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.

Sunday 24 September 2006

pro's CI - 11:20pm (last check-in)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Ta Da~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Wake up: 7:15am (target: 7am).
  • Review to-do list, make day plan.
  • Morning Routine.
    • Take out pills for the day.
    • Make bed (convert futon back into couch).
    • Empty dish drain and wash any dishes from previous day.
    • Make and eat breakfast.
  • Fix CA bug (discovered this morning - BIG pain in the neck that took a lot of time to fix. It turns out that MySQL 5 doesn't correctly process multiple-table deletes, whereas MySQL 4 did. Go figure. Plus there was nothing about this on the MySQL site. I had to fix it by using separate DELETE commands for each table.)
  • Fix PM bug.
  • Fix PM-N bug.
  • Fix UN-R bug.
  • Meeting
  • Free time.
  • Straighten work area to prepare for next work day.
  • Review to-do list for next day.
  • Bedtime Routine
    • Take last dose of pills.
    • Empty dish drain and wash any dirty dishes.
    • Brush teeth.
    • Take shower.
    • Put on jammies.
    • Make up bed (convert futon from couch to bed).

Good night!

Are you still up , pro???

Go to bed!

caught!

I was up, but not on the computer. I watched TV in bed for a while. It wasn't totally badness. I was upset about something, and distracting myself with the TV. I finally got to be past 1am.

pro's CI - 10:50pm

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Ta Da~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Wake up: 7:15am (target: 7am).
  • Review to-do list, make day plan.
  • Morning Routine.
    • Take out pills for the day.
    • Make bed (convert futon back into couch).
    • Empty dish drain and wash any dishes from previous day.
    • Make and eat breakfast.
  • Fix CA bug (discovered this morning - BIG pain in the neck that took a lot of time to fix. It turns out that MySQL 5 doesn't correctly process multiple-table deletes, whereas MySQL 4 did. Go figure. Plus there was nothing about this on the MySQL site. I had to fix it by using separate DELETE commands for each table.)
  • Fix PM bug.
  • Fix PM-N bug.
  • Fix UN-R bug.
  • Meeting
  • Free time.
  • Straighten work area to prepare for next work day.
  • Review to-do list for next day.
  • Bedtime Routine
    • Take last dose of pills.
    • Empty dish drain and wash any dirty dishes.
    • Brush teeth.
    • Take shower.
    • Put on jammies.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~To Do~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Bedtime Routine
    • Make up bed (convert futon from couch to bed).

*~*~*~*~*~*~Blown Off~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Swallow morning pills.
  • Put in contacts.
  • Reflection.
  • Pilates.
  • Clear spam folder.

1Focus 9:56

What a day. I did more than I thought I could, and I feel great. I'll even be in bed close to my target. My yoga seesion wrung all the tension out of my neck and shoulders. I really want to get back to doing that most evenings before bed. I always sleep better those nights.

Proudly Accomplished:

Morning Routine
Weekend Routine
Saturday's Evening Routine
Day Plan
• finish mowing the grass
• cut down tree and split the whole thing, even got the brush cleaned up
Feed DD0
Evening Routine
• Help in kitchen
• Dinner and hang with family
• Farm chores
• Bathe kids
• Scoop catbox
• Office chores
• Yoga

I want To Do:

Evening Routine
• Early to bed (lights out 10:00pm)

One big focus:
Clean up financial responsibilities
• Stay on top of “always

yoga before bed

Yoga before bed is interesting. You have energy for it then? I sort of like mornings, but I'm still experimenting. What kind of yoga do you do?

Congratulations on a productive day! :)

I don't know

I guess it's pretty basic Hatha Yoga. I use tapes produced by Yoga Zone, they just seem to fit with my psyche. I find the energy for it because I use it for relaxation (serious muscle tension, here) rather than exercise. I've learned that I can go to bed and toss and turn for 2 hours trying to get comfortable, or spend an hour practicing yoga first and go right to sleep.

