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.
huma & GSD's May Meliorism!
Meliorism - noun - the doctrine that the world tends to become better or
may be made better by human effort. 
(hey, May stars with "M" so I tried to find a good "M" word! 
)
Let's make some improvements! Get StuffDone 
and I worked hard in April, and we're both determined to get better in May. This thread is for us, and anyone else who wants to join, to state a goal here for the month, and then track your progress as May proceeds. Use whatever rating
system you want.
I grade myself each day on a five-star scale. In April, I averaged 2.60 stars/day. In March I
had averaged 2.74 stars per day. I'm focused on a May goal of 3.0 stars per
day. Here's how I grade myself (again, you don't have to do this -- assess yourself by whatever method you want)
***** - A perfect day -- very, very rare. Worked like a madman all day
and all night, hardly any rest
**** - Excellent day, got a lot done, procrastinated very little
*** - A satisfactory day; got some tasks done well, but could have done a
bit better
** - A small amount done, but procrastinated too much
* - Totally wasted my day; pathetic lack of effort
Good luck GetStuffDone and everyone else! Get a little better this month than you were last month! Let's have a May full of IMPROVEMENT and SUCCESS!
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YAY, Huma!
That's a great start, Huma! Keep going! The momentum will keep building!
GSD 9
Worked hard...although I could have worked harder...so 4 stars.
Week 2 total: 3 + 4 stars/2 day = 7 stars/2 days
Week 2 average: 3.5 stars/day
Week 2 goal: 4 stars/day
huma 5/9 recap
Another disappointing day. I completely avoided doing my MIT, and also my secondary ones. I only did the easiest house chores. I have to fix this, this week. I'm up against complete financial collapse in June if I do not sell enough in May, and I'm not doing well at all. The scary thing is, even if I do a good job of not procrastinating through the end of May, it might already be too late to rescue myself.
I need to say a prayer and map out a plan tomorrow that I will have to stick to (which I was supposed to do today!!!). I have no choice.
5/9: **
May total: 23 stars/9 days
May goal: 3.0 stars/day
May so far: 2.56 stars/day
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
(((huma)))
Every day is a fresh start, Huma! Forget about the procrastination these last few days and work on what you can do now. There are more than 20 days of May left! That's a lot of time to make changes!
The advice you gave me, about making a realistic list of tasks, helped me a lot... so perhaps it would work for you too?
You can do it, Huma!
Vic update
Grateful, this helped me focus, finished one after found lost papers, don't know if I am too late. now want to do the other, must find papers first.
Good job Vic!
I wish you well!
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
Vic update Thanks Huma
I am more aware of what I am thinking.Because of who I am, I do have a certain thinking and it helps if I am aware. I noticed, My whole day is planned on what "must" be done, put kids first, , than basic 4 routines,then my walk. I am grateful for that, believe me, . All the other stuff gets thrown onto my pile of unfinished business, with the idea that I will get to it when I have more time. This group effort is helping me be more sane and focused and aware. Someone said, "What happens in Vagueness stays in Vagueness" I love that slogan and that is so true for me. I noticed that when I get to unfinished business, I do not remember where my needed items are for completion. I have a financial calculator that needed new batteries, I either had the calculator or the batteries, but for weeks never knew where both were at the same time, so when I found one, I had a designated place for both and then when I found the other I had both and the batteries are now changed.It is all this little stuff that adds up and makes my life crazy.
Vic update
feel like 1 step forward, 1000 steps back, lost stuff again, feel like I am constantly trying to find/catch up. then lose, etc. It all may be too late anyway. I feel like an exercise in futility. But I did do item #2 and will post #3,4 for myself. They may be too late as well, I don;t know.
huma 5/8 recap
Two things. 1. I keep slipping, 3 days in a row 2. Even when I had 3-star days this week, I wasn't really accomplishing my most important tasks - I was doing good things, but not my MIT. So I will stick with my 5-star system, but I am going to revise how I give those stars. I am in a huge financial mess, and I need to make those stars laser-focused on bringing in $$. I'll probably work on this switch later today.
