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.
pro's CI - 11:20pm (last check-in)
11:20pm isn't too bad for getting to bed - not my goal, but way better than last night!
pro's CI - 10:50pm
pro's CI - 10:25pm
I'm getting there... Goal is lights out by 11pm. I probably won't quite make that, but close.
scarlett CI 9:25 pm
Did stay late - worked on something else since that's where my energy was. That meant I missed yoga class, though. :(
Already done:
Morning routine
Ate breakfast
Take pills/allergy meds
Check work/personal email for urgent stuff
Schedule meeting w/ T
Return call/work order
Check messages
Monthly report (started)
Executive summary (45 min)
Make/eat dinner
Put away clothes
Dishes
Rehab
Chat w/ sister
Chat w/ father
Postponed:
Demo review
Frog 2b
Monthly report
Feed cats/scoop
Tonight:
Yoga (home or class)
Evening routine
Budget
Bedtime 10:15 pm
pro's CI - 9:20pm
I want to watch the new episode of House now - it was on at 8pm and I recorded it - but it's 9:20pm and if I'm to have any hope of getting to bed on time tonight, I need to start my bedtime routine now. I said this morning that I was going to start taking bedtimes seriously. I said I wanted to get to bed earlier so I can live a happier and more productive life. :) So I will begin my bedtime routine now.
The crowd cheers.
Early to bed! Yeeeeaaaahhhhhh!!!!
You can do it!
Go Pro!
I bet you'll feel good in the morning :)
Ah, encouragement. I guess, then, I'll get off this couch.
Okay - starting NOW!! :)
woo hoo!
go pro go!
if it weren't for you guys...
...I'd still be sitting on the couch.
I read your encouragement and it lifts me off the chair and gets me moving. THANK YOU!!
1Focus 9:09
Left for DW:
• Feed DD0 (no pre-school today)
Proudly Accomplished:
Morning Routine
Work Routine
• Called S, we're on for tonight
• Call contractor L, will be here this afternoon
• Call contractor G, will hear back tomorrow re meeting time
• Call about furniture delivery, firm date by the end of the week
• Work out plan for project P, found where I had already done this, just need to make phone calls :(
• spoke with J and D about tonight's meeting
• went home to take care of DW's ladder incident
• made it back to work in time to see contractor
• even made it to my 2:00 by 2:30
Goals and accountability meeting, the best one yet!
Grocery shopping on the way home
Got home late, most of evening routine blown off. I guess I won't include it on Tuesdays since I am usually home late, or maybe a modified Tuesday Evening Routine.
I want To Do:
Tuesday Evening Routine
• Farm chores
• Clean kitchen
• Scoop catbox
• Early to bed (lights out 10:00pm)
One big focus:
Garage storage project
• Hang wall slats
LAST CI G-I-D
Got the girls fed and now off to bed (although i think i still hear the patter of liitle girl feet upstairs;her room is above the office.)
ATe dinner
Going to shower
take some good meds.
Relax.
bedtime routine
Thanks everyone for all the well wishes. It's nice to know you have people that care around you!
G-night.
pro's CI - 5:40pm
I decided to blow off the meeting tonight so I can get through the business email backlog. I've been going to a lot of meetings lately. It won't kill me to miss one, and I got so little done today, what with my late start and hardware store mixup, that I'd rather use the time to accomplish something. Otherwise I'll go to bed feeling crappy.
Email backlog
I thought accounting was your "one big focus". By the way, you don't have to put it in "quotes" anymore. You can just use the phrase instead of borrowing it. ;)
pro's CI - 5:25pm
I'm checking in frequently right now because I feel in danger of spinning off course.
I've been thinking about the hundreds of email messages I haven't dealt with yet. I do need to go through them and clean out those folders, but this is not going to be a quick thing. I put them aside to deal with later because they were time consuming, and I had other things I needed to do first. That's still the case. The most urgent thing I have to do - way more urgent than the put-off email - is my back accounting. I'm going to put off the email a little longer (except for the back email relating to my business), and stick with accounting as my "one big focus". That has to be the priority right now.
suddenly I feel tired...
...like I want to take a nap. I don't know where that's coming from. I certainly slept enough last night (getting up two hours late, as I did).
if it's not actual fatigue...
...what could it be? demand resistance, need for a protein-filled snack, need to get up and move a little?
dunno
I just ignored it and started to work anyway, and now I'm fine. :?
Definitely
demand resistance
pro's CI - 5pm
Where is everybody today? I feel like I'm here by my lonesome (pretty much - GID has been here a bit).
I've been sticking to my to-do list all day, but somehow I wasn't able to get done what I'd planned to get done. The laundry wasn't my fault - someone else was using the one machine we have in the basement. But I did get up two hours late, and then kill another 45 minutes exchanging something at the hardware store, which I wouldn't have had to do if I'd measured first. If I hadn't done these things I'd have three more hours now - it would be 2pm instead of 5pm. So I guess that's why I didn't get much done today. :(
Woulds and coulds...
...are sometimes used as code words for should.
