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.

Thursday 28 December 2006

Monica's picture

Monica's Thursday's CI on Friday Morning

I wasn't going to CI cause I'm so embarrassed that I didn't earn my reward when I was so excited about it yesterday morning. But I decided this morning to go ahead and do it. After all honesty is the only road to recovery. I pretend and hind in almost every area of my life. I've got to start being honest somewhere, somehow, with someone. What better place then here?

Results:
[x] Shower
[x] Oral care
[x] Pedi-care
[x] Facial
[x] Dress to shoes
[x] Make bed
[x] Clean MBR Vanity
[x] Fold clothes
[x] Leave for work by 9:45 am
[x] Take TS to Barber at 2:00 pm (Didn't get there til 4 pm)
[x] Catchup on emails
[x] Set out mouthwash
[x] Set alarm
[x] Report CI (Friday morning)
[0] Return to work by 2:30 pm (When I returned to work, after being off for 2 weeks, I was overloaded with catch-up work. The perfectionist in my just couldn't walk away. One voice in my head kept saying, Monica, "just leave it. You can finish this another time," but the dominating voice kept saying, "just a few more minutes. You can get it done. Just a few more minutes." Well I "few more minutes-ed" myself into being 2 more hours late in my whole day.

[0] In bed between 9:30 pm - 10:00pm (More like 1:30 am. After I picked up some fast food for the kid's dinner, I spent the rest of the evening - into the morning - playing with my new laptop I received for Christmas.)

Bonus:

[0] Do homework with son (yea, right, not even close to done)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

checking in, even if...

I think it's great that you checked in, even though you didn't do the "bonus" item. I've found that I have to tell on myself here, or I keep doing what I've been doing.

>Well I "few more minutes-ed" myself into being 2 more hours late in my whole day.

That's time bingeing. I do it, too. All procrastinators tend to do this. It's odd that working over-long on things is associated with procrastination. Did you see the article about this on the Web site?

Monica's picture

I remember seeing it on here

I'll have to go back and read more about it.

Thanks

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

pro's last check-in - 11:30pm

I'm late getting to bed again, but at least it's before midnight.

Tomorrow I have to do my pile first thing. It's the last business day of the year, and if I don't take care certain things with a Dec 31st deadline, I will regret it!!

Ta Da:

  • Rising time: 7am (oops - alarm didn't go off at 6am).
  • Empty dish drain.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Shower and dress.
  • Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
  • Lay out pills for day.
  • Make and eat breakfast. (Caffeine ratio in coffee reduced - I'm tapering off.)
  • Fix font problem on tablet PC.
  • Call landlord about broken intercom/buzzer.
  • Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
  • Wash breakfast dishes.
  • Put in contacts.
  • Take recycling downstairs.
  • Buy groceries. (It's not that much fun carrying two heavy bags of groceries up four flights of stairs.)
  • Put away groceries.
  • Bring down garbage.
  • Mail letter.
  • Deposit checks.
  • Get mail.
  • Eat lunch.
  • Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Two hour Chinese lesson. (One hour doesn't feel like enough.)
  • Go to meeting.
  • Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
  • Bedtime routine.

To Do:

  • Important end of year stuff (all buried in the pile).

pro's CI - 5:45pm

I've been corresponding with my family about some health stuff - that took up some time.

I always manage to avoid my pile. Every day I have another "good reason".

Ta Da:

  • Rising time: 7am (oops - alarm didn't go off at 6am).
  • Empty dish drain.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Shower and dress.
  • Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
  • Lay out pills for day.
  • Make and eat breakfast. (Caffeine ratio in coffee reduced - I'm tapering off.)
  • Fix font problem on tablet PC.
  • Call landlord about broken intercom/buzzer.
  • Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
  • Wash breakfast dishes.
  • Put in contacts.
  • Take recycling downstairs.
  • Buy groceries. (It's not that much fun carrying two heavy bags of groceries up four flights of stairs.)
  • Put away groceries.
  • Bring down garbage.
  • Mail letter.
  • Deposit checks.
  • Get mail.
  • Eat lunch.
  • Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Two hour Chinese lesson. (One hour doesn't feel like enough.)

