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.
Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.
yay chemgirl!
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Chemgirl CI @8.43pm Saturday
Today has been a pretty good day, have got most of what I needed to done around the house, made a gorgeous roast lamb with garlic and all the trimmings for dinner and even did (a tiny little bit of) work on my thesis :) I am going to call today a success.
Still to do before bed time:
-spin laundry and put in the dryer
-fold dry laundry
-spend quality time with dh (an MIT, I feel like I have barely seen him this week)
-Tidy up kitchen
Yesterday was a bit of a write off, way too much procrastination, and then dh wanted to go to bed early so I didn't get to stay up late procrastinating before doing a token amount on my thesis (woah! That was a bit more honest than I thought it was going to be!) so couldn't even pretend that I had done some work on thesis.
Thanks everyone so much for being here, this forum seems to be really helping me :)
Recycler CI 6:35pm EST
Hi Pro Buddies & Bugs Bunnies!
I needed that Friday thread-starter today, so Thanks, Kromer! :)
Today was better than yesterday, so that's a good thing. Yay, Friday! :) Yay, Weekend! :)
Tonight & this weekend: a lot of 12-step action, woo-hoo! In one of my other programs, we are having a regional Saturday, with people coming from around the state (even though we are still having gasoline shortages). Tonight we will have the regular Friday-night meeting, then set up for tomorrow. Saturday's activities are from 9am to 3pm, so I should be able to do errands first.
Review of today: walked + treadmill, stretched. Work. Did a number of projects. Some other departments have been leeching on us the 4 years I've been there, but our bosses have realized that and put a stop to that today. Will this task re-organization be a good thing? Sometimes things can go either way, but hopefully it will be ok.
Not having a lot of perfection with one of the laptop's software, but have given work-arounds to those involved, so hopefully that will be ok.
Yesterday I sent a Fed Ex. It will probably take a day or more to process, but I did check my on-line account several times, in case they were prompt. Nothing yet. When it is completed, that will put a lot of closure on some stuff that has been going on the last 18 months. There will still be a few loose ends to wrap up, but they will be a lot smaller.
OK, I better get ready to go to my meeting, so have a great night, everyone! :)
Recycler
Thank you, gals & guys, for being here! :)
Convalaria's Recovery Saturday 7.43 am, 16.09pm
Enjoyed theatre last night.
Got home and spoiled a "good" eating day .....Grrrrrr!!!!
To be honest I was not sticking to my eating plan and eating less all day.....Undid all the "good" work. Need to put more structure into my food consumption. Overeating, random eating and procrastination are all non productive ways of ealing with anxiety for me.
Saturday Morning so:
16.09 pm
Have been busy and have not finished my list. I have had a coffee and a chat with the lady I drive to temple and have also done my own shopping. Having a very late lunch and a warm drink now. Stuff I still want to do:
mostly all morning routine stuff
then
"Recovery from procrastination means doing what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to do it."
TO E:
Hello E, I saw you logged on today but didn't post. How are you doing? We miss you!
Jo
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
to jo, clement and agnus
how lovely to find that just when i need program, program grabs me and gives me a hug! i have missed you all! hope to be back here more often!
me 2
(we're probably causing demand resistance against posting lol)
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http://www.procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1114#comment-23050
me3
ok now we're into love-bombing...omg, a cult!
But seriously, it was good to see your sig, e. C'mon when you're ready - we're >here< for you.
drun CI, for rest of day, 4:30pm EDT; 7:30 update
-- Check email for important only, avoid distraction to web (write down distraction for later).
MIT #1: -- Remember to write down distractions/thoughts to do later; and to reduce their lure.
MIT #2: -- read current cv's for s.l. to review, DONE.
-- prep one or two cv’s, probably include notes w/ areas of concern.
-- [Working on ...] Finish Writing email to s.l.; -- email off to s.l.
MIT #3: --draft reply thanks letter/email to l.d.; --pick cv to include with letter.
MIT #4: [DONE] -- run
(unfortunately, very similar to my C.I. on 9/19/;08; had some set backs, sorry; thanks to all.) drun
no worries drun
good to see you again...I frequently find the same MITs and to-do's repeating on my daily check-ins so you are not alone. no apologies needed; we're all in this together!
In one of my other 12-step programs they say: we're not bad people trying to get good, we're sick people trying to get well. Not all PAers see our procras addiction as a kind of disease, but it's the model that works best for my recovery.
Thanks Agnus
Agnus, Thank You for your thoughts and encouragement. I’ll accept any kind of characterization of this procrastination thing that will help me overcome the problem. A kind of disease is fine with me. Some type of irrational habit of avoiding usually simple tasks that will make my life better seems a good model too.
