't doing. I had to take migraine meds after the 2 hour nap.

Or maybe it's that quitting caffeine at the same time is causing problems. That can make me tired all the time for a while.

It's convenient for me to get up at 6am from a "getting my life done" perspective. I'd really like to be able to adjust to it. I'll give it a little more time.

Monica's picture

Morning Pro

You're welcome Mr P.

I actually woke up 8 minutes before my alarm today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

how do you do that?

I never wake up before my alarm, and I just ended up going back to sleep for two hours - after getting showered and dressed and having breakfast. I don't seem to be able to adjust to 6am. Even when I do get up, I'm so tired I can barely drag myself around, and I don't function well for the first part of the day.

Monica's picture

Waking Early

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with rising early. I don't know why or how it works for me, it just does. I also couldn't begin to know what would work for you. I humbly offer one suggestion...Water. Are you a water drinker? Maybe increasing your water intake, especially in the morning, will help energize you. It may not have an immediate affect, but, you may feel a difference in a few days. You could try it over the weekend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

Mollie's Check-In

To Do
Read CwG
Write in journal
Make bed
Leg exercises
Do OK
Shower & dress
Breakfast & vits
Wash dishes
Reread what I wrote
Reread what they wrote
Read #1
Read #2
Read #3
Plan points to make
Draft writing project
Deliver writing project
Meet w/WOB
Call FP re: TL
Draft m to c & fax
Draft ltr for JL
Reread RH response
Call JV
Defrost shrimp
Organize RL file
Do CG bill
Do BM bill

Rexroth 11.11 GMT

Todo today

up prayer, reflection and meditation
go out food shopping
deal with phone messages, post and emails
reconcile bank statement
complete December Assets and Liabilities accounts

completed thus far

complete letter to solicitor (I'm finding this very difficult)
email copy to him
tidy up the whole place (again I'm finding this very difficult)
start up craft project (yet again I'm...etc)

brief walk
journal
prayer and reflection
bed and sleep

I'm aware that I've been very much into avoidance behaviour over the last few days.

Regards Rexroth

Rexroth 11.34

I've just finished and emailed the letter to solicitor. It was difficult and I don't think I'd have done it without posting about it. It didn't take long either.

Regards Rexroth

Monica's picture

Hooray!!!



I'm thinking... Happiness must come in the form of completed tasks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

Rexroth 22.11 GMT

Thanks Monica.

I haven't finished tidying up and I haven't started on my craft project but I had a much longer 2.5 hr walk and have done lots of bits of admin and I feel happy with what I've achieved today and that a first for a long time.

So to bed and sleep

Regards Rexroth

Monica's picture

Monica's CI - 5:45 am EST

I've spent way too much time online this morning. I better put my butt in gear and get going.

Be blessed and have a productive day everyone.

To Do:
[x] Wake at 5 am
[] Shower
[] Wipe down shower wall
[] Oral care
[] Devotional Time
[] Facial
[] Pedi-care
[] Dress to shoes
[] Make bed
[] wipe down MBR vanity
[] Get son ready for school
[] Take son to school
[] Scrub Kid’s Tub
[] Leave for work at 9:45 am
[] Pickup son from school at 3:15 pm
[] Type up next day's to do list
[] Set out mouthwash
[] Set alarm
[] Report Final CI
[] In bed between 9:30 pm - 10:00pm

Bonus Item:
[] Give son bath before bed to streamline morning routine (I may change this to something else later, if I can think of something better)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.