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 last check-in - 11:30pm
I hope I sleep better tonight. I'm sleeping in a sweat suit so I won't be cold. That's what kept me up last night.
Tomorrow I hope to get more work done than I did today. I was just so low today.
pro's CI - 11:10pm
pro's CI - 10:45pm
Gotta get moving here - don't want to go to bed late (especially since I slept poorly last night).
pro's CI - 9:15pm
Probably I should start my bedtime routine soon.
pro's CI - 7:15pm
I cleared my spam folder, and DID find some messages in there that shouldn't have been there. I mean to do this every day, but I'd let it go for a few days.
Looking at my to-do list... Obviously I'm not going to get a lot more done today, but I should at least take my pills. I'll do that next. I also want to eat something for dinner.
Another idea
Hey, you could also add laying out your pills to your evening routine - just to make it less daunting in the morning. :)
Spam
Hi pro - why don't you add it to your morning routine? That way it gets written down and even though you might decide not to do it, at least you ahve the reminder there.
things I have trouble doing
Clearing my spam folder is supposed to be the first thing I do in the morning after my morning routine. Usually it is, but often on weekends I skip it, and then it builds up by Monday.
As for the pill problem... If I lay out my pills in the morning, taking them at midday and night isn't hard. I just conveniently forget to do it because I don't like swallowing pills. If I'm not careful, I gag.
Re doing things in the morning versus the evening... I'm starting to lean back towards morning because in the evening I'm so TIRED. Anyway, laying out more pills before I've finished taking the ones for that day would be very confusing! I have a hard enough time remembering what I've taken - the way I keep track is by laying them all out in the morning.
pro's CI - 5:50pm
I've gotten nothing done since I responded to the work request, unfortunately. I guess I felt so pleased with myself for doing the most urgent task that I felt justified in blowing off the rest of the day.
I should at least clear out my spam folder. There are nearly 800 messages in it. (I get an absurd amount of spam, and I need to check the spam folder for miscategorized messages - sometimes important stuff lands in there.)
iwant2workharder - CI 22:58
I think I am now KO.
I can say that today I have advanced things : website1 is nearly
finished for my part.
I have to keep going and most of all not to let any new work demands in!
************* DONE ******************************
- part18: first part done.
- tidy a bit at home : organised things in 2 rooms out of 5 rooms : at least there is nothing lying on the floor...
- wrap kid's present ( can't understand I didn't do that
over the week-end)
- phone tenants 3 times today.
- check on web and gather infos
- tidy a bit at home ( 1 room left)
- email the person regarding form course for needs assessment printout
- part18 : second part done
- part18 : subparts 3,4,5 done.
- list and search equipments needed so that can look to buy these on friday, saturday or next monday : just 2 equipment needed
************ TO DO ******************************
- in bed :
- do some reading ( 3 chapters)
************** ROLLOVER **************************************
- part18 : 2 subsections left.
- load and check online website1 translation
( the characters can sometimes look funny)
- website2
- report
- start the accounts ( need to get a grip on my finances and my tax returns)
- gather docs and go through them quickly for website2 and 4 ( just to get a first feel)
- gather docs and go through them quickly for hobby site 5 ( just to get a first feel)
- phone admin to get appointment
- continue tidying
- fill and get supporting docs and send form for course
todayfirst 4:20 PM
Got dragged into an additional very long meeting this afternoon. I'm glad I got a couple things done this AM since the afternoon was wasted.
Things I've done so far today:
- Read emails
- Source control task #1
- Status report
- Test library from colleague (resolved problems!)
- Attend 1 Meeting
- Attend second meeting
Things I'd still like to do:
- Source code control task #2 - just do it!
- Review code from contractor (defer)
- Work on my program - goal will be to complete report conversions today. (defer)
- Weekly review (on train)
- Cut/Install cabinet toekicks (tonight)
pro's CI - 3:30pm
That awful, low-frequency noise seems to be coming from outside rather than in the building. Maybe it's machinery? I can't imagine. It's giving me a headache. Maybe I'll leave the apartment for a while - check my mail again (I didn't get today's mail). I can't stand the noise - it's driving me crazy.
pro's CI - 2:45pm
I need to respond to the work request today, much as I don't feel up to doing so. I need to make that the next order of business. :(
I'm going to take my computer over to the couch (it's a notebook), turn on the TV to something mindless, and open the work request in that casual, non-threatening environment. Just reading the thing can't be that hard. I just need to read and respond - I can do that much.
And let me put this as a WANT rather than a SHOULD... I WANT to read and respond to this work request today, because if I don't I'm likely to lose the work, and I really don't want to lose the work.
I did it!