To Do:

  • Important end of year stuff (all buried in the pile).
  • Go to meeting.
  • Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
  • Bedtime routine.

Next Week:

  • Follow up on bike lock thing.

pro's CI - 1:45pm

Ta Da:

  • Rising time: 7am (oops - alarm didn't go off at 6am).
  • Empty dish drain.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Shower and dress.
  • Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
  • Lay out pills for day.
  • Make and eat breakfast. (Caffeine ratio in coffee reduced - I'm tapering off.)
  • Fix font problem on tablet PC.
  • Call landlord about broken intercom/buzzer.
  • Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
  • Wash breakfast dishes.
  • Put in contacts.
  • Take recycling downstairs.
  • Buy groceries. (It's not that much fun carrying two heavy bags of groceries up four flights of stairs.)
  • Put away groceries.
  • Bring down garbage.
  • Mail letter.
  • Deposit checks.
  • Get mail.
  • Eat lunch.
  • Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
  • Wash dishes.

To Do:

  • One hour Chinese lesson.
  • Important end of year stuff (all buried in the pile).
  • Go to meeting.
  • Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
  • Bedtime routine.

Next Week:

  • Follow up on bike lock thing.

Rexroth 17.35 GMT

Woke up late and didn't get started early. I went to bed/sleep fairly early and didn't sleep well.

up prayer and reflection
deal with post, emails, phone messages
check how to get back from friend's place on New Years Eve
phone friend re meetup on New Year's Eve
email other friend with ideas for meetup
work on landlord files
put away coloured washing
wash whites and dry towels
go for walk
get new key cut
post this

thus far

work on craft project
clean up in kitchen
look on web for things to do with friends
journal
prayer and reflection
bed and sleep

From a late start I've got on well but I've spent too much time on landlord files. The job is bigger than I thought.

Regards Rexroth

Rexroth 22.59 GMT

Just signing off. I've done nothing on craft project but have done most everything else. I'm going to bed with a clean kitchen and the washing up done and the rubbish out and this I feel good about.

Regards Rexroth

pro's CI - 12:25pm

Ta Da:

  • Rising time: 7am (oops - alarm didn't go off at 6am).
  • Empty dish drain.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Shower and dress.
  • Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
  • Lay out pills for day.
  • Make and eat breakfast. (Caffeine ratio in coffee reduced - I'm tapering off.)
  • Fix font problem on tablet PC.
  • Call landlord about broken intercom/buzzer.
  • Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
  • Wash breakfast dishes.
  • Put in contacts.
  • Take recycling downstairs.
  • Buy groceries. (It's not that much fun carrying two heavy bags of groceries up four flights of stairs.)
  • Put away groceries.
  • Bring down garbage.
  • Mail letter.
  • Deposit checks.
  • Get mail.
  • Eat lunch.

To Do:

  • Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
  • One hour Chinese lesson.
  • Important end of year stuff (all buried in the pile).
  • Wash dishes.
  • Go to meeting.
  • Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
  • Bedtime routine.

Next Week:

  • Follow up on bike lock thing.

pro's CI - 11:20pm

Ta Da:

  • Rising time: 7am (oops - alarm didn't go off at 6am).
  • Empty dish drain.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Shower and dress.
  • Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
  • Lay out pills for day.
  • Make and eat breakfast. (Caffeine ratio in coffee reduced - I'm tapering off.)
  • Fix font problem on tablet PC.
  • Call landlord about broken intercom/buzzer.
  • Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
  • Wash breakfast dishes.
  • Put in contacts.
  • Take recycling downstairs.
  • Buy groceries. (It's not that much fun carrying two heavy bags of groceries up four flights of stairs.)

To Do:

  • Put away groceries.
  • Bring down garbage.
  • Mail letter.
  • Deposit checks.
  • Get mail.
  • One hour Chinese lesson.
  • Important end of year stuff (all buried in the pile).
  • Eat lunch.
  • Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
  • Go to meeting.
  • Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
  • Bedtime routine.