I did get my MIT #2 done today, Saturday. So, I figure I got that going for me. Thanks again, David (trying to think of a better screen name than drun).
chick CI, muses, progress or not
working on UTs and meetings since 6.30 am (1, 2, 3, + preps), a late afternoon break and now some household chores. Just did minor paperwork that I usually put off. That felt good. Very frustrated at having to work so late yesterday and early today. It was a choice that I made. I could have avoided it by small stints.
(Affirmation to self: doing some chores now makes house run smoothly and feels better than avoiding it.)
Still not on IT 1.
I am reflecting on my progress of the past few weeks,--being more energetic, living my hope of using the precious early hours well instead of getting up at the last minute.
So I am giving myself some credit even without big ITs. Is this self deception? Or small steps in the right direction?
Thanks for being here y'all.
Huge progress chickadee!!!
Small, timely steps lead to adrenaline free completion of huge tasks and you are recognisisng and implementing this.
Recognition of your preferred working times is another step in the right direction.
Now if I could only consisitently and convincingly hear my own supportive statements.........
"Recovery from procrastination means doing what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to do it."
small steps in the right direction
from what i read here and my own exp, recovery is celebrating those small steps.
It makes sense that you wonder about this. i did too. we tend to have very hi expectations for ourselves. It feels unnatural to celebrate accomplishing simple things. i feel like i'm "faking it" when i give myself credit for them. But, otoh, even these simple things i can't do sometimes, so it is just honest to acknowledge that now i can.
we have a saying here "progress not perfection" not as frequent these days, but i have found it key.
i'm rooting for ya!
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http://www.procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1114#comment-23050
CL ci
quiet time...time.
work is pressing, and there's lots of juicy fruit there just waiting to be plucked.
But, convalaria's signature rings in my ears:
"Recovery from procrastination means doing what you say you're going to do, when you say you're going to do it."
um, well i'm not THAT recovered. *cough*
that was convicting to me at first. then sort of depressing, like maybe i havent made as much progress as i thot i had. But i have made progress. And then humbling, like, yes, i've made some progress, good progress, but i still have a ways to go.
But that's ok. I have my whole life.
And now it is encouraging me to do the right thing.
Thanks convalaria.
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http://www.procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1114#comment-23050
CL ci 2
so i just FINISHED two tasks. I had only scheduled 1, and i fit in the other in the gaps--and there weren't many--of the first.
i should be happy right? well i'm not.
What i REALLY dont want to do, what seems silly, is after this hyper productive day to use the scant 1/2 hr left in my day to start on the next task. Not finish it, of course, just give it a little nudge forward.
I'd like to go watch tv and forget about the whole thing rather than use my next 1/2 hr effectively. This logic seems hard to defeat: i've been working hard for 9.5 hrs. The next 0.5 hrs doesnt matter.
but, as usual, posting here helps. i'm off to try to use my 1/2 hr productively. i can do it, right?
(i usually feel good when i hit post, then when i go to my work window, the dread immediately returns. lol but it's defeatable)
...well now it's 6pm (6:07 i'm 7 min late). I was pretty focused. a little distracted. I made progress. And then i wanted to keep working. ya' ol' binger, you! Nah, i'm gonna stop.
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http://www.procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1114#comment-23050
good call clem
<<<And then i wanted to keep working. ya' ol' binger, you! Nah, i'm gonna stop.>>>
thanks for the reminder...
Ag ci 2:20pm and 8:10
where oh where has the day gone...?! Oh, I remember, make a list of what I have DONE and stop beating myself up! So: DONE is my Step 11, Mom call, sponr call, pet care, coffee, breakfast, VA conf call and notes, solved the AP-MOU questions, solved the webinar-sched questions, handled 2 billable phone calls including one DL consult that was very sucessful
, and spend quite a bit too long online "exploring" stuff that was only slightly related to my work and definitely not urgent or important.
Next up: review/edit/send the APmou.
Make and eat a good lunch. 
submit va agenda. 
draft va ppt. 
check back 4pm 
8:10 pm check-back with what I DID do: biz emails, unexpected biz calls, reviewed 6 docs, addressed 3 unrealized MITs on the AP project, had 3 important telecons with teammates, walked the dog, fed the pets, medicated the sick husband, did a work plan for tomorrow and Monday.
