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.
Housereclaimer 12:08
wash/teeth/hair [done]
take meds and vitamins[done]
call brother to wish happy birthday[done]
back exercises[done]
Interview for internet job (say a prayer I get it)[done]
wash dishes[done]
clean stove[done]
have breakfast[done]
clean dishes[done]
cook pasta [done]
made 2 lasagnas[done]
made ravioli and vodka tomato sauce[done]
wash dishes/pots/pans[done]
clean stove[done]
booklet writing list[done]
Wall stand shelf I[done]
Wall stand shelf 2[done]
Wall stand shelf 3[done]
Wall stand shelf 4[done]
Wall stand shelf 5[done]
Wall stand shelf 6[done]
clean wall tile behind wall stand[done]
Take down garbage[done]
See car garage owner
Fax IRS transcript 1995-1999 request
Major focus bathroom
clear floor
swiffer floor
clean toilet inside
clear out tub
Steamer clean spots
wash tub
clean wall tile right side of tub
clean wall tile left side of tub
clean wall tile behind tub
clean wall tile behind door
HOUSERECLAIMER
pretty good back atcha!
looks like you got a lot done today.
scarlett CI 9:55 pm
typing one-handed while holding 12-lb kitty w/ the other...
Done:
feed cats/scoop pan
fix/eat dinner
dishes
FLEX!
Not done:
watch dvd again - watched tv instead
work on choreography - one phrase - see above
7:30 meeting - forgot the time and drove over there only to realize it was over
still possible:
bed by 10:30 pm
WAY TO GO SCARLETT
You started out doubtful but you finished off strong! You go gurrrrl! Pretty good!!!
HOUSERECLAIMER
Thanks!
:)
scarlett CI 4:55
Not bad. I *think* I'll be checking in later tonight.
Already done:
Eat breakfast
Take pills
Frog 1 (reviewed)
Frog 1 (type and enter comments)
Frog 2 (reviewed)
2 work orders
eat lunch
send intro to LB
Frog 2 (type and enter comments)
travel w/ joan
send email to J
Postponed:
set up mtg 1
set up mtg 2
Tonight:
feed cats/scoop pan
fix/eat dinner
dishes
watch dvd again
work on choreography - one phrase
7:30 meeting
FLEX!
bed by 10:30 pm
scarlett CI 4:20 pm
Farmer's mkt not open on Wed. Glad I checked before I went.
Already done:
Eat breakfast
Take pills
Frog 1 (reviewed)
Frog 1 (type and enter comments)
Frog 2 (reviewed)
2 work orders
eat lunch
send intro to LB
Frog 2 (type and enter comments)
travel w/ joan
To do:
set up mtg 1
set up mtg 2
send email to J
Tonight:
feed cats/scoop pan
fix/eat dinner
dishes
watch dvd again
work on choreography - one phrase
7:30 meeting
FLEX!
bed by 10:30 pm
scarlett CI 2 pm
Hi y'all!
There is NO WAY I can accomplish all I want to tonight in the time allotted, and I just can't see where to cut. It all really needs doing, but I am behind on sleep and it's getting bad. Grr...
Already done:
Eat breakfast
Take pills
Frog 1 (reviewed)
Frog 2 (reviewed)
2 work orders
ate lunch
To do:
Frog 1 (type and enter comments)
Frog 2 (type and enter comments)
set up mtg 1
set up mtg 2
send email to J
Tonight:
farmer's market
watch dvd again
finish choreography
fix/eat dinner
dishes
feed cats/scoop pan
7:30 meeting
bed by 10:30 pm
FLEX!
pro's CI - 12:05pm
I'm doing some work things thought I didn't finish my morning routine, which isn't very good. I want to make the bed and wash the breakfast dishes before I do anything else.
I have a lot to do today, and I could easily feel very overwhelmed. I just need to take things one at a time, do the best I can, and recognize I may not get through everything.
so...
how's it going? made progress on the accounting or the paid project?
I'm procrastinating
I've been reading a lot of religious texts - Hindu, Taoist, Buddhist. I'm not sure I can justify that except to say that my life isn't going that well and I need something.
hypocrisy
I imagine the Buddha would be appalled to know that I am avoiding my work by reading his teachings. The Buddha would call this "reading the menu without tasting the food". I guess I should stop reading the menu. :(
but now...