I usually choose the toss and turn method of sleeping :?

yoga

I think Normy is a yoga instructor. I don't know much about it. I've taken two yoga classes in my life. About all I know about it is that it involves stretching and breathing. It's similar to Pilates in some ways - or rather, Pilates draws on yoga. Do you use it mainly for stretching and breathing?

what i know

yoga does involve stretching and breathing but holding poses works your muscles, too. a series of poses done in a 'flow' can actually be a low impact cardio workout. there's a focus on matching the breath and the movement.

it's also good for balance (one-legged standing poses, for example).

a typical yoga practice may start with a brief centering or meditation, then sun salutations or another sequence of poses that warms up all the muscles, then there are generally some easier poses that prepare you for more challenging ones later on. Close it down with a little meditation in savasana (corpse) pose.

i don't go to yoga regularly, but i always feel wonderful when i do. my teacher is patient and funny and always knows just how to tweak a pose so that it's much more challenging to me (i'm naturally flexible).

i don't know much about pilates - a friend showed me a few exercises once.

yoga sounds nice

I can't afford yoga classes now, but I might take one if I could. It sounds nice.

Pilates is similar, though. This morning I went through the routine a bit more smoothly (as I start to memorize the exercises), and I got more of a workout. It exercises your core quite a bit so I felt my abdominals working, and when I moved from one exercise to the next it was more of a cardio workout and a broke I bit of a sweat (not hugely dripping like with the stair stepper, but my heart rate was up). There is also a focus on synchronizing the movements with your breathing, and being very present and mindful of this (so it's a meditation as well).

All around health

Primarily I practice yoga to deal with my muscle tension, so yes stretching and breathing. I also count it as "exercise" when I actually do it regularly; I'm usually pretty sore for the first week. :O All I know is that I feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally when I practice regularly. You'd think that would be enough to keep me motivated 8)

soreness means using muscles

I haven't been sore from the Pilates yet. Maybe because I'm still on the intro routine.

If you're sore from the yoga, you must be doing more than stretching. How did you learn it? Take a class? Do you have a specific routine that you do?

More than stretching

I move as far into the poses as I am able, so I'm really working pretty hard. I think the soreness is really just demand resistance :D from my tense shoulders.

I first learned about yoga while I was in treatment every morning at 7:00am. I found Yoga Zone on discovery health channel several years ago, liked what I saw, ordered the videos and have been practicing very inconsistantly ever since. I seem to have demand resistance around scheduled classes as you have talked about, so I haven't gone that route, yet.

pro's CI - 9:40pm (stalled again)

Since I'm sitting here stalling (what is my problem today?!), I think I'll check in and update my to-do and ta-da lists. I still haven't swallowed a single pill today - bad. And just as bad, I had popcorn for dinner instead of a nutritious meal. I really shouldn't do that. I justify it because it's cheap, but my poor body does not handle popcorn very well - not to mention that it's fattening.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Ta Da~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Wake up: 7:15am (target: 7am).
  • Review to-do list, make day plan.
  • Morning Routine.
    • Take out pills for the day.
    • Make bed (convert futon back into couch).
    • Empty dish drain and wash any dishes from previous day.
    • Make and eat breakfast.
  • Fix CA bug (discovered this morning - BIG pain in the neck that took a lot of time to fix. It turns out that MySQL 5 doesn't correctly process multiple-table deletes, whereas MySQL 4 did. Go figure. Plus there was nothing about this on the MySQL site. I had to fix it by using separate DELETE commands for each table.)
  • Fix PM bug.
  • Fix PM-N bug.
  • Fix UN-R bug.
  • Meeting
  • Free time.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~To Do~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Straighten work area to prepare for next work day.
  • Review to-do list for next day.
  • Bedtime routine.

*~*~*~*~*~*~Blown Off~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Swallow morning pills.
  • Put in contacts.
  • Reflection.
  • Pilates.
  • Clear spam folder.

*~*~*~*~*~*~For Tomorrow~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Pick up mail.
  • Handle mail, pay bills, filing.
  • Back accounting.
  • Groceries.
  • Pick up prescription.
  • Pick up tailoring from two locations.

Shoulding patrol

I had popcorn for dinner instead of a nutritious meal. I really shouldn't do that

I really don't want to do that. ;)

right! that's what I meant :)

Right. I want to have nutritious food for dinner so my middle aged spread doesn't keep spreading, my health is better, and I live a long, active life. :)

scarlet CI 8:56 pm

Priority: Inventory - DONE!!! Whoot!

Off to take in a bit of a music festival. Back later.