Next Week:

  • Follow up on bike lock thing.
Monica's picture

Monica's CI - 10:30 am EST

It's been an abbreviated morning since I got out of bed late, but I'm on target with the few things I've planned for.

Tada:
[x] Shower
[x] Oral care
[x] Pedi-care
[x] Facial
[x] Dress to shoes
[x] Make bed
[x] Clean MBR Vanity
[x] Fold clothes
[x] Leave for work by 9:45 am

Todo:
[] Take TS to Barber at 2:00 pm
[] Return to work by 2:30 pm
[] Catchup on emails
[] Set out mouthwash
[] Set alarm
[] Report CI
[] In bed between 9:30 pm - 10:00pm

Bonus:

[] Do homework with son

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

pro's CI - 10:10am

I think I'm going to take the "study for interview" item off the to-do list unless/until I actually know I will have an interview. There will be enough time between when I find out and when the interview happens to prepare.

I thought I'd washed away the start of a cold with nasal rinsing, but unfortunately not. I do have a cold - mild one, though.

Ta Da:

  • Rising time: 7am (oops - alarm didn't go off at 6am).
  • Empty dish drain.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Shower and dress.
  • Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
  • Lay out pills for day.
  • Make and eat breakfast. (Caffeine ratio in coffee reduced - I'm tapering off.)
  • Fix font problem on tablet PC.
  • Call landlord about broken intercom/buzzer.
  • Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
  • Wash breakfast dishes.
  • Put in contacts.

To Do:

  • One hour Chinese lesson.
  • Important end of year stuff (all buried in the pile).
  • Eat lunch.
  • Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
  • Take recycling downstairs.
  • Deposit checks.
  • Buy groceries.
  • Get mail.
  • Go to meeting.
  • Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
  • Bedtime routine.

Next Week:

  • Follow up on bike lock thing.

9:30am CI for Lark

Good morning everyone. I had several calls this morning, so it's a later start for things. One caller happened to offer some needed pointers on the work project that's been dragging me down. Yeah! This month has been a balancing act between older projects and newer small ones. My tendency is to do new ones for various reasons: quick pay, something new and different, increasing my client list, you name it. Speaking of rewards, I've been using my daily computer visits as rewards for tasks or amount of work done, and keeping the time short. It works. Ah, enough about me...
ToDo:
1.Heat workshop
2.Domestic duties
3.Meditation and reflection
4.Do as much as possible on project for work (2hr. focus for start)
5.Sort clothes: laundry vs. wear
6.visit with brother (errands and lunch)
Good luck everyone. Thanks.

rewards for work done

>Speaking of rewards, I've been using my daily computer visits as rewards for tasks or amount of work done, and keeping the time short. It works. Ah, enough about me...

I wished this worked for me. I can make it work for a while, but then I inevitably go overboard with the reward and never get back to the work.

If you don't mind saying, what kind of work do you do? If you don't want to say, I understand, but I was curious so I thought I'd ask.

pro's CI - 9:30am

Ta Da:

  • Rising time: 7am (oops - alarm didn't go off at 6am).
  • Empty dish drain.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Shower and dress.
  • Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
  • Lay out pills for day.
  • Make and eat breakfast. (Caffeine ratio in coffee reduced - I'm tapering off.)
  • Fix font problem on tablet PC.
  • Call landlord about broken intercom/buzzer.

To Do:

  • Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
  • Wash breakfast dishes.
  • Put in contacts.
  • One hour Chinese lesson.
  • Important end of year stuff (all buried in the pile).
  • Eat lunch.
  • Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
  • Research for interview I hope for.
  • Take recycling downstairs.
  • Deposit checks.
  • Buy groceries.
  • Get mail.
  • Go to meeting.
  • Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
  • Bedtime routine.

pro's CI - 8:15am

I tried to be efficient this morning since I got up an hour later than planned. I gained 20 minutes - still 40 minutes behind. Still, 7am is better than 9am.