...having said that, I feel a new inspiration to do something useful. I can't believe it's past 5pm already.
everything has its pluses
even procrastination sometimes. I often flip through texts for inspiration when i'm feeling stuck.
still stuck on buddhism
I can't stop with this stuff. I downloaded a whole bunch of books and articles, and bought a couple more on amazon.com. Now I'm researching Buddhism centers in New York to see which appeals to me (there are many).
I also just registered with NY Cares, a volunteer organization in the city. I signed up for their orientation this Friday. I need to start doing things for other people. I knew that even before I started my Buddhism reading, but I didn't know where to start. Generosity is the first step of training in Buddhism, and on one of the sites I went to there was a link to NY Cares.
In the back of my mind, I'm wondering if there is a direction forward in this. I have felt totally lost in my life - just not sure what direction to go in. I have to make a career change, but to what? I really don't want to do Web development. My heart isn't in it. It's drugery, unless it's a project I'm doing for myself. Teaching Buddhism or doing some kind of community service, though much less lucrative than programming, is much more appealing.
My expenses are very low now that I've sold my house, and I have no family to support, so I have the freedom to do this. There aren't that many advantages to being alone in the world and living in a tiny closet of an apartment, but this is the Big One. I'm FREE.
Strange 'pullings' in life
It's strange - in the last couple of months I have had numerous things that are pointing me in the direction of Buddhism. Strange coincidences, and a yearning to know more. I think it started with Normy - after I found out about her religion I looked it up and liked what I read. And then things just keep popping up in front of me, steering me closer towards it.
Today, I spent 6 hours with a client who happened to be a Buddhist, and who taught it (she gave me 3 books!). She's even met the Dali Lama numerous times. She talked about his view on Western Buddhism - really interesting.
And now I read your posts and you are having the same feelings.
Weird......
spiritual quests
In one of the zillions of books I've looked at in the last week, it talks about how people are drawn to spiritual quests because something is wrong in their lives. They look for answers because they're suffering. I don't know about you, but that's surely true for me. If my life were hunky-dorry, I wouldn't bother reading about spiritual solutions to existential suffering.
The religion I was born into is okay as a cultural identity, but doesn't give me what I need spiritually. It's very common for people born Jewish to be drawn to Buddhism for some reason. Two of the books I bought today (I REALLY need to slow down on this book buying - not to mention book reading) were written by people who were born Jewish and became Buddhists. One is a woman who is both a practicing Buddhist (teaches Buddhist meditation) and a practicing Jew. The main reason I bought the book was to see how she pulled that one off. Amazon.com shows you excerpts, and one of the pages I looked at had side-by-side translations of Psalm 121 - Jewish translation and Buddhist translation. It was amusing.
I told my family I was going to become a Buddhist, and my brother was concerned I wouldn't participate in family holidays anymore (Passover, Yom Kippur). I said of course I would - those are family times - and anyway, I consider myself as having "dual citizenship". I'm a Jewish Buddhist - a Jew-Bu, they call it. Or maybe a Buddhist Jew?
All religion ends up in the same place, but Judaism doesn't really have much spirituality in it - it's an oddly unspiritual religion. Einstein (born a Jew) even said it wasn't really a religion because it had no spiritual component. Judaism is all about cultural heritage. Einstein was a big fan of Buddhism - said it was the religion of the future because it was compatible with modern science. My problem with Judaism is the monotheism (same with Christianity and Islam). I just can't relate to the idea of a personal God.
Well, I'm blathering so I'll stop typing and go take a shower (yes, I'm still not dressed though it's after 2pm).
Question Pro
What do you love doing? what is your passion? If you didn't have to make a living what would you be doing for the love of it?
HOUSERECLAIMER
wish I knew
I don't know, HR. I used to think I knew, but now I don't know anything.
What would I do if I didn't have to make a living? Probably what I'm doing now, even though I do have to make a living (since I'm ignoring that fact). I have a few Web sites to help people. This isn't the only one, but I can't tell you the others because I'm not anonymous on the others and I want to keep my anonymity here. I like doing the Web programming to create these sites, but I don't enjoy doing contract programming for other people - though I'm a very good programmer. The PA Web site uses a CMS (package), but my business site (a help site that charges) is all custom programming.
I used to work in journalism, but as financial problems beset the industry it became less and less fun. Space limitations and lower quality took the joy out of it. Then finally, of course, the money stopped (I was laid off). I don't want to do journalistic writing anymore. I also used to be an editor and I was good at it, but I never really liked that - it was always tedious to me.
The things I've most enjoyed doing in my life are helping other people, and programming my own stuff (entrepreneurial ventures, not contract programming for other people). When I create something that people like, it gives me great pleasure. I've written programs and books that people liked, and it made me happy.
