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.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Good morning everyone!

 

Today is the first day

of the rest of your life!

 

~Abbie Hoffmann 

Journey 9 pm

And thanks for that reminder Recycler!  I am going to load the dishwasher and then get straight into bed!

I ended up getting some work done on my project, although I never did get focused on it.  I worked on it for a few minutes at a time throughout the evening, since I'm working from home today it can be done that way.  I finally squeezed out a reasonable amount of work but it was like pulling teeth today. 

I'm hoping tomorrow will be easier now that I have made a dent in it.   It took a long time to make that little dent though.

OK, 20 minutes for dishes and I'm getting into bed, sleepy or not. 

Jo

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

Recycler CI 6:25pm EST

Hi Pro Buddies!

A rainy day here. We've been needing rain!

1 or 2 times a year I have a panic attack. Well, I managed to have one last night about 1:30am ((sigh)). My daily pace is steady/obsessive, but evidently have crossed the line freaking out my subconscious to having a panic attack. The nights I have a wind-down before sleep, I do better, so I will have to be like Journey and stick closer to my bedtime/nightly routine.

Today: made it through work, actually got a number of things done. Despite being sleep-deprived with an adrenaline hang-over, I'm actually doing better than one of my coworkers. Worked on volunteer newsletter during lunch. Since getting home, have surfed net & relaxed. Next: dinner out with friends; this will hopefully be an evidently-needed change of pace & relaxation. I'll try to select my food Moderately for hopefully easy digestion before bedtime.

Have a great night, everyone! :)

Recycler

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

Panic attack

Hi recycler,

Yikes, that sounds scary!  I hope dinner with friends helps you get re-grounded, and that you have a nice calm night. 

Falcon

Convalaria at 7.50am Wednesday

Late start today.
So far doggy walked and cofee drunk.
Still waiting for outcome of **** hitting the fan at work.
Feeling calm.

Thank you for the good advice yesterday.
I will try to schedule the tasks I procarastinate.
Starting this afternoon.

Next

  • tidy house for cleaners for 15 minutes
  • shower, medicate, teeth, dress for 15 minutes
  • find notes that I need today
  • leave at 8.45

work without a break (that is the timetable) untill 1.30 and then

  • take a walk and have a coffee
  •  spend 1 hour on tidying desks/notes at work
  • 1 hour preparing correction sheet and possibly revision
  • 2 hours planning  remainder of year (Will need to break this up)

leave work at 17.00 for a doctors appointment

Did very little after I finisher classes at .130.  UGGGGG!!!

had lunch, chatted with some people and missed the appointment which was at 5.  Saw mother cooked dinner for sons......Next????

coffee, tidy kitchen and then check in on the wednesday thread

Ag barely checking in

...and that, only because my Third Step is a commitment to the action of daily check-ins when physically possible. Otherwise, I've just "decided" and not acted, which is the very nature of my procrastination.

So, even though I don't want to, and even though I have nothing much to say today, and even though I have no idea how I've really done today because I never really got organized (but miraculously somehow feel productive anyway), and even though I'm now stuck on where to go from here, and even though it's almost 6 pm...I am checking in. And in this alone, I feel a little better. Thanks for being here.

thanks ag

this is very encouraging to me. thanks for following thru, just because you committed to.

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http://www.procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1114#comment-23050

Agnus following through

Hi Agnus,

You did it!  In spite of a bunch of "even thoughs" you kept your commitment.  I"m glad you feel good about it -- you earned that! 

Falcon

Journey 3:30 Update 4:00

Having trouble focusing from home today.  I have attended two meetings and done several short tasks but I need to focus on my big project.  I'm going to take a shower and come back to it.  I'm still in my sweaty gym clothes so I'm sure that's not helping . . .

Back in 20 minutes.  I need to work 2.5 more hours today in order to feel that I have accomplished enough work for the day . . .

Update 4:00 I'm back, no smarter, but a little cleaner. 

Jo

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

Journey 11 am

Working from home today.