I did the scary thing - opened the work proposal, read it, and wrote a response.
Meanwhile - what is that awful, low frequency noise I'm hearing? It's going right through me!
document opened
I copied the attachment (work request) to my hard disk, and opened it up in Word.
I scanned it very fast and it didn't look scary. Or not that scary. A little scary.
Okay, I'll read it now.
ready
Okay, I'm installed on the couch, inane TV show on. Now I have to open that scary email attachment. Why does this scare me so much? It doesn't obligate me to do anything - I just have to read it.
iwant2workharder - CI 20:20
I guess I'll work a bit late today.
JUst getting myself a pizza.
************* DONE ******************************
- part18: first part done.
- tidy a bit at home : organised things in 2 rooms out of 5 rooms : at least there is nothing lying on the floor...
- wrap kid's present ( can't understand I didn't do that
over the week-end)
- phone tenants 3 times today.
- check on web and gather infos
- tidy a bit at home ( 1 room left)
- email the person regarding form course for needs assessment printout
- part18 : second part done
************** TO DO **************************************
- part18 : 7 subsections left.
- load and check online website1 translation
( the characters can sometimes look funny)
- website2
- report
- do some reading ( 3 chapters)
- start the accounts ( need to get a grip on my finances and my tax returns)
- gather docs and go through them quickly for website2 and 4 ( just to get a first feel)
- gather docs and go through them quickly for hobby site 5 ( just to get a first feel)
- list and search equipments needed so that can look to buy these on friday, saturday or next monday.
******************** ROLLOVER ***********************
- phone admin to get appointment
- continue tidying
- fill and get supporting docs and send form for course
iamworkingharder
Finally went home for dinner and tidied a bit as well.
Now back to work ( great to live at walking distance
to work).
I am now attacking the thrid bit.
It has 32 files:
- read file
- understand it
- record summary on excel
- do any modification if needed
- record modification.
I wonder how long I will take.
pro's CI - 1:30pm
Resistance
What do you think is your main procrastination problem?
- getting started?
- giving up early?
- ...
demand resistance
Demand resistance: does it mean that you are absolutely not in the line of activities you really want to be in? are there some activities where you show very few resistance?
I think for me, there are many things starting by organisation and
fear of doing things. May be I sense that it is very long or very hard and I just fear it because of the hard work involved? may be I do not want to work as hard as I used to? or may be feel the rewards are not great? or may be I am so disorganised that I make the work look harder or take longer. It looks like self-sabotage in a way as if I am setting up myself to fail. Gosh. :O :O
want versus should
>Demand resistance: does it mean that you are absolutely not in the line of activities you really want to be in? are there some activities where you show very few resistance?
Take a look at what I've already written about this in articles and comments on the articles. The explanation is long, and I would just be repeating here.
main problem
In general, the main cause of my procrastination is Demand Resistance, which makes it very hard for me to get started. (I wrote some articles about that - click the Articles link and you'll see them. There are also many comments on the Demand Resistance articles.)
Today, however, my main problem is depression, which is sapping my ability to do anything at all.
frequent check-ins
I need to check in very frequently today to keep from veering off track and getting nothing at all done.
One step at a time - one action at a time.
Next action: empty dish drain.
overwhelmed
I'm feeling overwhelmed by all I have to do because of how down I'm feeling. Every little thing feels overwhelming to me right now. I'm going to try to focus on one thing at a time, take it slowly, not feel rushed. I just have to keeping moving, and then what I do I do, and what I don't I don't.
pro's CI - 11:15am
Wow, I'm depressed. I'm going to take a walk. I have errands to do, and it will make me feel better to be outside for a while.
iwant2workharder - CI 17:06
Oh well, time pass so quickly...
Already 17:00.
Still at step18. The first part which should have taken
me 1 hour actually took 6 hours. Now at least it is about
deciding which bit to copy, modify a bit for the 53 files.
During lunch, went home and did a bit on the list.
I feel that I NEVER NEVER EVER want to go through this again.
Thank you for your observations: they are so true.
************* DONE ******************************
- part18: first part done.
- tidy a bit at home : organised things in 2 rooms out of 5 rooms : at least there is nothing lying on the floor...
- wrap kid's present ( can't understand I didn't do that
over the week-end)
- phone tenants 2 times. need one time this evening and that's done.
****************** TO DO ****************************
- part18
- load and check online website1 translation
( the characters can sometimes look funny)
- website2
- report
- do some reading ( 3 chapters)
- tidy a bit at home , with tomorrow I should be OK for wednesday
- fill and get supporting docs and send form for course
- start the accounts ( need to get a grip on my finances and my tax returns)
- check on web and eventually phone admin to get forms and list of needed documents
- gather docs and go through them quickly for website2 and 4 ( just to get a first feel)
- gather docs and go through them quickly for hobby site 5 ( just to get a first feel)
- list and search equipments needed so that can look to buy these on friday, saturday or next monday.