Right now I feel quite directionless (since my previous career and life collapsed). I don't know which direction to go, which is why I've been drawn to spiritual teachings. Lately I've been so confused I just want someone to take me by the hand and tell me what to do. Not really, of course, but I do need some basis for choosing a direction, and I've felt totally at sea. I've also been very unhappy in an existential kind of way - really feeling the futility of life.
Right now I'd like to develop a spiritual practice that can pull me out of this rut. If I can find work that is spiritually meaningful to me - something that involves giving to others - then I think I would be happy.
todayfirst 10:40 AM
Things I chose to do so far today:
- Get new copy of corrupted log
- Review log
- Fix bug in library
Things I would still like to do today:
- Restore database
- Write one bad query
- Test library
- Programing task #2 (started Monday)
- Interview
iamworkingharder - CI 16:02
may be that will motivate me
65 files no need to do anything
I need to learn to work SMARTER if I don't want that
Wondering if the 120 files to change was not the real number now...
Though it makes me feel better to 'eliminate' so many files. :smile:
Let's start with file141.
- have gathered docs on website1
- put in contacts for website3 and 4 ( I like email)
- put in contacts for website5
- went through docs on website1 and summarised what left to do.
- decompose what is left to do for website1 in really small bits
- contacted to request one helper 1 hr/week ( i.e. to call the customers I am fearful of contacting).
- put in contacts again for website5 done and appointment set up.
- 15 files done : easy. Only had to check one link/file
- 4 longer files done
- 20 files done
- 36 files no need to
- 65 files no need to
- website 1 ( 174 files) make me feel good to see this number down
even if I didn't have to do anything on them!
- load all the files and final check
- website 2
pro's CI - 10am
I'm glad there are people here today - doesn't feel so lonely.
I have lots to do - first thing is to go out and get something for breakfast - no food here.
hello Pro
Hello Pro,
How are you feeling today? Is your illness now finished? :smile:
I guess people shy away when they are actually procrastinating
( which was my case). Procrastinators will even procrastinate on a procrastinator site :puzzled:
I want 2 work harder
posting when you're procrastinating
I've been doing a lot of procrastinating lately myself. I think I fell off the beam because there weren't people here holding me accountable. It didn't matter what I posted or didn't post since no one was watching. Sometimes that doesn't matter to me, but it was happening so regularly that it was getting to me.
So True
Hi pro
glad you are back
hope you went to the parade
HOUSERECLAIMER
Halloween Parade
Hi HR! I fixed your "Hello" graphic. Capitalization matters - that's why it wasn't showing up.
YES, I went to the Halloween Parade and it was fun. I used to go to the parade when it first started - or close to it. This year was the 33rd annual parade. I was at NYU in 1978 - um, 28 years, ago - and that's when I first started going. I was in the parade for the first five years or so. It's fun. I have to say, it was more fun in the beginning when it was smaller and EVERYBODY was wearing costumes. Back in 1978, the parade winded through the narrow streets of the West Village and ended in Washington Square Park (it's FAR too big for that now), and there would be all kinds of fun things happening in the park. All things change.
iamworkingharder - CI 15:54
may be that will motivate me
36 files no need to do anything
I need to learn to work SMARTER if I don't want that
May be I am going to start singing to get me going.
Let's start with file76.
- have gathered docs on website1
- put in contacts for website3 and 4 ( I like email)
- put in contacts for website5
- went through docs on website1 and summarised what left to do.
- decompose what is left to do for website1 in really small bits
- contacted to request one helper 1 hr/week ( i.e. to call the customers I am fearful of contacting).
- put in contacts again for website5 done and appointment set up.
- 15 files done : easy. Only had to check one link/file
- 4 longer files done
- 20 files done
- 36 files no need to
- website 1 ( 239 files) make me feel good to see this number down
even if I didn't have to do anything on them!
- load all the files and final check
- website 2
Housereclaimer-You are so cooking with Gas!!! 9:57
I just woke at 9:30, I heard the alarm, turned it off and rolled over.
Now I am up logged in, and see all your work getting done which makes me want to get my procrastinating but in gear.
Thanks
WORK ON
HOUSERECLAIMER
iamworkingharder - CI 15:30
may be that will motivate me
20 files done: not much in each one to do!!!
I need to learn to work SMARTER if I don't want that
May be I am going to start singing to get me going.
Let's start with file40.
