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.
Monday 17 May 2010
Sorry again about the lack of graphics! Welcome to Monday, heres to being glad its today instead of desperately holding out for Friday!
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GSD CI 2
Things to do
-Finish reading chapter 2
2.00
-Finish reading chapter 3
4.00
-Finish reading chapter 4
7.00
-Do questions from chapter 4
8.00
-Do questions from chapter 5
9.00
-See math examples
Thanks for the well-wishes i
Thanks for the well-wishes i will need it. Relapsed a bit, ive got less than halfway to go, im confident i will finish before deadline today! Hope you all had a good Monday.
Locked myself out of Chatbox again!
This subject line is in my buffer now, for my convenience, which unfortunately is relatively often.
Anyway, I have been distracted. Did you know there are xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (redacted so that it doesn't distract you.)
OK, I closed that window and will attempt to refocus.
Come say hi to me in purgatory!
5 minute break
Taking my 5 minute pomodoro break... not a great 25 minutes, but got refocused by the end.
Matthew 5/17
First timer:
Go to DA meeting
walk dog
write my daily 750 words
take meds
organize meds
fill out unemployment forms
go to the gym
email j and j about new portfolio website.
Got everything done except I
Got everything done except I didn't organize my meds or go to the gym.
(why can't I edit my post and check those tasks off?)
welcome cuff!
'Today you have the opportunity to handle those old situations in a completely new way.' - Michael J. Emery
kromer 12:45 CI
Just got back from weekend trip to visit parents.
Today I have a lot of little, fairly urgent, not-that interesting tasks. Usually for this kind of day I mostly stay on task but don't do my best or most efficient work. I'm going to try and do a little better than average.
No 3 MITs just because I have so many small tasks:
Scheduled: OH 7-8:30
Top priority
*
Go over exam and email comments*
Post pset answers*Write quick set of review Qs (not going to happen)
*
Pick up pset5and get ready to hand back*
Bug CB*Make donation (will do this soon)
*Order (not going to happen)
*
Read TC's email, call IALower priority:
*Call MT
*Plan for BrdU/HU
*Ask about CAC protocol
*
CookingOK, going to go over exam and email about pset 5 now.
Vic 5/17
Show up (done) I am so happy and grateful that all of you are here!! Thank you. Now Chat box.For some reason it is working for me now.
CL daily overcoming
first, quiet time. then
...oops... distraction bender. 1hr 40min.
restarting...
another 15 min of distraction, and now i feel like crap.
now going to look for the renewal that God can provide.
ht
su
wko
other stuff...
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the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748
"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb
Journey 11 am
Just realized that I responded to some posts but I never actually did my own check-in!
I still have the sore foot and I feel tired, it's just kinda tiring to have an injury, but it's better. I hope to be back to normal by the end of this week. Got some bad news about a co-worker this morning too which made me feel sad. His son committed suicide over the weekend. That's gotta be hard.
But anyway, I am dedicating myself to Project V today.
'Today you have the opportunity to handle those old situations in a completely new way.' - Michael J. Emery
huma CI
I haven't done a CI in 4 days.
Getting back on the wagon today.
Good luck today everyone!
"A year from now, you may wish you had started today." - Karen Lamb
"Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
Jules K CI
Hi - showing up,
I have a job interview at 9:45, and then I will come home a nd mow the lawn. It will not mow itself! Off to work at 2.
Thanks all
Have a great day,
Julie
Kitty CI 8:15 a.m./5:40 p.m.
I woke up and called the 8:30ET/7:30CT bridge and no one was on the line. I'm not sure if I dialed the wrong number or if everyone was on at the earlier one. So I felt disappointed, not having had a phone bridge since Friday. But this too is a lesson--instead of focusing on that little twinge of disappointment I have to enjoy the satisfaction of having gotten out of bed and having called the line. (However, I got off track and never did morning meditation, which is not good.)
Anyway, so I got off to a bit of a slow start. There is one item on my list for today that I have put off for a while, because I feel anxious about what it represents.
Was out for appointments all day and came back not feeling like doing anything else. Going to the appointment w/J was a big step because I turned over control over sth I have always handled to a more qualified person (wow, that was liberating). Did a couple things I had not planned after my appointments.
When I got home I did push myself to at least start on the records/estimates, which I have been absolutely dreading. I feel satisfied with the progress I have made on this and have placed the remaining parts of this project on tomorrow's list. Procrastination, or smart planning--who knows? I feel good, ready to relax after long day, and not at all guilty, so that seems to indicate I am on the right track.
Tried calling phone CI at 5:30CT but I guess everyone's checked out for the evening. Hope that people will show for tomorrow's 8:30ET/7:30CT call.