5/8: ** (barely)
May total: 21 stars/8 days
May goal: 3.0 stars/day
May so far: 2.63
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
GSD 8
Starting a new week of May.... My week 2 goal is also an average of 4 stars/day; hopefully I can reach it this time!
8th: ***
Week 2 total: 3 stars/1 day
Week 2 average: 3 stars/day
Week 2 goal: 4 stars/day
You're doing well GSD!
I'm proud of you!
Hopefully your good work ethic will rub off on me this week. Keep it up! You can hit your goal this week!
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
GSD 6-7
Sorry for not posting recently! I should be more honest with myself...
I haven't been able to make my week one goal...but I have higher hopes for week 2.
6th: ***
7th: ****
May week 1 average: 3.7 stars/days
May week 1 goal: 4 stars/day
huma 5/7 recap
Slipping.
5/7: **
May total: 19 stars/7 days
May goal: 3 stars/day
May so far: 2.71
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
Huma
You've been doing well this month... so don't let a couple of two star days deter you. You can get back on track!
Good luck!
Can I join you?
April was not quite as on track as March and I think part of the reason is that I haven't been rating myself. So, I'm going to jump on board a bit late for may.
My goals are:
*2 stars or below at most once a week
*4 stars at least twice a week
kromer end of may update
In May, I rated 18 days, and got 4 stars for 8 of them! That's well above my goal of 4 stars at least once a week, so yay.
However, I got more 2-star days than I would like (4.5 days) So for June I'm going to work on being more consistent (I think I sometimes tend to crash after good days.)
kromer 5/31 update
5/28 was decent, ***
5/29 was good, ****
5/30 and 5/31 were days off so I didn't rate them.
kromer 5/28 update
5/27 was, again, bad (**)
Though I did pick myself up in the evening (going jogging and doing laundry).
I think I need to find a better way of dealing w/ days with lots of scheduled events...eventually I'll probably end up with a job with this sort of structure, so I need to figure out how to deal.
kromer 5/27 update
5/24 and 5/25 were both really good (****)
5/26 was **
Going to try and pick myself up and do better today.
kromer 5/24 update
5/20 was ***
5/21 was a disaster, I think because I was very tired: ** (I did get a little done, so I'll give myself 2 stars)
But 5/22 and 5/23 were **** (didn't get through all my goals, but did take care of some long-postponed tasks, cleaning closet and working on EA's project)
good job Kromer!!! :)
You're doing really well lately. Nice!
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
kromer 5/20 update
Have had a string of barely decent days...5/18 was ***, and 5/19 was somewhere between ** and ***.
I think I need to spend some time figuring out why I'm having trouble getting higher.
kromer 5/18 update
5/13 was probably ***...WAY overestimated what I could get done, but worked fairly steadily
5/14, 5/15, and 5/16 I was visiting parents...I had good focus during my time for work, but that wasn't very long.
5/17 was a **** day...quite good focus! (I did a lot of other things that I wasn't really proud of, in particular lots of complaining. Funny, how getting rid of procrastination won't get rid of all my personality flaws :P)
kromer 5/12 update
Yesterday was ***
For today I'm going to aim higher!
Great, Kromer!
You're doing well! Keep going! :)
kromer 5/11
Rating for 5/7: **** (had thesis committee mtg, was really on track for that)
5/8 and 5/9 I didn't plan to do work, and I didn't do work, so I won't rate those days.
5/10: *** (accomplished my MITs, but nothing beyond that; I got distracted a lot)
Welcome kromer!
Good luck with your goals!
Just a reminder that you don't have to use my method. The star system works ok for me, but feel free to use another style if you wish.
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
huma 5/6 recap
Pretty crappy day. I barely deserve a **. I am going to bed too late, getting up too late, catching up on tasks early in the day, getting tired in the afternoon, and goofing off at night. It caught up with me today -- hardly productive at all. AND I'm going to bed late AGAIN, so tomorrow will be tough. I'm not sad, I'm mad. No excuse for this.
5/6: **
May total: 17 stars/6 days
May goal: 3.0 stars/day
May so far: 2.83 stars/day
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
"Meliorism Goals" May 6
Thanks Huma, hope it is not too late to jump in.