Ta Da:

  • Rising time: 7am (oops - alarm didn't go off at 6am).
  • Empty dish drain.
  • Wash dishes.
  • Shower and dress.
  • Make bed (convert futon from bed to couch).
  • Lay out pills for day.
  • Make and eat breakfast. (Caffeine ratio in coffee reduced - I'm tapering off.)

To Do:

  • Take pills - dose 1 of 3.
  • Wash breakfast dishes.
  • Put in contacts.
  • One hour Chinese lesson.
  • Important end of year stuff (all buried in the pile).
  • Eat lunch.
  • Take pills - dose 2 of 3.
  • Research for interview I hope for.
  • Buy groceries.
  • Get mail.
  • Go to meeting.
  • Take pills - dose 3 of 3.
  • Bedtime routine.
Monica's picture

Monica's CI - 8:00 am EST

I talked myself out of getting up on time. so here I am 3 hours later, trying to get my day started. O' Well.

Todo's:

[] Shower
[] Oral care
[] Pedi-care
[] Facial
[] Dress to shoes
[] Make bed
[] Clean MBR Vanity
[] Fold clothes
[] Leave for work by 9:45 am
[] Take TS to Barber at 2:00 pm
[] Return to work by 2:30 pm
[] Catchup on emails
[] Set out mouthwash
[] Set alarm
[] Report CI
[] In bed between 9:30 pm - 10:00pm

Bonus:

[] Do homework with son
(This really shouldn't be a bonus. It should be a must do, but after a long day at work there is a high percentage I will not do this. Tomorrow is a short day at work. If I focus we can do parts of it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to accomplish it all.)

I probably should attach some reward to this bonus to increase may chances of addressing it. I'll have to think on this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

Monica's picture

Bonus Reward

I talked the idea of a reward system over with husband and he came up with an idea that I think will be great for me (I'm glad he ditched his negative attitude). Every time I do my day's bonus he will give me $10.00 towards a new car. So if I do a bonus a day, that means I'll get at best $300.00 a month towards the car. I love this idea. I'm so excited. The only catch is, I have to have everything else on my list done in order to qualify for the bonus reward.

I am truly energized right now. I actually can't wait to get started on my day. YEAH!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

payment for effort

Gee, I wish I could find someone to give me $10 for every hour I worked on my back accounting. It's so unpleasant to me that it's all but impossible to do.

Monica's picture

re:payment for effort

There has got to be some reward you can give yourself for getting your accounting done. Is there some one or some place you'd like to visit? Or Maybe you could treat yourself to your favorite restaurant or favorite dessert when you finish a day's worth or accounting. There just has to be something pleasant enough (besides money :) ) to out weigh this unpleasant task.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

you're right

I do need some sort of reward for doing this accounting because the activity itself is so completely unpleasant. Whatever it is can't cost money - I've got big money problems. It also would be better if it wasn't food - I try to eat for hunger rather than entertainment (or I get fat). But there has to be something... I'll think on it while I'm grocery shopping. I'm headed out to do errands now.

oversleeping

I overslept this morning, too, because I forgot to set my alarm.

5am seems pretty early. Do you think you could stick with it better if it was 6am?

Monica's picture

It is early, but...

...my days are jam packed from 7 am on. My teens have to be out by 7:10, my middle schooler has to be out by 7:25 and my elementary schooler has to be out by 8:30. If I get up at 6:00, I would have to battle for the hot water with my teens trying to take showers, and it doesn't give me much uninterrupted time to accomplish chores and have my devotional time before work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I can't do it perfectly, I'll do it anyway. If I can't do it all, I'll do some. If I do nothing, nothing gets done.

"I don't feel like it" is a poor sacrifice for your dreams.

pro's first check-in - 7:05am

I thought my alarm was set when I went to sleep but it wasn't, so I overslept. I meant to get up at 6am, but I got up at 7am. Not too bad. I went to bed too late last night, so I'd have been very tired at 6am.

I think I may have successfully washed away the cold I was getting by bathing my sinuses ("nasal douching", Dr. Weil calls it). I don't feel like I'm getting a cold anymore.