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.
Sunday 7 January 2007
Well, it is morning here on the Eastern coast of the red-white-and-blue for those of us who are insomniacs.:)
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To do list: Done
my goals for the rest of this day:
1.Try to get at least two hours of sleep. DONE
2.Feed horse. DONE
3.Feed kid. DONE
4.Toss that laundry in the dryer. DONE + 1 more
5.Take kid to buy suit for his senior pic. DONE
6.Buy dog food. DONE
7.Hug my horse. DONE
8.Hug my kid. DONE
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Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe - Albert Einstein
doitnow final CI & write-up 11:05 PM PST
Looks like I'm done being productive for today. I did more than my usual, perhaps much more, but only half of what I wanted to. I planned 14 30/5 work bocks, which should have taken me a modest 8 hours.
Reasons for failing to complete everything I planned: I don't know. I was finding it increasingly hard to focus. Also, I kind of got myself into a sort of temporary dead end, and felt the need to consult my colleagues when go back to work Monday. But, excuses aside, there was still work that could have been done today, but for some reason I decided that this was enough.
Added:
tomorrow's list
pro's last check-in - 11:10pm
Frustrating day. I tried to do the right thing, but technology was against me.
To Do:
Empty dish drain.
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.
Shower and dress.
Put in contacts.
Water plants.
Go to DA meeting.
Work on back accounting.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Make popcorn to bring to party.
Go to party.
Clear spam folder.
Half hour Chinese lesson.
Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Bedtime routine.
Rollover:
Clean toilet.
Work on book.
Handle rest of pile.
Monica's CI - 10:50 pm EST
Final Results:
[x] Wake at 5am
[x] Shower
[x] Oral care
[x] Facial
[x] Pedi-care
[x] Dress to shoes
[x] Make bed
[x] wipe down MBR vanity
[x] Attend Church with family
[x] Scrub kids’ tub
[x] Catch up on laundry
[x] Braid preteen daughter’s hair
[x] Help son with HW
[x] Plan for preteen daughter’s birthday party in February
[x] Give son bath before bed to streamline morning routine
[x] Internet searches: party ideas/intranet/banners
[Ø] Cook Dinner
[Ø] After dinner cleanup
[x] Type up next day's to do list
[x] Set out mouthwash
[x] Set alarm
[x] In bed before 11pm
Bonus Item:
[Ø] Treat myself to a foot bath before bed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.
pro's CI - 10:25pm
At this point I'm not sure which I hate more - Spb Finance (which I wasted the whole day on because of a bug) or Microsoft Money (which is the most clumsy design I've ever seen in a program).
The beginning of today's nightware was the decision to install the latest version of Spb Finance, which turns out to have a dreadful bug in it that prevents it from working at all. I rolled back to the previous version and it works - but not before wasting the entire day on it.
Now I'm trying to configure Microsoft Money - made all the more difficult because of the hellish design. For example, there are hundreds and hundreds of useless memorized "payees". You'd think I'd be able to delete more than one at a time, right? But noooooo. Not only must I delete them one at a time, each deletion must be confirmed.
I shall go mad. I really shall.
I have to go to bed now. I'm traveling tomorrow, and I want to get an early start.
Thomas C.
Raking takes so much time! I got the front done--that's it. Actually, only the section that people can see. There's more in the front to do (behind a wall), plus the side patio and the back. But it's dark, so it's not gonna happen today.
Christmas lights are done, and away. Christmas tree is out of the stand and in the street, ready for the city to pick it up, along with the leaves. Other Christmas stuff is still in living room. That's next: put it all away, vacuum, and finish the dishes.
Then light a fire in the fireplace, and start revising lectures.
Mollie's Last Check-In 9:55pm
I got a bunch of stuff done today & then there was a bunch I didn't get to. Mid-afternoon I estimated how long everything would take. I had 17 hours worth of stuff to fit in a max of 12 hours' time. So unsurprisingly it didn't all happen. But not bad for a Sunday, I guess.
Done
Stuff listed before &:
Go to movies
Eat a salad
Set up breakfast
Wash dinner dishes
Rollover:
Draft rest of m for r of c
Straighten office for 15 mins
Enter 1/4-1/6 hours
Do CG bill
Do NP bill
Bill closed cases
Go to CVS
Buy bread
Reread RH response
Organize RL file
Prepare & send MH ltr
Draft aff for MPD
Do laundry
Prep m to send to NP & L
doitnow CI 6:05 PM PST
Added:
tomorrow's list
doitnow CI 4:00 PM PST
Added:
tomorrow's list
Mollie's Check-In 4:45pm
Well, off to the movies. Feeling stressed that I won't get anything done after that. But I have plans & I'm gonna keep 'em.