Not a total write off
Well, despite my accident today, I still managed to get a few things done that were on my list
-the towels washed and dried (DH put them in dryer for me.)
-I checked out the websites for ACOA, Al-anon, and CODA looking for meeting schedules. FOund one online ACOA meeting, but it's kinda late in the eve. they also had a forum which looked interesting.
-Worked a little on getting routines (morn, eve, afternoon)down on paper.
- played with DD3 outside and she helped me a little in the garden
My plan for the evening since DH is going to a meeting and I'm all banged up, is to get the girls and I dinner and them to bed, then just chill and watch tv or something and maybe my aches will feel better tomorrow.
BTW
the playing outside and gardening were pre- fall. ;)
taking it easy sounds good.
pay attention to how you feel the next few days... it's easy to mess up one's back or other joints in a fall like that.
hope you're okay!
Re:taking it easy
Yea- i already know a chiropractor visit is in my very near future. I thought about going today but decided I would wait a day or so so that I can pinpoint more of what exactly hurts. Today it's just everything. I figure, too I should give my body a little time to recover before messing with it more, ya know?! I am very grateful that I didn't hurt myself worse or get knocked out or something.
take two aspirin?
A couple aspirin might help with the aches. Just a thought.
Re:two aspirin
Been alternating advil, tyelenol off every two hours this afternoon. Now I'm waiting for everything to wear off so I can take some Aleve. That stuff is awesome. Should have taken it to start with but it makes me really sleepy. :)
todayfirst 4:10PM EST
I've been thinking about the want to, should do, need to do concepts... For me, I think procrastinating is a choice and so is working (though the alternatives may suck). Habituation may make something my "default" choice if I don't think about it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a choice I made. So I think I will change my "done" and "todo" lists. A bit wordy but so am I...
Things I chose to so far do today:
-workout
-checked emails
-Project Y - tasks a-e,g,i-m
-Attend meeting
-Help troubleshoot a computer over phone
-Answer colleagues questions
-Review materials from training I missed
-Time logging
Things I still want to do today:
-Weekly review
-Rehang the cabinets I screwed up ;)
Things I want to defer until tommorrow:
-Documentation updates
-Project Y - tasks f,h,j,n
Valiant wording
Can't wait to see if it helps reprogram your brain to make more conscious choices!
pro's CI - 3:45pm
I wasn't able to do laundry today because someone else was using the one washing machine in the basement, so I'm rolling that over to tomorrow. I did get a roll of quarters, though, so I'm ready.
measure twice, cut once
I wanted to get gliders for the legs of my futon because I'm scraping up the floor moving it each day. But stupidly, I didn't measure the legs before going to the hardware store and what I got is the wrong size, so now I have to go back and exchange it. Kind of a waste of time, but it's a beautiful day so I don't mind the extra walk.
back to the hardware store
I can't believe it's 3pm and I haven't gotten to the work portion of my day yet. Late start, and silliness with not measuring before the hardware store.
I'll come right back without dawdling, and get to work.
Roses, Dogs, Chickens and Ladders.- We all do dumb things..
I was outside playing W/ DD3 and then decided to spend a little time pruning the roses on the top of the rose arbor. The dog got after a chicken, and stupid me was yelling and screaming at her from the top of the ladder. I was trying to get down but went too fast or stepped wrong or something. The leg of the ladder buckled and down I went and hit the ground with a mighty thud. Stunned me a bit and scared DD3 a little. Called DH (1focus) he came home To check on me and took over till the girls got in bed for naptime. He's gone back to work now.
So since i feel like I have been hit by a mack truck, I think I'll consider the day a blow off :( That really bites cause I think i could have easily finished off my list again today.
Lessons I've learned from this experience
-Don't do things that aren't on your to do list. It seems to be dangerous.
-If you're on a ladder, and the dog wants to eat a chicken, let the dog have the freakin chicken.
- Falling off ladders pretty much sucks.
- Grass does not make for a very good impact absorbtion material. Now I know why they want me to put mulch 8 inches deep around my childs playset.
- Humans don't bounce very well.
(It was really all just a elaborate plot to get out of cleaning the master bath and doing the ironing. }:)
How "bout Today?
Wasn't online yesterday (no phone line again) and just saw this. Better today? I hope so! I certainly hope there's not something that feels even worse today. Your description is so vivid--and your sense of humor is, too. Bless you!
Dogs
If your Dog is anything like mine, once he's after something there's no stopping him anyways. Hope your aches recover quickly... I've had a coule close calls on the ladder but so far I've been lucky.
Re:dogs
Yea shes pretty intent on her target, but if you can get close enough to where she sees you, and then yell at her she'll usually stop. Thanks for the well wishes.
Yikes!
I'm glad you're okay!!
Thanks- me too.
Scared the holy crap outta me.
scarlett CI 12:32
I see new people who haven't posted yet. Hey lurkers, consider this a friendly non-threatening invitation to come out and play with us!! ;)
And welcome to DeeBo, who's taken that plunge. 8)
On lunch break, getting little things done. Feels good.