Have a great evening/morning everyone!
e's May 17 10
Began today with the phone bridge, which always makes me feel more centered and willing. There is a lot to do, but I am presenting it to myself little by little today so I don't get overwhelmed. The most important task is to call the irs so I can finish my taxes.
right now: meds. done, make bed
Success is not final, failure is not fatal
Just stole your quotation
Hi e!
I just stole your quotation over at the Lucky thread. It is something I need to remember at all times---when things are good I have to keep working to keep them good, when they are not I have to keep working to make them good.
It summarizes all that and more. Thanks!
kitty
Glad you identified with it! Strike had posted it here, and it resonated so strongly that I had to write it down. When I remember it is the mantra I try to keep in the back of my mind. Now, on to toasting english muffins!
Success is not final, failure is not fatal
english muffins toasted and eaten. The kitchen is messy, but puttering is helping. I want to find a place for the huge package of toilet paper my husband brought home. My inner child wants to stuff it into his dresser! setting the timer for 5 minutes on dishes and then 5 minutes off
No matter how many dishes I have it seems to take a half an hour to complete them. What's up with that! In any case, 3/4's of them are done, the bathroom tissue is still leaning against the wall, but coffee is on and the counter looks better. taking 10 minutes of quiet/coffee time. Then will come back to this 5 minutes of stint time.
e's 12:30 checkback 5 17/10
I actually gave myself 10 minutes of quiet time! I stretched, I wrote some step work. There is more to do and I am going into a lull of energy, so I am asking for help in doing the next right thing. I have choices, and perhaps the best thing for me to do is to make that call to the irs: low energy, high anxiety: actually, not so high. Whatever will be will be.
MIT completed! Not the answer I wanted from the IRS, but I can move forward now. And it was great to discover that I had the energy to do a phone call when I wanted to lie down and take a nap: I puttered around the apartment straightening until I got the answer. The dishes are now done. I still have to find a place to put the blasted toilet paper, and worse it's single ply! arrrgh!
noon: just ate lunch and am filled with nervous energy about finishing my federal taxes. One line at a time is all I have to take. I plan to take anxiety breaks to start laundry, swish and wipe the bathroom, take a shower, etc. Then a walk as a reward and to run errands will be great on this sunny afternoon. setting the timer for 10 minute stints will help if I can't hyper focus. I will take a break before I start: 10 minutes to do whatever I want.
12:25 check back I have made progress on the taxes and have run into a question which I can deal with as a perfectionist or have what I find out be good enough. My 'I know better than the experts' tendencies are checking in, totally silly, but that is me. Looking up definition.
okay, now looking for receipt
Success is not final, failure is not fatal
Great job on your MIT!!
Congrats on a good day. Definitely related to the "I know better than the experts" statement--today I had a meeting that was a big step in turning something over to the expert (a paid expert). I really like the steps you listed in this post--a lot of things to really learn from here.
Thanks a bunch, and keep going!
Potential Energy 820
Hello!!
I have been away for a while and have thought about everyone here. I hope everybody is doing well. I have started the pile up so I am here to get stuff done. Thank God for this site-it is the only thing that helps!
1
. call vet 2. email dp 3. h.d. for supplies 4. F.A. for C. 5. call: C., L. N.6, Prep. land. 7. Check bank.DID ALL OF IT!!!GSD CI
Things to do
-Finish reading chapter 2
-Finish reading chapter 3
-Finish reading chapter 4
7.00 PM
-Do questions from chapter 4
-Do questions from chapter 5
-See math examples
8.30 PM
tuffl CI
again, i'm having a hard time fighting procrastination. but even when it is not as bad as now, i hardly ever get my daily to-do list done. this is bothering me. now, if i shorten it, i might get the satisfaction of achieving my daily goals but at the cost of a feeling of underperformance, not meeting "reasonable standards". on the other hand, if i continue without change i will be disappointed by myself in two ways - for neither being able to reach my daily goals nor to meet the standards that i consider "reasonable".
apparently, shortening it would at least let me experience some success and give me the motivation to carry on. but then again, i need to meet a deadline and therefore must speed up. i thought a longer list could make me work faster. hmm. obviously it doesn't. then maybe the solution is indeed to shorten it, experience the success of achieving the daily goal, and if i manage to accomplish extra work, an additional boost of positive energy & motivation. that sounds good. i'll try that.
any advice on alternative methods/ own experiences is appreciated! sorry to babble on for that long, but sometimes writing it down helps me to sort my thoughts and get things clear.
reminder: hating myself does not improve my situation but keeps me from effectively fighting it!