Done
Stuff listed before &:
Leg exercises
Shower & dress
Go to gym
Do OK
Draft m for r of c (mostly)
To Do
Straighten office for 15 mins
Enter 1/4-1/6 hours
Do CG bill
Do NP bill
Bill closed cases
Go to CVS
Buy bread
Go to movies
Reread RH response
Organize RL file
Prepare & send MH ltr
Draft aff for MPD
Do laundry
Prep m to send to NP & L
Eat a salad
Set up breakfast
Wash dinner dishes
Thomas C.
Okay, Christmas lights are down, and laid out on the lawn so that I can put them away in good order. Saves time for next year. Right now I'm taking a break so I don't time binge.
Next step is put them away. Then another break. Then rake leaves.
doitnow CI 1:13 PM PST
Edge's CI - 10:26 PM
The day is pretty much over, but what the heck, I'm going to be up till 2am; there's still time to kill.
[]Complete university registration form.
[]Complete uni cover letter.
[]Listen to Mike's show.
[]Perpare tomorrow's to-do list so I don't forget what needs to be done.
[]Do a minimum of 20 minutes of research for Gus's blog project.
[]Send Ara email abt yesterday's topic (or talk to her if online).
[]Clean room.
[X]Put in a new batch of laundry.
Welcome Edge
Glad you decided to join us.
All the best,
Monica
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"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.
Thanks
Thanks, Monica :) Lord knows I need it.
Monica's CI - 2:25 pm EST
Current Results:
[x] Wake at 5am
[x] Shower
[x] Oral care
[x] Facial
[x] Pedi-care
[x] Dress to shoes
[x] Make bed
[x] wipe down MBR vanity
[x] Attend Church with family
[Ø] Meet girlfriends for early dinner (Dinner was cancelled)
[] Scrub kids’ tub
[] Catch up on laundry
[x] Braid preteen daughter’s hair
[] Help son with HW
[] Plan for preteen daughter’s birthday party in February
[] Give son bath before bed to streamline morning routine
[] Internet searches: party ideas/intranet/banners
[] Cook Dinner
[] After dinner cleanup
[] Type up next day's to do list
[] Set out mouthwash
[] Set alarm
[] In bed before 11pm
Bonus Item:
[] Treat myself to a foot bath before bed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.
Mollie's Check-In 1:35pm
I'm having trouble getting stuff done today. It seems to be a combination of feeling overwhelmed & guilty due to past procrastination, feeling like I worked hard yesterday & want a break, feeling like it's Sunday & I shouldn't have to work. But I also know that I'll feel better if I get more done. I'm going to try to do the starred (*) things below before I leave for the gym at 2:30pm. Here goes!
Done
Stuff listed before &:
Write in journal
Change printer drum
Respond to SG's email
*Draft m for r of c (partly)
To Do
Leg exercises
*Straighten office for 15 mins
Shower & dress
Enter 1/4-1/6 hours
Do CG bill
Do NP bill
Bill closed cases
Go to gym
Go to CVS
Buy bread
Do OK
Go to movies
Reread RH response
Organize RL file
Prepare & send MH ltr
Draft aff for MPD
Do laundry
Prep m to send to NP & L
Eat a salad
Set up breakfast
Wash dinner dishes
doitnow CI 10:37 AM PST
Thomas C.--after sleep
Man, I don't want to do anything today! It's Sunday. Isn't that the day of rest? I need rest.
But there are at least five things that really need doing, and I've been procrastinating badly on the last one:
- do dishes
- take down Christmas lights from house, Christmas tree, put Christmas stuff away
- rake leaves--yes, in January
- revise lectures for tomorrow
- balance checkbook, plan spending, pay bills
I've avoided the last one for a while. And I'm even in Debtors Anonymous! I think calling someone who might be willing to be a DA sponsor is actually a really good idea today.
And, of course, I get up and the first thing I do is get on the computer, instead of meditating. So I need to do that first.
pro's CI - 12 noon
I can't clean the toilet because I don't have any cleanser, so I'll put that off until the next time I go to the store.
To Do:
Empty dish drain.
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.
Shower and dress.
Put in contacts.
Water plants.
Work on book.
Go to DA meeting.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Make popcorn to bring to party.
Go to party.
Clear spam folder.
One hour Chinese lesson.
Go to AA meeting (tentative).
Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Bedtime routine.
Rollover:
Clean toilet.
Spb Finance is HELL to set up.