Already done:
Make/eat breakfast
Feed cats/both scoop pan
Take pills/allergy meds
Empty drainboard
Call restaurant
Look up schedule
Do dishes
Change lightbulb in kitchen
Pick shirt
Sweep
Scrub sink
Call in refill
Take shower

To Do:
prep dance bag
prep work bag
meditate
bed 10:15 pm

1Focus 8:12

I'm going to fit some yoga in before bed. My back needs some love after such a physical day.

Proudly Accomplished:

Morning Routine
Weekend Routine
Saturday's Evening Routine
Day Plan
• finish mowing the grass
• cut down tree and split the whole thing, even got the brush cleaned up
Feed DD0
Evening Routine
• Help in kitchen
• Dinner and hang with family
• Farm chores
• Bathe kids
• Scoop catbox

I want To Do:

Evening Routine
• Office chores
• Yoga
• Early to bed (lights out 10:00pm)

One big focus:
Clean up financial responsibilities
• Stay on top of “always

1Focus 7:05

I'm going to fit some yoga in before bed. My back needs some love after such a physical day.

Proudly Accomplished:

Morning Routine
Weekend Routine
Saturday's Evening Routine
Day Plan
• finish mowing the grass
• cut down tree and split the whole thing, even got the brush cleaned up
Feed DD0
Evening Routine
• Help in kitchen
• Dinner and hang with family

I want To Do:

Evening Routine
• Farm chores
• Clean up kitchen
• Scoop catbox
• Office chores
• Early to bed (lights out 10:00pm)

One big focus:
Clean up financial responsibilities
• Stay on top of “always

pro's CI - 6:20pm (being bad)

I'm still sitting at the computer. I've been futzing with the database, doing crosschecks to make sure all is well and tweaking small problems away.

I'm having transition troubles again.

I emailed my family about my business change - no response yet. Of course, it's only been a few minutes. Come to think of it, it's Rosh Hashana. My mother certainly isn't at synogogue, but my brother might be. Maybe I'll call my sister. She's the safest one to talk to lately, and she did something so sweet the other day.

heading out

I heading out to a meeting now. My mother called, so I didn't get a chance to call my sister yet.

It still looks like rain.

pro's CI - 4:30pm

I feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole again, seeing how it's nearly 5pm and I haven't taken my morning pills yet. Again, I got diverted by program bugs. On the plus side, they are all fixed.

Something odd... It's possible that this business change I made will actually end up increasing my income. I thought it would kill it. It's very odd. Maybe it's just a temporary blip, but I've gotten a bunch of new customers since the changeover.

I'm going to see if I can get back on track with my day now. I'm happy to see some people in the forum today. Usually I'm all alone on weekends - makes for bad behavior. }:)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Ta Da~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Wake up: 7:15am (target: 7am).
  • Review to-do list, make day plan.
  • Morning Routine.
    • Take out pills for the day.
    • Make bed (convert futon back into couch).
    • Empty dish drain and wash any dishes from previous day.
    • Make and eat breakfast.
  • Fix CA bug (discovered this morning - BIG pain in the neck that took a lot of time to fix. It turns out that MySQL 5 doesn't correctly process multiple-table deletes, whereas MySQL 4 did. Go figure. Plus there was nothing about this on the MySQL site. I had to fix it by using separate DELETE commands for each table.)
  • Fix PM bug.
  • Fix PM-N bug.
  • Fix UN-R bug.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~To Do~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Morning Routine.
    • Put on exercise clothes (showered night before).
    • Swallow morning pills.
    • Wash breakfast dishes.
    • Put in contacts.
  • Reflection.
  • Pilates.
  • Change into street clothes.
  • Check email and clear spam folder.
  • Straighten work area to prepare for next work day.
  • Errands, etc.
    • Groceries.
    • Pick up prescription.
    • Pick up tailoring from two locations.
    • Movie (if I have time, which I doubt).
    • Meeting.
  • Meeting
  • Free time.
  • Review to-do list for next day.
  • Bedtime routine.

*~*~*~*~*~*~For Tomorrow~*~*~*~*~*~*

  • Pick up mail.
  • Handle mail, pay bills, filing.
  • Back accounting.