Already done:
Morning routine
Ate breakfast
Take pills/allergy meds
Check work/personal email for urgent stuff
Schedule meeting w/ T
Return call/work order
Check messages
Monthly report (started)
I've decided to stay a little late tonight and work on a few things. An hour or so should do it and I'll be in much better shape for tomorrow.
To Do after training:
Demo review
Frog 2b
Monthly report
Tonight:
Make/eat dinner
Yoga (home or class)
Feed cats/scoop
Evening routine
Budget
Dishes
Put away clothes
Bedtime 10:15 pm
pro's CI - 12:20pm
I'm thinking I'll do a few errands today that aren't that urgent because it's so beautiful out, and it gives me a reason to walk around a little.
pro's CI - 11:25am
Still running very late... :(
pro's CI - 10:55am
I've been taking too long "eating breakfast". Actually, I finished breakfast some time ago, and I've been reading and replying to posts on this site. Enough! I need to get to work.
I mean, I want to get to work. (I often use "need to" synonymously with "should".)
want to vs should
I think that this is part of my problem... I'm so negative and I tell myself "I don't want to". If I tell myself I want to or even choose to it might be that much easier to motivate myself.
want vs. should is HUGE for me
Did you read the article I posted on demand resistance, plus the many comments added to it? This turned out to be the major cause of my procrastination (and want vs. should is central to it). Getting this insight changed a lot for me.
want vs need
I just read the article and comments this afternoon. Probably demand resistance/passive agressiveness has something to do with why I temporarily go "on strike" for the afternoon whenever my boss asks me to work on a task I disagree with... that and the fact that I don't feel like I can say "no" to anything.
pro's CI - 10:20am (first check-in, LATE)
My late nights caught up with me today, and I overslept this morning - didn't wake up until 9am. I want to (versus "should") take bedtime more seriously, and get to bed - lights out - by 11pm. That means I should be in bed by 10pm since I like to fool around for a while before going to sleep (TV, books, Tetris). Of course, I'll be unusually un-tired at that time tonight because I got up so late, but I'll be in bed at 10pm anyway.
Today, my One Big Focus (I really like that concept - thanks, 1Focus), is to clean up my email mess. I have hundreds of messages - close to 1000 - that I've put into "deal with later" folders. I suspect that getting through this will take all day, and I won't have time for much else except laundry, which I can do simultaneously if I use the washer in the basement. When I go to pick up my mail in a little while, I'll stop at the bank to get laundry quarters.
G-I-D 10:00
Well I would have popsted 30 minutes ago but our interenet is really wacky today keeps disconnecting me. Then we had a huge gathering of blackbirds in the front yard. Went outside to get the dog after them and it was pretty funny. She charged them and hundreds of birds went up in the air. Seem to just be passing thru. DD3 was pretty fascinated by them and was disspaointed when they all left.
Done:
Breakfast/Clean up from
Started load of towels in wash
CI
DD0 off to nap
To do:
Laundry- put away kids folded/ New load sheets/towels
Tackle Ironing Frog. ugh
Help DD3 clean room
Change sheets
Clean Master bath Frog- ugh. ugh. ugh.-
Dinner- For dd3 and I
Wash eggs
Evening routine
red-winged blackbirds?
I like red-winged blackbirds. I used to get them at my feeder sometimes in summer when I lived in the boonies.
Starlings, of course, are a different matter. }:)
birds
reminds me... I want to refill the bird feeder soon. We were getting lots of different kinds of birds about a month ago, when I last filled it.
I miss the birds and the stars
That's one thing I really miss about being in the city versus the country - the birds at my feeder. Though actually, I could have a feeder here. New York gets an amazing variety of birds because Central Park is an oasis in the northeast urban desert.
But still, there are some birds you see in the country that you never see in the city - BLUEBIRDS, for one (oh, how I LOVE bluebirds), Indigo Buntings, Goldfinches (by the dozen), Scarlett Tanagers (not at the feeder, but in surrounding trees), Hummingbirds. I miss that.
I also miss the STARS. You can't see stars in the city because of all the street lights. I'm very glad I was in the country when those two comets came by. The view from my backyard of Hale Bopp was spectacular. I took pictures.
I also saw the most unbelievable display of Northern Lights ever - just... indescribable. I felt like I was looking at God.
Gotta go - ERRANDS!!
1Focus 9:51
I usually avoid phone calls as long as possible. I put several on the plan for today, and they're already done :) I guess I need to check in with my staff and see what's going on around here.
Left for DW:
• Feed DD0 (no pre-school today)
Proudly Accomplished:
Morning Routine
Work Routine
• Called S, we're on for tonight
• Call contractor L, will be here this afternoon
• Call contractor G, will hear back tomorrow re meeting time
• Call about furniture delivery, firm date by the end of the week
• Work out plan for project P, found where I had already done this, just need to make phone calls :(
I want To Do:
Work Plan
• Still need to go see J and D about tonight's meeting
• Prepare for meeting
• See contractor L this afternoon
• 2:00 meeting
Goals group
Grocery store
Evening Routine
One big focus:
Garage storage project
• Hang wall slats