This is the pits. It's Spb Finance is such a HUGE pain in the butt to set up. Millions of problems. I'm reinstalling it after rebuilding my computer, and as I recall it has to be installed in main memory (although it doesn't say that anywhere in the instructions). Maybe I'll try that. What a pain. I've been at this for hours.
pro's CI - 11am
I'm back from the DA meeting. I think what I'm going to work on first today is my accounting. My systems are all screwed up from the changeover from Quicken to Money. Money totally messed up my categories, and added all kinds of other garbage that I have to clear out. My budgets and custom reports have disappeared. My synchronization with my Pocket PC isn't working right, and I'm confused about one piece of the Pocket PC program - can't see how it works.
My DA pressure group suggested that I start keeping my numbers from TODAY, and then work on the back accounting gradually. That's a good idea, but it requires that I get my systems in order. So that's first up today.
I'm a little worried that I'm not practicing Chinese every day because if I'm not consistent I'll never learn it. Tomorrow I'm going out of town overnight, so it's unlikely I'll work on it Monday or Tuesday, either. I guess I can let it slide a few more days.
To Do:
Empty dish drain.
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.
Shower and dress.
Put in contacts.
Water plants.
Clean toilet.
Work on book.
Go to DA meeting.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Make popcorn to bring to party.
Go to party.
Clear spam folder.
One hour Chinese lesson.
Go to AA meeting (tentative).
Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Bedtime routine.
9:55am CI from Lark (battling perfectionism today)
Alot of things are coming to a head, and I'm dragging my feet because they're not gonna be "perfect". This one project is nearly done, and I'm not going to make anymore on it, so it needs to go. I'm really frustrated, so I'm going to see if I can "borrow" my neighbor for a short while today, just to get it ready. I have more projects in line which don't have to be perfect, and some bills coming up to pay. I've pissed away this past week so focused on this one, that only a minimal amount of other stuff got done. I'll be back.
To do;
Finish the damned thing.
House work for half an hour.
Begin next project.
Morning routine.
lark...?
I'm curious what kind of work you do, if you don't mind saying. If you feel it might break your anonymity, I understand.
Mollie's Check-In 9:50am
Done
Read CwG
Change sheets
Make bed
Breakfast & vits
Put away & wash dishes
Feed Mattie
Clean litter box
To Do
Write in journal
Leg exercises
Straighten office for 15 mins
Shower & dress
Change printer drum
Enter 1/4-1/6 hours
Do CG bill
Do NP bill
Bill closed cases
Go to gym
Go to CVS
Buy bread
Do OK
Go to movies
Reread RH response
Organize RL file
Prepare & send MH ltr
Draft aff for MPD
Draft m for r of c
Do laundry
Prep m to send to NP & L
Respond to SG's email
Eat a salad
Set up breakfast
Wash dinner dishes
pro's CI - 8:45am
I'm running late. I really wanted to work on my book before leaving for the meeting. :(
To Do:
Empty dish drain.
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.
Shower and dress.
Put in contacts.
Water plants.
Clean toilet.
Work on book.
Go to DA meeting.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Make popcorn to bring to party.
Go to party.
Clear spam folder.
One hour Chinese lesson.
Go to AA meeting (tentative).
Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Bedtime routine.
Mollie's Check-In 7:15am
To Do
Read CwG
Write in journal
Make bed
Leg exercises
Straighten office for 15 mins
Shower & dress
Breakfast & vits
Put away & wash dishes
Feed Mattie
Clean litter box
Change printer drum
Enter 1/4-1/6 hours
Do CG bill
Do NP bill
Bill closed cases
Go to gym
Go to CVS
Buy bread
Do OK
Go to movies
Reread RH response
Organize RL file
Prepare & send MH ltr
Draft aff for MPD
Draft m for r of c
Do laundry
Prep m to send to NP & L
Respond to SG's email
Eat a salad
Set up breakfast
Wash dinner dishes
pro's CI - 7:15am
To Do:
Empty dish drain.
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.
Shower and dress.
Put in contacts.
Water plants.
Clean toilet.
Work on book.
Go to DA meeting.
Handle rest of pile.
Work on back accounting.
Make and eat lunch.
Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
Make popcorn to bring to party.
Go to party.
Clear spam folder.
One hour Chinese lesson.
Go to AA meeting (tentative).
Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
Wash dishes.
Bedtime routine.
pro's first check-in - 6:45am
I was up at 6am, but have spent the last 45 minutes fixing problems from Yoda's posts (overlarge pictures, links to porn). Grrrrr, Yoda!! I have trouble enough managing my time. Please help by being a good forum citizen!