Life changes

That's pretty cool for you, it's funny how things can turn out 8)

When I was talking to a client who happened to be a life coach about my transition from paid employment to working for myself, she said that often she finds that when her clients take that leap of faith, work just starts to come in. It's like a virtual wall comes down or something.

leaping off cliffs

It was sort of like leaping off a cliff. I was going against the advice of everyone in my family, and doing what I knew was best. My mother called today because she hadn't heard from me in a while and wondered how I was (it's unusual for me to be as silent as I have been). I told her what I did, and she was supportive. I doubt my brother will be so supportive. He'll probably tell me I'm an idiot and made a huge mistake.

Things always work out in the end.

Glad to hear your first family "interview" went so well.

Can you tell your brother and then hang up before he responds? }:)

Ha ha!

That was a funny visual! :lol:

Excellent!

I'm so glad your mum was supportive - that makes whatever your brother does a lot less significant, if that makes sense....

they both influence me

I'm essentially a wuss, so virtually anyone can make me doubt myself or turn me inside out with frustration and confusion. My brother is quite skilled at it.

But in fact he was supportive (surprisingly) - he didn't say much, but the few words were supportive. I've complained so much about how he tries to bully me into doing things his way that perhaps he's just learning to zip it. The last conversation I had with him was when I first said I wanted to do this, and he attacked me for being a spoiled brat ("they call it 'work' because it isn't fun"). I was so upset that I cut off contact and said not a word to my family for weeks.

Regardless of what they really think, I'm glad they are not hassling me or criticizing me or telling me I'm a spoiled brat who doesn't want to work, etc. That's very draining and stressful.

That's great

I have discovered that as an adult, I tell my family about things that have happened and what I'm doing about it. I stay away from what I might do, becuase then I let their opinions influence my decisions.

I'm sure that was a relief.

better boundaries

That's a good strategy. I have been inviting them to boss me around by telling them about every decision I'm considering. I've done it out of insecurity. I grew up with my mother telling me that my judgement is terrible and I can't make a good move, and I internalized that. I've been afraid to make my own decisions. But I have to do that, obviously. I'm 50 years old, for crying out loud. Isn't it about time I act like an adult instead of a frightened child?

telling family

I keep wanting to tell my family about the change I made in my business. Since it's behind me, I think it's safe to do that now. I feel weird not mentioning it to them. But of course that's because of my own insecurity and lack of boundaries. They don't need to know, they're not entitled to know, and actually they probably don't even care to know. But I think I will tell them, and then I'll post back here about what a mistake it was after they attack me. :P

A proverb

One of my seminary profs once told our class, "It's easier to gain forgiveness than permission." (What he meant was, just do it! Of course, when my husband went hunting that semester and butchered the deer by hanging it off the back staircase, my prof quit using that proverb!) You didn't need permission, and you have nothing to apologize for, but the dynamic is the same--it's easier to gain support after the fact than approval before. And sometimes, we just have to make do without either one! I'm glad you got some support this time.

Family

I think it's ok to tell the family at this point. I think you were absolutely right not telling them up front. You made the decision, dealt with the customers, cleaned up the mess, got things rolling again the way you want it. Now you can tell the family how successful its turning out :D

PS I know its not that easy, but it sure soungs nice ;)

it was sort of like that

The little burst of business right after the transition was nice. Can't say yet whether it was a fluke or a trend, but it perked up the story. :D

scarlett CI 1 pm

Priority: Inventory - DONE!!! Whoot!

Off to take in a bit of a music festival. Back later.

Already done:
Make/eat breakfast
Feed cats/both scoop pan
Take pills/allergy meds
Empty drainboard
Call restaurant
Look up schedule

To Do:
Do dishes
Change lightbulb in kitchen
Pick shirt
Sweep
Scrub sink
Call in refill
Make lunch for Monday
Sunday night routine

WTG Scarlett!!

Sounds like you're on a roll today! :)

Thanks!

Not a bad day. Even survived dinner with the family. ;)

1Focus 11:54

I got my tree cut down and about halfway cut up before it started raining. I probably won't get back to it today. I'll get the last of my financial plan wrapped up and get an early start on the evening.