Meliorism Goals- feels so sublime vs. plain "goals" which feels so yuck and like something I have to force myself to do. Words make a big difference in my attitude.It also opens my mind to believe I will have help from the universe. I know when I am in a better mood, I do tend to attract the things I want, which seems to be the popular self help book topic lately, but it has been in the bible for thousands of years. Thank you so much Huma.
My rating will be gratitudes on how many MGs I actually get done.
I have been been throwing items on a pile. I now have a pile of unfinished business that looks like Mt. Everst. Maybe I can this as my guide to the top.
So my MG goal for May will be to take care of unfinished business. I will use May as a training month . I will try to list all the unfinished business items I need to do.
I will use today as sort of an orientation day for my "Meliorism Goals"
Welcome vic
Glad to have you! I started this thread, but it's for anyone to use.
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
I'm joining you
Lately I have been sad and depressed and on the verge of giving up. My procrastionation addiction seems to have taken over completely. I realise that I need a programme right now! I need to be held accountable and I need to be inspired by other people.
My system looks different than yours. It focusses on starting and creating habits that will make it easier to learn to overcome my problem. It is very kind as I give myself many points for small things. As I still feel like a beginner, I think it may suit me better.
1. Go through/ meditate over task list: 1p
2. Exercise: 1p
3. Effective work time 1p per half hour. Really unpleasant work 2p per half hour.
4. Having done everything on the list 3p
5. Having done what I fear the most 3p
6. Successfully used anti-procrastination strategies. 1p
7. No TV, reading, Internet browsing before 7.30 pm 2p
Welcome, Melin!
Have a great May!
huma 5/5 recap
A decent day, but again I websurfed too late tonight and will start my day late tomorrow. I have to break that habit. I'm not sleeping enough and trying to fight fatigue during work hours.
5/5: ***
May total: 15 stars/5 days
May goal: 3.0 stars/day
May so far: 3.0 stars/day
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
Huma
Another three star day! You're exactly at your May goal! YAY! Get enough sleep...it's easier to be more productive that way.
Thanks for the the advice! You're absolutely right that I should draw up a realistic timetable (I'll put it up soon), and I should stop bothering about the past. What's done is done. I should concentrate on what I can do now. Thanks so much for cheering me on both last month and this month. I'm very grateful.
feel like a failure
Today I had a super-important deadline. I wasn't able to complete my work, and had to submit a half-done assignment. I've been working on this task for the past 10 days...and I still wasn't able to finish!!! I have 12 more deadlines in the next two weeks, and I feel totally unprepared. To make matters worse, these assignments affect my final marks, which affect whether or not I get accepted into my dream university... So, basically, my entire future is at stake here... I feel like such a failure!
That said, I worked really, really hard...so today's total = 5 stars
May total = (14 + 5)/5 days = 19 stars/5 days
May average: 3.8 stars/day
Goal for May week 1: average of 4 stars/day
(GSD May Mel)
I think you need a bigger margin of error . To succeed, you need 3 stars/day.
Just a thought, ortherwise you feel like a failure.
((GSD))
Well you might or might not have blown your dream university but there are plenty of great universities out there. You have worked hard and merely made a mistake. Forgive yourself. You are not a failure. Don't let this disappointment and perfectionism cause you to really blow it by giving up.
I agree that an hour spent making a realistic plan for all your assignments is a good idea. The goal, assuming all assignments have equal weighting, is to allot equal time to each assignment rather than go for perfection on one assignment to the detriment of others. If an assignment has greater weighting (more marks attached to it) then give it proportionally more time.
Perfectionism causes panic and poor performance. All you can do now is dump the regrets as they are pointless, work a sensible plan, work hard but look after yourself (food, breaks, sleep) and accept that all you can give is your best. Your best is good enough! Remember a small mistake followed by a steady improvement in performance is valued by universities.
Procrastination is a huge problem in academia. I think that it might be a good idea to keep your plans and also a note of your actual time spent studying. That way when you come to write your admission statement, years from now, you can confess that you realised you had a problem with procrastination and then talk about how you solved it by planning, coming to this site, keeping time records ect. That will go down a storm with an admissions board!