On the positive side, I feel fairly awake this morning. I think my body is finally adjusting to 6am waking - or maybe it's adjusting to no caffeine. Or both.
doitnow CI 3:07 AM PST
Sunday hasn't started for me yet, but I'm planning ahead. I want to work in 30/5 blocks (30 minutes work with no distractions followed by 5 minutes on distractions, whatever). This seemed to work for me on some occasions, but I had difficulty starting the 30/5 blocks other times.
work-break blocks are good
It's a good idea to work in 30 minutes blocks and then take a break. It discourages time bingeing. I was rereading the article I posted on time bingeing (I posted it myself, and I myself forget what it says), and it reminded me that recovery from procrastination mainly means abstaining from time bingeing.
Are each of your work blocks different tasks?
Today, they are all one
Today, they are all one project. It's infeasible to subdivide it into smaller tasks, because I don't really know all of the smaller tasks that will be required and how much time they each of them will take.
Monica's CI - 5:40 am EST
To Do:
[x] Wake at 5am
[] Shower
[] Oral care
[] Facial
[] Pedi-care
[] Dress to shoes
[] Make bed
[] wipe down MBR vanity
[] Attend Church with family
[] Meet girlfriends for early dinner
[] Scrub kids’ tub
[] Catch up on laundry
[] Braid preteen daughter’s hair
[] Help son with HW
[] Plan for preteen daughter’s birthday party in February
[] Give son bath before bed to streamline morning routine
[] Internet searches: party ideas/intranet/banners
[] Cook Dinner
[] Type up next day's to do list
[] Set out mouthwash
[] Set alarm
[] In bed before 11pm
Bonus Item:
[] Treat myself to a foot bath before bed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.
Rexroth 10.19 GMT
Todo today
up prayer, reflection and meditation
deal with emails and phone messages
work on craft project
exercise
prepare legal/admin project for friend coming tomorrow
sort out shopping list
plan todo for week
take it easy
bath and wash hair
write journal
prayer and reflection
bed and sleep
That's it Rexroth
Rexroth 14.34 GMT
I'm not having a good day. So far I've laid in bed and just had lunch with some wine and feel sleepy.
Rexroth
Rexroth 16.50 GMT
Just spent a while with a recovery friend on the phone and am feeling much better. She reminded me to take it easy and I'll get more done. She also helped me to remember what I had in fact done.
She also gave me some advice re finding files which I had lost on my laptop and I've found them again...
Regards Rexroth
Rexroth 22.14 GMT
And so to bed. I'm not happy with what I've achieved today and it make sense to go to bed early and sleep and start again tomorrow.
Regards Rexroth
Thomas C.--been a long time
Well, it's definitely been a long time since I posted here--at least two weeks. But instead of just diving in and posting a check-in, I went to "Recent Posts," and found pro's post on time bingeing. That's me! I did that today--spent the entire day on one task--and it was a really important task. The idea of less procrastination by breaking up tasks does seem alien. But I'll look at it more.
In the meantime, it's 12:59 a.m. here on the West Coast, so...
...maybe I should...
...GO TO BED?!?
Yes.
Hi Thomac C!
Nice to see you back!
We can work on time slicing together. It's not my strong suit, either, and I need to learn how to do it.
I'll race ya
Second day on board: off to a good start (thinking every day above ground is a good day)
So I had my first challenge from pro. Ten items. And I met it!!!! Woo Hoo!!
Today I am going to challenge myself. To pick up ten things in every room in my house! And since I read that I need a time frame I am going to do it RIGHT NOW!!
Starting @ 2:08 am E
I did it! I'm done! I picked up ten things from every room in my house (except my kid's). It only took five Aerosmith songs to do it all. YAY, Me!! I even put a load of laundry in!!!
I offered to feed the kid but he declined but I did give him a hug!
And then to celebrate I got four carrots and heated them in the microwave and took them to my horse, Dusty. Dusty doesn't like his carrots cold. I gave Dusty a big hug too and a big smooch on his muzzle. He managed to sneak some apple dog treats out of my pocket and a bit of oats before I left.
It is a beautiful night out tonight. The moon was shining through the clouds.
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe - Albert Einstein
Heeellllloooo. Is this the echo chamber???
It is nearly 5am now and I have still not slept. I use my fatigue as an excuse to procrastinate (I'll get more done when I feel better) but I am tired irregardless of what I do so it really it is pointless to wait.
My goals for the rest of this day:
1.Try to get at least two hours of sleep.
2.Feed horse.
3.Feed kid.
4.Toss that laundry in the dryer.
5.Take kid to buy suit for his senior pic.
6.Buy dog food.
7.Hug my horse.
8.Hug my kid.
9.Do something fun.
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe - Albert Einstein
asleep at night, awake in day
Sounds to me like your hours are upside down. I had that problem for a while. I've been working on fixing that. Now I'm getting up at 6am every morning.
Monica posted a link to good article about this:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/