some research for A (5x) & outline (1x)
lunch
1 paragraph on A (5x)
1 paragraph on C (5x)
call O
journal
re: the todo list length issue
really good question! I struggle with it myself.
i could never find the right length. With a short list, as kitty said, when i would be done, i would have a problem with the transition and never get myself to do more.
this reminds me that the addictive procrastinator is always trying to avoid that uncomfortable feeling. And being "done with everything" is a comfortable place i'll never want to leave.
the other problem with the short list i had is what you said. I look at it and i KNOW it's not enuf. Who am i fooling?
a long list never motivated me. rather it overwhelmed me. and i did have a problem with not getting that satisfaction of completing the whole list. A list i felt was complete was one that i'd never accomplish. and this was a downer at the end of the day.
so what happened to me, and it just sorta happened by accident, was i made long lists (cuz i could not get myself to believe in the short lists), and then at the end of the day i would feel mixed. Happy about what i did get done, but sad about the stuff i didnt.
then i started working on that. And i can remember organized, motivated (normal?) people i know saying to me, oh, i'm sorry, i didnt get to do X, cuz i had to do Y, Z, and A today and they took up the whole day. And i hear that in THEIR mouth and i think, that's totally reasonable. Of course i hear that in MY mouth and i think you lazy procrastinator, if you had tried harder you could have done it all.
but that's just not true. it FEELS true to me, but i KNOW it's not. so i trust God and go with what i know, not what i feel. And i've trained myself over many months to expect that i will not complete everything. I make my list at the start of the day, and i hope to complete everything, but i know in the back of my mind it's more likely that on a good day i'll complete 80% of it.
this makes me uncomfortable, and i remember again that addictive procrastinators want to avoid that uncomfortable feeling at all costs. And so i know that sufferring that uncomfortable feeling is recovery, so i just go on with tasks, knowing i'll only get 80% done.
I took up the technique of marking my done tasks with smiley faces. that makes them stand out against the others more, making me visually focus on on what i've done, not what i haven't. I use a frowny face for things that i really should have done, but failed to, but still there are always more smileys than frowns. And i just leave the tasks that i COULD have done, but weren't that critical with no mark at all. they just get forwarded to the next day.
and DURING the day, i make heavy use of MIT and next right action. So when i have done that all day, and i look at my 70% or 80% completion rate, i force myself to think, hey, i didnt get x,y, and z done, but i did focus on the MITs today and that was the right thing to do.
and that is how i've somewhat accidentally found for myself that balance you've talked about.
"take what you like, leave the rest."
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the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748
"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb
DONE
some research for A(5x4.5xoutline(1x0.3xlunch1 paragraph on A (5x)- in progress, got about 1/3 so far - done! some important part still missing but a first draft is DONE & that's the hardest part. i don't mind modifying it later1 paragraph on C (5x)- done. but hoped it would be more. still far from completing the whole part.call Ojournal
schedule - in progress. sort of have a general idea. need to work hard!
big YAY for me! accomplished my short list.
tomorrow
before lunch:
- answer supervisor
- answer EB
- modify 1st par A
- draft 2nd par A (start on this)
after lunch:
- continue 2nd par A (start on this)
- draft 2nd par C
leave at 3 pm
visit gran
The short or long question
Take anything I say for what it's worth...I've been here for under a week. But I have noticed that when I have a shorter and more realistic list, and can finish it, I get a sense of intense satisfaction and feel energized--and I want to keep going! The big thing, I am learning, is to prepare for the transition. (A term I didn't have before PA.) If I don't know exactly what to do when I finish my tasks for the day I get lost. ALSO, if I then use the energy to time-binge, it bites me in the ass. Finding a balance between motion and rest/reward is still hard.
Your post hits very close to home. One of the big things I am paying attention to right now are the relationships between overscheduling/failure/depression, and underscheduling/getting lost when I finish/losing focus. Finding the Goldilocks "just right" is a myth, I think, because every day calls for fine-tweaking of the daily list.
You're definitely not alone in asking these questions!!!
thanks kitty
thanks for this insight that mastering my daily list is a constant fight/ learning process! many of the things i learn here seem to be so banal and still i wasn't aware of them before.
re: to do list
Great observation! You can only do as much as you can do. Putting stuff on your list that you know you won't do is self-defeating. Try to prioritize and put only your MITs on your list (Most Important Tasks), and then allow yourself to feel successful when you achieve them. A few successes will help you learn how to feel successful again!