Not a bad work day, really. Just didn't have a good handle on the MITs going in. I've been having that prob all week, actually. Next I am going to drugstore to get J's meds, and revise tomorrow's plan to include pet meds, petsitter stuff, and some trip prep.
scarlett CI 1:20 pm EDT
Been off track for a couple of weeks now... trying to end the week on a positive note and be ready to come in Monday and get rolling.
Ta da:
Eat breakfast
Take pills
To do:
Email WF
Work on master to do list
Return calls
Create proj list
Personal:
Email SOT
The adrenaline you've been living on only leaves you wanting.
scarlett CI 5 pm EDT
Not too bad. Have a good weekend, y'all.
Ta da:
Eat breakfast
Take pills
Email WF
Return calls
Work on master to do list
Email SOT w/ jpg
Postponed:
Create proj list
The adrenaline you've been living on only leaves you wanting.
Journey 11:10 Update 2:20 Update 5:15
MITs 1 and 2 done. On to #3 which will be a longer task, and I'm meeting a friend for lunch for a nice change.
Update 2:20 MIT #3 done, which included walking across the street to another office. This is a 15-minute task that I hate and always put off until the last minute. Glad it's done for this month :) Taking a break, then clean off my desk - it looks like a tornado hit it. But, my top 3 MITs are done! Everything else is gravy, and it's only 2:30.
Update 5:15 Well, I did get my desk cleaned off, but my break got a little out of hand, probably lasted an hour or more! Once I got back into work mode, I finished up a couple of smaller tasks, and then worked on MIT #4 for about an hour. MIT #4 was to work on a long, boring, tedious, project that I keep avoiding. However, if I don't work on it, it will become an MUT! So I need to try to work on it a little every day for the next few months. blah.
Now, I can go home and relax guilt-free.
Have a great weekend everyone!
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Journey 10:00
Very cute thread starter, Kromer!
Hope those of you having bad days yesterday have a better one today! I am very happy to report that this has been a good week for me, after last weeks horrible sucky meltdown. I wish I could figure out the secret to making every week a good one!
However, with the help of this site, I am learning to be moderately productive even during the times that I'm just really not feelin' it. I still feel nervous, anxious, or depressed at times - for no real reason, it just happens - but I manage to struggle through those times and even get some stuff done in spite of it. Maybe that's what it's all about.
Anyhoo, been to the gym, read email, set my MITs for the day. 15 min break, then on to MIT #1.
Jo
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
GeorgeSmiley 8:51 AM
This will not be a typical day. Mrs. GS and I are leaving this afternoon for a 2-day camping trip and a college reunion. At home, my MITs are:
~Laundry
~Packing for camping trip
~Preparing for Sunday evening youth class we teach
~Any emergency work items that come up between now and when we leave around 1 p.m.
I'll try to check in again but might not simply if I don't have the computer on or readily at hand...
Have a wonderful weekend, all...
The Hero's Code:
Show up. Pay Attention. Speak the Truth. Let Go of the Outcome.
kromer 8:30 CI
I've had day after day of not finishing my tasks, giving up and going to bed early. So an MIT for today is to pray about this, think about what's causing it and brainstorming some ways to break this pattern.
Otherwise, my day is pretty scheduled: I have seminar 11-1, another seminar 1-2:15, a third seminar 4-5:45, youth group 5:45-9:15.
In my free time, my tasks are:
*Finish reading miRNA paper (MIT)
*order duvet
*email PJ and CV (MIT)
*call or email TH (MIT)
*email DC (MIT)
*pick up recycling bin
*take notes from yesterday's meeting and brainstorm some next steps (MIT)
*Call AG
I'm going to start with a fun task (ordering duvet, 10 min), then get down to work and read the miRNA paper, then do emails, then if I still have time I'll pick up recycling bin otherwise I'll leave for seminar.
kromer 2:10 CI
OK, finished reading paper, ordered duvet, and went to first 2 seminars. Didn't have time to send emails or pick up recycling bin. Recycling bin will have to wait until Monday (b/c of city hours).
Right now I'm going to take 40 min quiet time to think/pray about why I've been gettin goff track the last week. Then I'm going to send the emails and take notes from yesterday's meeting.
did ur quiet time help?
clem wonders...
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http://www.procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1114#comment-23050
kromer 3:20 CI
My quiet time was longer than planned, but I think was a good use of time. Now I'm going to send the emails...I've been putting this off for a while, so I'll talk myself through it in the chatbox and check back in when I'm done.
kromer 4 CI
Took care of scary emails :) Now I'll spend 20 min on an MIT, taking notes from yesterday's mtg and brainstorming next steps. Then I'll go to seminar at 4:25.