I made progress on my goal of "early to bed, early to rise".  I was in bed at 9:45 last night and up at 4:45.  I didn't get to the gym until 5:35, and I want to get there at 5:15 every day.  I was only a few minutes late for the 5:30 class though, I missed the warmup but that was ok. 

When I got back home it was POURING rain and I got involved in some school issues with dd . . .she ended up skipping her first class because the weather was just so incredibly horrible.  There are wrecks all over town and flash flood warnings and all that kinda stuff. 

Therefore, I got a late start on the workday, didn't REALLY get started until 10 am, so I will make an effort to work consistently until 6 pm. 

I'm organized, and have my MITs set for the day.  Off to a meeting which I hope will be quick.  This meeting is a required weekly meeting but it's a total waste of time.  I will try to straighten my desk while the meeting is going on.

Jo

 

 

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

scarlett CI 9:52 am EDT

I'm having to juggle my schedule to fit in a doctor's appointment today, and need to make peace with the fact that I probably will not get everything done that I want to.

Ta da:
Eat breakfast
Take pills

To do:
Sched mtgs
Type up C visit notes
Email MK
M f/u: update sheet & email to PK
Email MP re: comp

The adrenaline you've been living on only leaves you wanting.

or, well, anything.

Didn't get anything done. V. tired. Hoping that I can go home and sleep after my appointment.

Try again tomorrow.

The adrenaline you've been living on only leaves you wanting.

scarlett

Hope you're feeling better scarlett!

Jo

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

9:26am for Lark

Hi everyone. I'd like this to be a special day. Doesn't have to be fantastic, just productive and pleasant. Things have been pretty "ho hum" this year. I've been blessed with enough actual work, but projects need to begin to get finished. For today my goal to to finish something (even if it's a small piece of the pie), and try to do that each day this week. I need to have less things "hangin'".
To do:
morning routine
spiritual time
finish kitchen table
sort dirty laundry (don't hang on chairs!)
wash car
get supplies
finish at least something on shelf
do outside stuff before it rains tomorrow
check in around lunchtime

kromer 8:40 CI

A little slow getting going this morning, but I'm finally checking in.

I'm going to make a schedule for the week, then have some spiritual time, then clean apt, then check back in with a plan for the rest of the morning.  

kromer 9:50 CI

OK, not blazing along, but I'm at least getting somewhere. I did all of the above. Now I'm going to head to campus. When I get there, I'm going to:
*Draw up tentative class schedule
*Email PF
*Research 1 prof
*Email about toastmasters

kromer 12:30 CI

OK, going very slowly, but I've now drawn up a tentative class schedule. Now I'm going to email PF and email about toastmasters.

Update 1:00--done. Now I'm going to research Prof. T for 1 hr, then it'll be time to go to info session on health insurance, then I'll check in again.  

kromer 3:15 CI

Did some research on Prof. T, then went to health insurance session, then went to bank to ask about credit limit increase.

Now I'm going to take a 15 min break/get a snack, then spend 30 more min. reading about Prof. T, then email CB, then spend an hour brainstorming about/working on setting edge weights.

Update 4:30--took my (slightly too-long) break, read more about PT, emailed CB. I'm going to take a 5-10 min break, then brainstorm about edge weights. Updates when I start work, 30 min in and when I finish the hour.

Update 4:45--started work: first step is to find my notes on this.
Update 4:55--first step is to make a post histograms of all weights. Then 'm going to email EYL and LR. Finally, I'm going to start a job with high source->coreg weights and a job with zero gene->sink weights. I think these tasks should take about an hour to complete.

Update 5:25--more than 30 min in, making decent progress. I've started making histograms and composing email. I might have to go a little past to hour to start jobs, but I'm OK with that.

Update 6:10--have gone over time, made and posted histograms and sent email. I'm going to spend max. 15 min working on starting jobs. Then end J+AR, go to S+P BBQ, leave by 9, run by store on way back. When I'm home, I choose to fix WM bug and email SM. If I have time/energy, I may do some more work as well.  

kromer

Left BBQ a bit early, so I'll take 30 min relaxation time, then email J+AR and call G+DD. Then I'll fix WM bug and email SM, and figure out if I want to do anything else.