Jo
'Today you have the opportunity to handle those old situations in a completely new way.' - Michael J. Emery
scared of MITs...
hey jo, thanks for the advice. i've avoided officially prioritizing my tasks so far because i tend to irrationally fear my own (official) MITs, no matter what it is. consequence: i start with the least important things on the list. (probably some illogical thinking along the lines "most important" = big thing = needs to be accomplished & successful = danger of failure = something to fear...) but maybe if i keep it short it's gonna work. i think i'll give it try.
good luck tuff!
My sig quote says it better than I could so I'll point to it lol ==>
'Today you have the opportunity to handle those old situations in a completely new way.' - Michael J. Emery
I have trouble facing those big things too. I find if I set my timer and work on them for just 5 minutes at a time, it helps me to get started on them. You think 5 minutes is not much, but as Clem would say 5 minutes is infinitely more than nothing.
Jo
tuffi suggestion
I find one tool really helps me to feel success as the day progresses: the website nowdothis.com. It provides a way to make my to do list in order and then it will present the tasks to me one at a time so that I only focus on what is in front of me. The list can be edited if I want and so I get to see what is in my way when a task I dread pops up on the screen.
For me this means I feel less shame for not getting everything accomplished, get that sense of accomplishment for having brushed my teeth :) and learn how to microchunk tasks further so I can continue to move forward on what is scary.
Just a thought! - e
Success is not final, failure is not fatal
thanks e!
thanks e!
i might try that, too. :)
Rexroth Check In
Done~:
Up prayer and reflection
Checked emails and emailed brother over meeting
Todo:
Work on admin this morning
Take it easy as I still have a cold and am coughing a lot
Regards Rexroth
Rexroth Update
Done:
All admin on hospital problems - checked the files, written and posted two letters and one email, made notes on what to do if necessary and when, put everything away with a note in my diary when to look at it again if I don't hear from anyone.
Had lunch
Todo:
Rest for a while
A little cleaning and clearing
That will do for now
Regards Rexroth
Rexroth Check Out
Done:
Rested for a while
Person I had emailed sent email I phoned him and sorted things out which is something I woudl previously have left for a few days. Noted what was said and filed it.
Cleaned cleared and washed up
Checked air fares Idon't want to book yet
Wrote journal
Spoke with friend on phone
Todo:
Prayer and reflection
Bed and sleep
Night Everyone
Rexroth
Feel better
Hope you start feeling better soon :)
Thank you Kitty
Thank you Kitty and so do I.
Rexroth
Helen's CI
OK. I wont go and buy a new bookshelf until I have painted all the living room walls.
I am procrastinating on the job hunting front but do intend to work hard on the decorating today.
Clear space in living room
Tape wall 2
Paint wall 2
Recoat wall 1
Paint fireplace
Find sander
Bang nails into floorboards
Sand 1/3rd of floor
Move bookcase & dresser.
Buy telephone extention lead
Meet life coach :)
Good luck with that
Good luck with that essay.
I got an extension due Wednesday. I hope I can get that done in time.
7:30am
shower/hygene/breakfast
tidy up
9am
Work
12pm
buy bristol board
cancel apartment insurance
lunch with mom
buy grocerys
3pm
drink protien shake/tidy up some more
work on collages
work out
7pm
finish collages
begin painting
take a 30 min break
11:00
hygene
plan for Tue
messed up
NO! I got side tracked for two hours. Back on task now. :(
What matters is
that you're back on task. :)
Lucky CI
Before work:
Up by 6.30 :)
Check in :)
Clear kitchen - Part done
Pack cereal, bread and apples
Straighten hair :)
Leave early to buy dairylea
Commute:
Buy dairylea
Prayer time :)
Full makeup :)
Read some of book
Work:
Sort through everything - Part done
Give stuff to E
Make plan
(more tbd when I've made plan!)
Lunchbreak:
Contact council :)
Start on email backlog :)
After work:
Email parents
Clear kitchen
Tomorrow's list
Check in
Turning points
I am conflicted. Last night was not good. I procrastinated hardcore and felt the consquences today. So here I sit, at uni - on this website planning my next move. Today is a deadline day for me as I have an essay due tomorrow. 1000 words. I have to alter my attitude in order for this to all workout I believe. I will reward myself for progress made so heres the plan.
Research readings
Write an essay plan
Reward: Gym (if time allows)
Break essay into seperate topics
Write each topic seperately
Edit, proofread.
Reward: Computer game, TV, satisfaction of not having to pull an all nighter (the greatest reward of all)
Keep going, PMNO
it's all about getting back on the horse after you fall off :)
go pmno
agree!
you're making "the best catch up plan." That's what ya gotta do. i think you'll be fine (with the hard work you're planning).
we're behind you!
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the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748
"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb