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.
Wednesday 15 September 2010
You can meet your goal(s) for today
because you've finally got
A Round Tuit!
(And I finally got around to posting the thread starter! :-) )
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I need some help / buddy-system support
Hi folks,
I haven't been around in a while. I've been procrastinating on stopping procrastinating!!
The new school semester has begun, but I still haven't bounced back from the feeling of despair and disinterest/detachment that flooded my head when I finished my job two weeks ago. I have several things that I HAVE to take care of as the new semester gets started, but I just can't bring myself to get going. The apartment has gotten back into crisis level messiness. I haven't gotten my books for courses, I haven't paid for the term, I don't even know how many things I've still got on the back-burner from when I was too overwhelmed to cope this summer. There are PILES of UNOPENED MAIL.
Now, I actually HAVE some time to catch up on all this, but instead I've been watching Netflix / Hulu all day long, and bingeing on food. I've eaten everything in the house.
I need help. I need to pull myself together and start working, but I don't seem to be able to do it ALONE. Is anyone out there who would be willing to come do some micro-burst activity during the day, 15 minute bursts of work with check-ins in between? For a while there were a few regulars but they haven't been around the last few times I've checked in.
Please contact me if you'd be interested in some mutual support work time.
Thanks!
hi piet
I've been around (someone irregularly) and would love to work together. I've got some major deadline but am still wasting so much time surfing. I should be on starting 8:30am or 9 EST tomorrow.
((piet - buddy work))
yep. daytimes during week best for me. send email or set up some tentative times and we can discuss. When one has much to put into them, a day has a hundred pockets. (F. Nietzsche)
Let's try to coordinate tomorrow
Hey MD,
I'm planning to be here the better part of the day tomorrow. Definitely from 8:15 till 9:45. Then 11:20 onward.
I have so much to catch up on. It'll really help to have the buddy system going.
((hugs))
piet
re: mutual support 15 min bursts
i'd be willing. i shd log in around 7:30-8am USA eastern time. altho, i might be procrastinating. :( but i think this would be good for me, too. i can remember my early days of PA wanting such a buddy system for accountability that i could not give myself. these days i have more inside myself, but still not enuf.
----------
the touch of the master's hand: http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/1898#comment-27748
"fall down seven times, get up eight" - japanese proverb
8am
Thanks, Clement.
I have a meeting tomorrow morning from 7-8, and then hope to log in here by 8:15 or so. I'd like to call in to the 8:30 AM phone meeting, and then just to stay online for the better part of the day tomorrow, trying to get out of my procrastination rut.
Hopefully I'll see you here around 8:15 and maybe we can get some good early morning productivity in. If for any reason you can't make it, don't worry. Maybe we'll run into one another later in the day.
Thanks again :)
piet
Dreamweaver Check In
I am grateful for this program. This is day one for me, and
I am extremely thankful that you are all here. I am jumping in with this, so
that I will not talk myself out of it.
Morning Prep A (20 min.)
Morning Prep B (30 min)Morning Prep C (10 min)Project A, Task 4.A.2 (20 min.) - Not Startec
Project A, Task 5.A.2 (20 min.) - Not Started
Project A, Task 5.A.3 (20 min.) - 50% complete
Evening Prep ANeed to focus
3:05 PM: Time is drawing near to move out of state and start the new job, hopefully with better results than the last one, which accompanied my downward spiral on multiple fronts. However, that means that there are numerous things I need to attend to. I have spent the first couple of weeks after leaving my painful prior post doing the minimum each day and still feeling tired and unmotivated. About a week after leaving that job, I laid out four areas to which I wanted to devote time: Volunteer work, exercise, personal development study, and work related study. I have spent some time on volunteer work, but little to none in the other areas. Although time off would have been an 'ideal' opportunity to work on these things, in fact they are things I want to start and keep working on long term. Failure to live up to a 'perfect' ideal of structured progress in these 2+ weeks does not mean I can't do these things and derive benefit and fulfillment from them. An unrealistic expectation of what 'doing them' means is more a hindrance than a help, keeping me from working on something for a few minutes here or there, instead waiting for a 'perfect' block of time to present itself just when my motivation is peaking. Stolen moments, over time, may produce greater rewards than fruitless wishing for perfection. Anyway, I also have practical things I need to deal with, including organizing bills, finishing my overdue taxes, and devoting time to domestic upkeep. The first two of these are balls I dropped back when my tailspin began. The last is something that has always been hard for me to consistently, but now that I live alone, there is no one here to help me or push me to get it done. Here are some things to concentrate on today.
Goal 1: Contact insurance agent. Have been meaning to for over a week.
Only got an answering machine. But at least made the call and left a message for the agent.
Goal 2: Go visit my daughters and help them with homework.
Got over there too late to help with homework, but did make it over for awhile before the girls and I headed to parent's night.
Goal 3: Attend my daughters' Parent's Night at school. Won't be able to make it to many of these when I move out of state.
This was great. A little bittersweet for me because I won't be able to participate in these activities once the new job starts, and never did before because of my procrastation during the day/work until late at nite combo.
Goal 4: As time permits, do some apartment cleaning and/or some laundry. Doesn't have to be everything or 'perfect'. Any is better than none.
Did one small thing. Doesn't really change the yard sale appearance of the apartment, but it is something.
It's that time of year
Change of seasons, days get longer, kids back in school - all seems to contribute to another round of procrastination and lack of focus.
Exercise helps. There's just something about this time of year that just seems to put the breaks on in everything I do.
My Day Today
I want to thank my Higher Power for this program, this website, the telephone and online meetings, and my life.
I want to thank pyrotecher for leading this trend.
Things I have done.
1. Start wutg nty decluttering my apartment
2. Meditation
3. Went to the 8:30 a.m. telephone PA
Today
-Write M and O
-vacuum, clean the bath
-eat moderate breakfast and lunch
-sort stuff at least 10 minutes
-join online OA meeting
-12 step literature/Bible
In recovery
Elina
-When I look into the future, it is so bright it burns my eyes ~ Oprah Windfrey
tracy - checking in on sept 15
Made a big step in hiring a special assistant to work on the backlog and have had him come 2 days in a row. For years thought I "shouldn't" need it. Moving this direction is progress.
Woo Hoo ((Tracy))
♥Prayers & guidance needed & appreciated for my Yoffee's healing.♥
Thx for the woo hoo. Can
Thx for the woo hoo. Can always use these especially if I don't feel like I "deserve" to it myself. So yours reminds me to do it for myself "woo hoo."
The Scribbler's Wednesday
Prep
get up at 7make bedexercisecoffee, paperwater plantshealthy breakfastcheckinsMorning
Cut grass(only got front yard done, but I'm counting it)Email PB re: missing invoiceCall 4 re: new10 ////Afternoon
Outline New10Draft New10File New10File BN postEvening
Well, it's damn near eight at night and I'm just finishing up work. I never did get the tax payment sent, but the IRS won't mind if it's one day late. Let's hope so. I don't have the money anyway. But I did get a lot done today. Now off for a fun rest of the evening.
hope4meandu checkin (10:00AM)
Thanks for the cute starter protecher. Relate to all your shares this a.m., and feel grateful to be among you all. Work is going really well, and I haven't needed to be on chatbox, which sort of scares me that I will think I'm doing this all on my own, etc.
Things I'm procrastinating about:
-sending nail cutter back for refund
-step work
-keeping numbers
-sending stuff to ML
-
calling gym again to get $ back-finding a new 0% balance credit card
-
calling k.c. and speaking to someone in charge about the order I didn't receive.To do tonight:
cleaning:
-kitchen floor
-laundry
-work out 10 minutes, 10 mts stomach
Kindest regards all!!
♥Prayers & guidance needed & appreciated for my Yoffee's healing.♥
yay hope4meandu!
so glad to here that your job is going well. Congrats for all your hard work!
kromer 9:45 CI
Lots to do today!
Rough poster (have made good progress, maybe 2/3 done)
Semi-final slidesS. chromatinTechniques (not quite done but made very good progress. Maybe an hour left?)
Y (will do this soon)
Email re: practice quals, other emailsShoppingSec (will do this soon)
Treas training(postponed until next week)
If I have more time:
2 A papers
2 C papers
RA devel resources
OK, going to start with an hour on slides, then I'll go read for a while
Really, really down
First off, I want to thank the people who welcomed me last night. Much appreciated--really.
10–12: Finish annotating PMLA article; freewrite around those notes
12–1: yoga, shower
1–2: make vegetable broth, eat lunch
2–3:30 : read VW bio
3:45–Check in and decide afternoon/evening rundown
It's hard for me to look at this list, as I know that 2 hours in front of a book now isn't what 2 hours in front of a book used to be. Depression has killed my brain. Oh, well. At least I have nice houseplants?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. ~~Samuel Beckett
(ardenforest)
Keep coming back. The only "plants" in my house are artificial ones. At least they "look" real. All my houseplants seem to die. So that is "something" you can give yourself credit for.
((ardenforest))
Relate very much. LOL, houseplants. Welcome, and so glad you are here with us.
♥Prayers & guidance needed & appreciated for my Yoffee's healing.♥
good morning
TO-DO-LIST
11:38 AM
DONE @12:37 PM SHOWER
BREAKFAST
VIT'S
Crazybug CI
Good morning! Stayed up too late reading last night, but was keyed up after a very productive evening of taking care of some onerous tasks. Woke up feeling inspired instead of tired though due to the sense of accomplishment I feel. I need to keep reminding myself that forward progress gives me energy. Being stagnant drains energy.
Here's my over all planning for today:
30 minute assessment of new site
-write down action items and problem area
Review progress on sales doc
Brainstorm on improving sales booklet
Call to find out if changes are made
Call to see if they got changes
There's a lot of brainstorming, planning, creativity projects today. I need to watch that I don't wander off on tangents so will try to microplan and set specific objectives to focus on during my microbursts.
clement ci
moving from
"i have too much to do...shut down"
to
"i have too much to do, so i'll try to do as much as i can, even if i can't get it all done"
is a blessing and a miracle.
i am today by god's grace shakily in the latter, and here to support myself in that vein.
happy recovery all!
now make my list and do it. it will be uncomfortable, and that's ok.
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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
(clement)
I has to say "showing up" is a good day!!! and now I have 1+ YEAR of consistency in "showing up" (some days questionable but at least showed up here) and that is a miracle, lots of stuff happened.
I adopted the "not picking up a drink" or "not binging" is a good day thinking. It helped me start "somewhere" until it became a way of life. Took a long time.
I am always surprised how as the day goes on, by not shutting down, I get so much more done than I thought.(usually) and at least there isa chance. The chatbox helps me break it down or at least commit it.
Your "showing up" PA friend in recovery, Vic
((clement))
Clement - What an encouraging post! That's a great attitude. I, too, need to remember to 'eat the whale' one bite at a time and only look at the bite on the fork not the whole whale on the plate!
I am projecting strength and steadfastness to all who need it today.
Pyrothecher CI Wednesday 15 Sep 2010
Check In at 4:15 am PDT
You have to get up pretty early - or stay up really late - to have a shot at posting the thread starter on the US West Coast, but I just managed to do it. I took the late route.
I also have to admit that I've been up to most of the night because I had a deadline to upload a business document. It's a semi-regular event in my job, with the deadline scheduled to avoid times of high network traffic. Because no sane person would stay up till ridiculous hours to submit important business at the very last minute, would they?
Here I am, guilty as charged. Not only working up to the end of a middle-of-the-night deadline, but doing it on a regular basis. Making changes up to the last minute and leaving myself open to errors, omissions, and even the possibility of a missed deadline, all in the face of an unforgiving computer. When it comes around I plan for the late-night schedule, and my boss and my wife have become used to it.
Just as in Burka and Yuen's book on Procrastination (which I highly recommend), I walk away from each deadline vowing that I will find a way to make next time different. I know that the quality of my work and the quality of my life will be better if I really do it.
I don't have an answer for how to really make it happen. I'm sure applying the tools on this site and in the 12-steps can make a difference.
I don't believe my problem is not one of laziness. In many cases I'm hard at work preparing long in advance of the deadline day, but I can't make the leap to take that last compressed effort and lay it into a sane schedule. It seems a matter of planning, sticking to the plan, and giving myself permission to do that. That may sound funny but I seem to have become so used to pushing the final effort to the last minute that part of me expects it. The key seems to be learning a way of working that rewards rationality and not the distorted version of what I tell myself I need to do, because that's the way I've always done it.
Enough theory for now. I need to rest and find a way to make a good day follow the long one.
-=-=-=-=-=
"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."
Benjamin Franklin
(pyrotecher)
You will, I find the first step is "intending" to find another way and then working on what is blocking that "intention" . I know - easier said than done- but anything is possible!! Thoughts have can perform the operations and calculate the answers for us- not sure how it works however I believe science is taking a different look at this (even though it is nothing new).
Good point, Vic
Vic:
Apologies for the late reply; my visits to the site have been sporadic lately.
Vic, you've got an excellent point about thoughts leading to answers. I think that our subconscious plays a big role in solving "big problems" for us. Our brain takes what we feed it and sorts it out to responses - both in logical and emotional responses (Cognitive Therapy deals with the latter). Sometimes the really big issues can percolate in the background for a very long time. But the brain can only work with what it has, which is why focusing on constructive thoughts and information is important!
Thanks again for the great comment and all your support!
Vic 9/15
"Grace can only grow in fields of gratitude". It seems so obvious (especially with kids) but takes thought to do. Making my gratidue list. Thanks for being here (#1) Thanks for starter (#2)