Chin up! You have suffered a small defeat but you can still win the war. Carrying on, working hard and not giving up will make you a winner. Right now you are learning the skills that will ultimately make your dreams come true, regardless of your exact path.
I am cheering for you!
Helen
Thanks so much for the advice and motivation. You're right that I should step back and look at the big picture, and that I should stop trying to be a perfectionist. All I can do is my best, and I will do that, starting today. I'm not giving up! Thanks for all the encouragement!
((GSD)))
Hang in there, my friend!
It's apparent that you are working hard. You can only do so much. While it was disappointing for you to not finish the task to your 100% satisfaction, you did work very hard today -- you couldn't have done more.
Don't waste energy lamenting your past procrastination - it will do no good. I suggest you sit today for 30-60 minutes and really plan out how you can meet these many upcoming deadlines. It might be impossible to do superior work on all of them. Accept that if so. Just make an intelligent, REALISTIC plan that you feel you can meet. Maybe even post your plan here. Then work hard and follow that plan.
A good quote for you - even if you are not religious, it's appropriate: "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I
cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the
wisdom to know the difference." St. Francis of Assisi
Good luck GSD. I'm cheering you on!
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
GSD May 4
May 4: ****
Had a great day! I'm hoping to reach my week 1 goal!
May total = (10 + 4)/4 days = 14/4 days
May average: 3.5/day
Goal for May week 1: average of 4 stars/day
Well done GSD!
You're really doing well so far this month. Let's both aim to continue today!
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
huma 5/4 recap
It feels kind of odd. Although I think I can give myself a decent score again today, it seems like these days could have been better but I blew it again. I wasted some time in the am, had a good afternoon, celebrated someone's birthday for a few hours (a good thing), but then did nothing for a few hours at night and am going to bed too late. I was going to give myself a 2, but I can't penalize myself for the party. I honestly did a good deed by going, and would have worked a bit had I not gone. So...
5/4: ***
May total: 12 stars/4 days
May goal: 3.0 stars/day
May so far: 3.0 stars/day
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
Huma
Good job with reaching your May goal so far! We're both improving from last month! :)
GSD May 3
May 3: *** Procrastinated in the afternoon, but had a good morning and evening :)
I'm taking your advice, Huma, and I'm increasing yesterday's score from 4 to 5 stars! YAY! My first 5 star day!
Therefore, May total = (6 + 1 + 3)/3 days = 10/3 days
May average: 3.33/day
May week 1 goal: 4 stars
Good luck, everyone! We're going to have a GREAT May!
huma 5/3 recap
Not being amazing, but I have been steady so far this month...
5/3: ***
May total: 9 stars/3 days
May goal: 3.0 stars/day
May so far: 3.0 stars/day
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
Huma
Great job! You're exactly at your monthly goal! Keep up the momentum!
back on the wagon
ok, I totally fell of the wagon last time I tried this. Here goes a 2nd try.
5/1: ***
5/2: *****
average so far: 4
Goals for the month:
1. Clear out all P1 bug items
2. All remaining rm items demoable
3. Clean all living spaces and maintain them
4. Practice guitar an average of 45 minutes/day
5. read 4 books
6. clear up tax rubbish
7. exercise at least 4x per week
good job tiptree!
You're having a nice start to the month -- good for you!
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
thanks
May 3rd: ***
May 4th: I was sick with a stomach ache. I didn't really get anything done, but I suppose it could be said that I got everything done that I planned on getting done. So maybe I'll give myself 4 stars.
average: 3.75
BTW, I don't see working all day and all night as a good thing (for me at least), so I'll think of 5 stars as getting everything done that I planned on, 4 stars as finishing most of what I planned, 3 stars as getting an acceptable amount of stuff done including at least one highest priority task, etc. Ideally, if I'm completing everything that I've planned on doing, then I shouldn't be working all day and night and instead should be enough ahead of the game that I can spend time with my family or do something unplanned. :)
I managed to eat a bit of food w/out feeling sick, so I'm hoping my stomach ache is over. Here's to another productive day.
Tiptree
Good job, Tiptree! 3.75 is a great average!