Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Back from a 3 day weekend that I really didn't enjoy much, spending it alone. Went to bed late watching movies online, got up late, came in to work in the evening for a few hours each day. Didn't manage to get caught up. Monday had a glimmer of clarity that this isn't working. Decided - for the umpteenth time - that the late nights at work during the week take too much out of me and give back too little in return. I don't know what to do about my lack of productivity. But the cost to me as a person of staying at work every night until late, trying to catch up, neglecting everything else, is too high. Seeing as how it isn't making me happy or especially better at what I do, I absolutely have to adopt a new paradigm. The new paradigm has to be:

1. Internet news/sports no more than once a day. In fact, if I can manage an indefinite news hiatus, or series of breaks lasting longer than a day, that would be ideal.

2. Work-related email can be checked 4 times a day; otherwise people start asking, "Did you see the email I sent you about...?" which doesn't reflect well on me. Non-work related email can only be checked twice a day, preferably at home.

3. Work has to be attacked early, with minimal distractions, and a commitment to not go over 12 hours in a day without a very compelling reason (e.g., a specific project deadline). That means getting in early, and getting out early.   

4. Sleep has to an integral part of the day's planning, not another thing to procrastinate about. It has to allow for 8 hours of sleep (to start; if I find that still isn't enough, I will have to add to it), yet still allow me to get up early. I have to develop a formal bed time, not just an "I give up" approach when I find myself dozing in the middle of playing internet solitaire. I am going to say 9:30 PM for this week and see how it goes.

5. There has to be time for reading, exercise, and reasonable upkeep of
my person, apartment, finances, and auto, all of which are in a state of
neglect, varying from mildly unacceptable to fairly calamitous. 

I realize none of this is new for me. I keep rehashing the same goals and wrestling with the same issues, with procrastination at the root.  Perhaps repackaging the model in my mind will help me to assimilate it.

Back to report. 

Prep

• Get up at 6 (8 due to staying at gf's)
• Make bed
• Exercise
• Healthy breakfast
• Coffee, paper
• Check-ins

Morning

• Fix tail light
• Update Quicken
• Pay bills
• Q - E, BN, AW
• Send music email
• Cancel voice session
• Deliver Meals on Wheels

Afternoon

• G inspection sticker
• Healthy lunch
• File 1 BN
• File 1 HITEC
• Call 5 re: franchise
• Apply for health ins
• Update 5 custom pub

Once again I haven't exactly killed on all my tasks, but I've done pretty well, including writing two articles and getting started on a project I've avoided for weeks. And it's now 7:30 p.m. So I'm going to call it a day and try again tomorrow.

Evening

• Healthy dinner
• Rehearse
• Read, relax
• Bed by 10:30 or so

Tomorrow

• File CMOCEO

I had a lovely day with family on the 4th of July holiday yesterday.   I made a cake decorated like a flag and it was delicious and every piece of it was eaten so I was proud of it!  I'm not the world's best cook so I like it when something turns out really well like that.      

But the fun is over and I have a busy busy week.   I am on call and I have to keep the grandkids tomorrow while my son and his wife attend her grandfather's funeral in a town a couple of hours away.    So now I have five days of work to get done in 3 days and I'm stressing over it, so I'm avoiding getting started.   I commit now to making a to do list not only for the day but for the rest of the week so I can plan for getting everything important done, and letting the less important stuff slide.  Some of the tasks are new to me because we merged with another group, so I'm doing some of their stuff this week for the first time. 

I'll check back when I have the day and week planned.

Update 12:30 pm  Well I have done none of the above but for an excellent reason.  The technical lead from the merged group called me to walk me through all the stuff I need to do for them this weekend and it's all ready to go now, except for a few final touches that we are meeting to do on Friday.  A big stress factor removed. 

Now back to the todo list, I still have a lot to do but I feel much more confident now that the unknowns are resolved.

Jo

 Avoiding the truth consumes great effort and energy. - Jim Loehr

This morning is a little bit of a panic (I have a presentation at 10 that's not done yet, but I'm confident if I focus I can make it "good enough
Update 9:53. Finished!

Then I'm speaking 10-11:30ish, and meeting with adviser to discuss my presentation 4-5. I need to take notes after I speak and after the mtg. 

Those are the most important things to get done, but I also need to:
*Email Lis
*Make a schedule for the week
*Collect
*Check on expts
*Start planning out Southerns 

*Call home
*Email FWC