- have gathered docs on website1
- put in contacts for website3 and 4 ( I like email)
- put in contacts for website5
- went through docs on website1 and summarised what left to do.
- decompose what is left to do for website1 in really small bits
- contacted to request one helper 1 hr/week ( i.e. to call the customers I am fearful of contacting).
- put in contacts again for website5 done and appointment set up.
- 15 files done : easy. Only had to check one link/file
- 4 longer files done
- 20 files done
- website 1 ( 275 files)
- load all the files and final check
- website 2
iamworkingharder - CI 15:08
may be that will motivate me
Only done 4 files.
I need to learn to work SMARTER if I don't want that
May be I am going to start singing to get me going.
Let's start with file20.
- have gathered docs on website1
- put in contacts for website3 and 4 ( I like email)
- put in contacts for website5
- went through docs on website1 and summarised what left to do.
- decompose what is left to do for website1 in really small bits
- contacted to request one helper 1 hr/week ( i.e. to call the customers I am fearful of contacting).
- put in contacts again for website5 done and appointment set up.
- 15 files done : easy. Only had to check one link/file
- 4 longer files done
- website 1 ( 295 files)
- load all the files and final check
- website 2
iamworkingharder - CI 14:44
may be that will motivate me
I need to learn to worker smarter/quicker, if I don't want that:
May be that's a challenge for me to see if I can work 'smarter'.
- have gathered docs on website1
- put in contacts for website3 and 4 ( I like email)
- put in contacts for website5 ( need to put in contacts again today)
- went through docs on website1 and summarised what left to do.
- decompose what is left to do for website1 in really small bits
- contacted to request one helper 1 hr/week ( i.e. to call the customers I am fearful of contacting).
- put in contacts again for website5 done and appointment set up.
- 15 files done : easy. Only had to check one link/file
- website 1 ( 299 files)
- load all the files and final check
- website 2
good start!
looks like you're off and moving, that's terrific! one thing at a time... (which reminds me, I procrastinate b/c I feel overwhelmed and have a hard time prioritizing. I get immobilized by the sheer volume of junk I have to do)
Hi Scarlett
Thank you !!
Now I need to keep going...
Housework: I HATE housework. I HATE it so much that I have
bought a LOT of big shelves, boxes and thrown god knows how many
bags of junk. Now I REFUSE to let anything in and offer a lot of
pesents ( my old junk redecorated): it makes me feel better
for the stuff I do not want to throw.
I invite once in a week someone home, so that I am forced to tidy.
Pathetic, isn't it? But that's life.
iwant2workharder - CI 14:17
may be that will motivate me
God I haven't started on first file yet.
I am really flipping!!!! This is RIDICULOUS :
- I have got listed the 11 steps I have to do for each file
- I have the plans of the sites
- I have the files folder on my desktop.
I am happy I have managed to put in contacts for website5!
Just realised : there are more than 120 files!!!!
In fact there are 314 files!!!! or 11*314 = 3454 steps!!!
One minute/step would take me 58 hours to complete???
I don't want to have no night sleeps
True there are some files which are going to be very quick,
but that's 60 hours of work and then to get insulted by the
customer????!!!!
Let's start with file1.
- have gathered docs on website1
- put in contacts for website3 and 4 ( I like email)
- put in contacts for website5 ( need to put in contacts again today)
- went through docs on website1 and summarised what left to do.
- decompose what is left to do for website1 in really small bits
- contacted to request one helper 1 hr/week ( i.e. to call the customers I am fearful of contacting).
- put in contacts again for website5 done and appointment set up.
- website 1 ( 314 files)
- website 2
iamworkingharder - CI 14:07
may be that will motivate me
So I have decomposed and I have 11 steps to check for EACH file ( 120 files)...
I am starting with file1.
- have gathered docs on website1
- put in contacts for website3 and 4 ( I like email)
- put in contacts for website5 ( need to put in contacts again today)
- went through docs on website1 and summarised what left to do.
- decompose what is left to do for website1 in really small bits
- contacted to request one helper 1 hr/week ( i.e. to call the customers I am fearful of contacting).
- website 1 ( 120 files)
- website 2
- put in contacts again for website5
iamworkingharder - CI 13:54
may be that will motivate me
- have gathered docs on website1
- put in contacts for website3 and 4 ( I like email)
- put in contacts for website5 ( need to put in contacts again today)
- went through docs on website1 and summarised what left to do.
- website 1
- website 2
- put in contacts again for website5
- decompose what is left to do for website1 in really small bits