- phone tenants 1 more times thsi evening
never again
>I feel that I NEVER NEVER EVER want to go through this again.
I've said this with regard to my accounting. I'll fallen behind like this before. It's excrutiatingly painful to catch up, and the last time I caught up I said I'd never do it again, but then I did it again. That's a big part of why I started this Web site. I can't do this alone. Left to my own devices, I fall back into old patterns pretty quickly. But when I check in here, it keeps me from falling off track.
pro's CI - 10:30am
I'm trying to keep moving forward, though slowly. At least things are a little better in here, though it's pretty late. I do think I want to take a walk. It will do me good to get out of my apartment for a while, and to move my body.
pro's CI - 9:30am
todayfirst 8:40 AM
I got some things done at home this weekend... mostly loading up the dumpster. Motivation was been a bit of a challenge though because I've been feeling sleepy and fatigued. This may be a bit of drug side-effects so I am hoping it will pass as my body gets more accustomed. Maybe as I get working this AM, I will wake up a bit too!
Things I've done so far today:
- Read emails
- Source control task #1
Things I'd still like to do:
- Status report
- Attend 1 Meeting
- Test library from colleague
- Source code control task #2
- Review code from contractor
- Work on my program - goal will be to complete report conversions today.
- Weekly review
pro's first check-in - 8:35am EDT US
The clocks will change soon, I think. I don't like standard time.
I will need to be very good about checking in today. I know I'll have trouble sticking to plan since I followed no routines at all this weekend. I'm out of the habit of discipline. It takes me weeks to get into the habit, then two days to lose it. :(
Other dangerous elements... I'm feeling down (sometimes will let everything collapse when I'm down), and my apartment is a mess. Must clean up apartment this morning without delay.
I didn't sleep well last night because I was cold. I don't get enough heat in this apartment. I've decided to have 8am as a wake-up target rather than 7am.
I know I said I was going to exercise today, but I'm not up for it - I feel crappy. :(
clocks and exercise
Oh yeah, looks like daylight savings time ends on this Sunday (29th)... too bad. I too like daylight savings. Next year we get an extra week of it! :)
You could always try for "limited" exercise, perhaps as walk around the block instead of a full workout. Sometimes this works for me when I don't feel great (and I get a little more light).
Daylight savings
Ours starts this weekend coming. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:
time change
This weekend, you get daylight savings time, and we lose it. It's fall here - the days are getting shorter and colder. I guess it's sprintg there, and the days are getting warmer and longer?
You all see a different sky, too. I've always been curious to see the sky in the southern hemisphere. I know the northern sky pretty well. It must be so strange to see none of the constellations you are used to seeing.
ps
Yes, definitely getting warmer - it's going to reach 31C today! (that's about 87F I think). Ahead of a cool change, it will drop back to the low 20's (high 60s, low 70s F), which is around average, tomorrow.
Everyone's mood is lifting - it's amazing what spring does for people. I wonder why the warmer weather makes us happier (or is it just back to normal after the cold weather made us miserable???!!!! :lol:)
sunlight
I think it's the additional hours of sunlight that affects people's mood. There's something called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) where people are so affected by the loss of sunlight that they become very depressed. The treatment is to sit in front of powerful, full-spectrum lights for x hours per day.
The mood here is definitely on the down swing - or maybe that's just my mood, not sure. :?
Sky
I never noticed a difference, but of course I know they are different. Maybe I just never looked up! :)
no big dipper!
Enchanted with this idea, and still thinking about it... There's no big dipper in the southern hemisphere - no handle pointing to the north star, because you can't see the North Star! So strange! I can hardly imagine it - I'd love to see it.
What constellations do you see in the sky? Do you know the stars at all?
Oh... and you wouldn't see Northern Lights, of course. Are there Southern Lights, or are the lights related to the earth's magnetic north pole - not sure. I only saw the Northern Lights once, but it was the most amazing, magnificient experience I've ever had - it felt like I was looking at God.
No astronomer
Looks like we cross-posted.
Unfortuntely I can't satisfy your thirst for knowledge on this one! I know virtually nothing about the stars, sorry!!!!!
Yes, I am pretty sure there are Southern Lights (but don't quote me on that!!!!!).
ambient light
If you were mainly in cities, you wouldn't notice. You can barely see the stars in cities because of all the ambient light. But when you get out into the country (where I used to live), you really see the stars. That's when I started to learn the constellations and began being able to recognize things. I loved standing on my back porch in August, looking up and seeing the constellation of Leo, which really does look like a lion.