Update 10--break went a bit long, but now I've stopped, emailed J+AR and called G+DD. I'm tired, so I think all I'm going to get done is my minimum list of tasks. (And that's fine, I'm not going to beat myself up for keeping a slow pace during orientation). To fix WM, I think I just need to fix corrupted file, then reply to emails and post error messages

kromer CO

I fixed WM--turned out to be a little more involved than I thought, but I'm done now.

I need to email SM about another issue tomorrow, so I'm going to hold off on the email. (but to make sure I wasn't procrastinating, I did draft the parts that are relevant to tonight's task)

Night, all! I have a busy day tomorrow.

George Smiley Rolling Check-in

7:15 AM Hello, all...

"Have a good day," Mrs. GS said as we kissed good bye.

"I will!" I said. "I'm going to have a great day!"

Now I'll make that come true.

I've blocked out my day in some detail, allotting segments ranging from 30 minutes to 90 minutes for various tasks and projects. I'm setting the timer to ring every 30 minutes and I am setting myself the task of checking in here every 30 minutes, whether in mid-task or moving to another task. I plan to keep my posts relatively short so that this exercise doesn't end up distracting me.


My big goals for the day, in order of importance:


1) Start and Finish Project M.


2) Make a significant advance on roughing out Project R.


3) Edit pictures for Project G, outline story.
POSTPONE, per editor's advice.


4) Outline project S/L
. POSTPONE, per editor's advice


5) At the end of the day, or during breaks, winnow my in-basket.


I'll return at 8 AM

8:19--


A little delayed, but I'm on my way on task 1)


I'll check in again at 8:30


8:30--


Staying on task with Project M.

9:27--


Late, but the main reason was because I was this close to finishing Project M and felt I wanted to stick with that. So I did, and now I am. I've sent it on to the editor and crossed it off today's list.


Now project R. I'll be back here at 10 am


10:30 AM--


I had started this entry at 10 but then a phone call came in, which is still going on...

11:06 AM


The last hour was pretty much all spent on a phone call. It was a useful one, and I don't criticize myself or the caller, but it does set me back.


This next hour I will focus on Project R.


I'm going to focus on the roughing out, as noted above. I have several calls to make related to it, but those I will do after lunch.


11:36 -- more interruptions. No progress on Project R.


This is the moment when I'm really tempted just to say #%$& it and while away some time mindlessly surfing or playing FreeCell or what have you.


So that said, I'm going right back to Project R and trying to advance the ball.

 

1:55 -- I'm afraid the last two hours haven't been good. Errands at noon--that was fine. Home at 1, then couldn't get started.


As indicated above, a couple of projects on my list are being pushed back because the have not been scheduled. But I still want to finish them soon. I've set new deadlines of early next month. For now I'm down to Project R and Project P-11.


But Project R just keeps frustrating me, which helps make it easier to putter and piddle and procrastinate.


The phone calls I put off this AM really need to happen. So I'm going to do them now. They are my next MIT: Project R Phone calls.


2:30 PM: Back on track, sort of. I've been making those phone calls, which is necessary. But in the back of my mind is still the 800# gorilla of how to get this thing written.


3:15 PM: The gorilla has not gone on a diet.


I've checked off a few other items. But I'm trying to stay focused on the writing task and find it increasingly frustrating.

3:30 PM: I remain stuck. So I'm going to put Project R aside and focus on other tasks, my in-box, and short-term quick hit items for a while. 

 

 

 

How it ended

I spent the rest of the day doing mostly busy work tasks and updating my list for Wednesday. There wasn't really an opportunity to check back in. Once Mrs. GS got home my priority was to spend time w/ her...

So I did get some things accomplished, but the big one remains elusive. More on the Wednesday 8/27 check in

And thanks for the encouragement, Agnus--it means a lot!

great push-through, GS!

Ya done good - Wink - thanks for modeling rigorous honesty in recovery!