Proudly Accomplished:

Morning Routine
Weekend Routine
• CUOP
• Specific plan for the day
• Clear my head
Saturday's Evening Routine
• clean catbox
• clean kitchen
• farm chores
Day Plan
• finish mowing the grass
• firewood started

I want To Do:

Feed DD0
Day Plan
• cut down tree for fire wood
Head start on Evening Routine
• Help in kitchen
• Dinner and hang with family
• Farm chores (include kids)
• Clean up kitchen
• Scoop catbox
• Office chores
• Early to bed (lights out 10:00pm)

One big focus:
Clean up financial responsibilities
• Stay on top of “always

cutting down trees

When I lived in the boonies, I bought a chain saw and cut down one single tree. It was so terrifying that I never did it again - decided I'd best hire someone for that.

I also learned to split wood, but only did a very few logs before I decided my back would be happier without that. I hired someone to do that, too.

Okay, I'm a wuss, but I'm a computer nerd - I'm supposed to be a wuss. :P

You must be in good shape to do all that mowing and cutting and chopping in one day. For me, mowing the lawn is plenty of physical activity by itself.

Yard work, I cheat

Riding mower
Big Chainsaw (I can understand the terrified part. I still remember my first time)
Gas powered log splitter
Tractor to help move the logs

This was the first time I used the splitter. It was a Christmas present I just got last week :P DW and I managed to get the whole tree split this afternoon in just a couple of hours. I like power tools 8)

I'm gonna feel it in the morning :O

power tools

>I like power tools

I like electronics. Do those count as power tools? :P

I had a gas powered walk-behind mower, a split maul (looks like an axe - power all in my back), and a wheel barrow. It was exhausting. I confess that I eventually hired someone to do all of this, including mowing the lawn. That was before I lost my job, and later, my house. (I didn't lose my house in the foreclosure sense - I sold it - but I didn't have a lot of choice.)

The one good thing about living in an teensy-weensy apartment in the city is there is no maintenance. If anything breaks I call the landlord, and if I don't want to cook I order in. You can't order in in the boonies.

Electronics

I like electronics, too, so I guess they count.

1Focus 11:15

Proudly Accomplished:

Morning Routine
Weekend Routine
• CUOP
• Specific plan for the day
• Clear my head
Saturday's Evening Routine
• clean catbox
• clean kitchen
• farm chores
• finish mowing the grass

I want To Do:

Day Plan
• cut down tree for fire wood
Evening Routine

One big focus:
Clean up financial responsibilities
• Stay on top of “always

scarlett CI 10:31 am

Priority: Inventory

Already done:
Make/eat breakfast
Feed cats/both scoop pan
Take pills/allergy meds

To Do:
Empty drainboard
Do dishes
Change lightbulb in kitchen
Call restaurant
Pick shirt
Sweep
Scrub sink
Call in refil
Look up schedule
Make lunch for Monday

Alright, more weekend help.

I bet the more of us that check-in on the weekends. The more of us will stay motivated :)

1Focus 10:17

I usually check in much more frequently during the week while I'm at work. Maybe if I do the same on the weekends, I'll stay motivated.

Just received a call from work, A/C is not working right. Hopefully we can resolve this over the phone, so I don't have to go in. Waiting on return call.

Proudly Accomplished:

Morning Routine
• Out of bed 7:30
• Ready for anything
• Breakfast
• Unload dishwasher
Weekend Routine
• CUOP
• Specific plan for the day
• Clear my head
Saturday's Evening Routine
• clean catbox
• clean kitchen
• farm chores

I want To Do:

Day Plan
• finish mowing the grass
• cut down tree for fire wood
Evening Routine

One big focus:
Clean up financial responsibilities
• Stay on top of “always

Amazing

A/C problem at work, not a problem.

Folks were complaining that it was getting hot in the building. I asked someone to take a thermometer around and check temperatures. Maybe it's not so hot after all, they say. Temps are right where they're supposed to be ;)

Off to mow some grass.

1Focus 9:34

Let's see if I can stick to the plan today. It feels good just having a plan for the weekend.

Proudly Accomplished:

Morning Routine
• Out of bed 7:30
• Ready for anything
• Breakfast
• Unload dishwasher
Weekend Routine
• CUOP
• Specific plan for the day

I want To Do:

• Clear my head
Saturday's Evening Routine
Day Plan
• finish mowing the grass
• cut down tree for fire wood
Evening Routine

One big focus:
Clean up financial responsibilities
• Stay on top of “always

pro's CI - 9am

There are a variety of problems related to the business change that I need to take care of today, so I'm going to switch my Sunday and Monday to-do lists. I'm programming again today.

Routines

Just get that morning routine done, first :)