Big skies
You're right about the ambient light, it's the same here - but we spent less than half the time in big cities. We spent a lot of time in Arizona, Utah, rural, mountain and coastal California and Nevada.
I guess I'm not 'into' stars so never noticed. But if I go back I will be sure to lay out under the stars and really look. We certainly can't see Leo here, but I don't know enough to tell you what we can see, except I think we can see the planet Venus, and the Southern Cross.
Venus
That's interesting you can see Venus. We can see Venus here, too. I wonder how much overlap there is.
I've never seen the Southern Cross! Is it pretty? Is it very recognizable in the sky so you see it and it's a cozy familiar thing like the Big Dipper? Of course, you said you aren't that into stars. I love stars. Stars are one of the Very Big Things I miss in the city. I loved the blanket of stars I could see in the country. On clear nights with no moon, I could even see the band of the Milky Way. It was SO COOL!!
Hmmm.... all the planets are in the Milky Way, and that goes through the earth's equator. Maybe that's why we both can see the planets.
Southern Cross
Yes, it's cozy and comforting, even to people like me who know nothing about stars. It's always there, and it points to the south pole, which I think it pretty cool.
If you look at the Australian Flag, it has the Southern Cross on it. I wouldn't call it pretty, but it is very familiar, that's for sure :).
Maybe we both see Venus at different times of the year???
Now you have got me all interested in this!!!!!!!!!
The Earth
I don't know flags - barely can recognize the American flag! That's nice that the Australian flag has the Southern Cross on it.
>Maybe we both see Venus at different times of the year???
Hmmm.... Let's see... We both look up in the sky. My line of sight goes from the equator to the north pole, yours from the equator to the south pole... BUT... Venus is visible only at certain times of year here, so you are probably right! It has to do with the tilt of the earth on its axis.
One of the things I really like about watching lunar eclipses is the intense sense I get of being on a ball hurtling through space. With a lunar eclipse, you are actually seeing the shadow of the Earth on the Moon. How cool is that?! Solar eclipses are similar, but you can't sit and stare at them in the same way (unless you want to go blind).
Blasphemy!
Barely recognise the American flag!!! Lucky this is anonymous !!! :lol:
We should have taken this off-topic - it got big.
I have to sign off now and do some work!!!!!!!!!!!
See ya!
See ya
Sorry to sidetrack you. It's evening for me - I'm no longer even trying to work.
I recognize the American flag. It sure is ugly, though. That has got to be one of the worst designs in the history of the world. Geesh.
Get lots done now! I still haven't taken my pills - better do it now. (I've said that before, haven't I?)
Don't apologise!
You know I love a chat ;)
walks
Yes, I definitely should take a walk. (I mean, I WANT to take a walk.) A walk would be good for me. For one thing, I need to get out of my apartment. Maybe I'll take a walk after breakfast.
Milo 7:30pm
I'm really tired, but if I don't get moving on this presentation it's going to become a great, dirty big TOAD.
Actually, I can hardly lift my fingers to type - I'm going to take the evening off.
Achieved:
- up
- kids breakfast (one kid, the other isn't hungry yet and she's helping to unpack the dishwasher for me now!)
- made bed
- unpacked dishwasher
- dressed one kid while I was halfway through posting this
- rest of morning routine (dress, hair, makeup, breaky, swish'n'swipe, check calendar, dress kids, do DD's hair, load of washing on)
- put the ironing away that I did last night
- went to the post office and buy supplies
- went to KMart to buy art smocks for the kids & some new textas, and to the supermarket for some milk & eggs
- lunch and lunch dishes
- rang the kindergarten
- talked to mum on the phone (twice, she's got the chats today!)
- took the kids to the park
- daytime routine (sweep/vacuum, reboot laundry, prepare dinner, prepare bathroom)
- responded to potential client enquiry (and then did half an hour's detective work to find her after her email bounced, she had written it wrong on the form on my website. Then I called her.)
- ate dinner
- did dishes
- kids' dinner, bath, book, bed
Still want to achieve
- hang out the handwashing
- evening routine (shine sink, lay out clothes, wash face, brush & floss, check calendar, police hot-spots)
Ditched:
- run (I'm too tired tonight - I was very active today, what with DH not being able to walk!)
- weekly plan & review (I started the review, I'll do the rest at work tomorrow as a break from my work frogs ;))
- 5 minute room rescue in all rooms (apart from kids' rooms - did them)
- presentation for 1 hr
- client loose ends