new year, new start

Today is my first day at work in '07. Now, the real procrastination challenge begins.
Theoretically, I have ~12 hours every weekend to get school and FUMCN work done. It should be enough. In reality, however, I spend most of my time here putzing around on the 'net, reading blogs, doing random stuff. Then, I fall farther and farther behind in everything else and have to scramble to get those things done.
Well, no more. I am going to make sure that these 12 hours are productive. I will treat 'net surfing as a privilege that must be earned, not a right.
I have already accomplished two things on my list. This post is my third.
Here are the goals for today:

1. read application materials
2. draft application essay
3. organize 7160 notes
4. print OneNote material
5. organize notebooks

I am probably jinxing myself by putting these out here. Last time I did that I had a complete meltdown and spent the rest of the night drinking hot chocolate and watching mindless tv. Today will be different, however. I will come back and update my progress.

Update: as of 1:26 pm, my goals list looks like this:
read application materials (Over 50 pages; I also took notes of points to make in essay)
draft application essay
organize 7160 notes
print OneNote material (did not print; completed an online tutorial and read training materials online)
organize notebooks

Update: As of 4:00 pm, my list looks like this:

read application materials (Over 50 pages; I also took notes of points to make in essay)

draft application essay

organize 7160 notes

print OneNote material (did not print; completed an online tutorial and read training materials online)

organize notebooks

I am quite proud of myself. I did it with a minimum of distractions. A new approach I am working on is making my procrastination activities beneficial. Example: I cleaned out my backpack while taking a break from reading/writing.

last year

well, i spent the last day of 2006 engaged in my favorite , and soon to be retired, behavior. I did NOTHING that I was supposed to do except exercise*. It was a fitting way to end the old year, but I am paying for it now. I just spent 1 hour doing what I should have done yesterday, so now I have to work for an additional hour today to catch up on today's list.

A box of L's clothes were picked up. Yeah!

*I walked for 45 minutes on the track at the Y while L played basketball.

2007 goals

1. treadmill--2.21 miles in 35 min
2. swimming with T
3. cooked dinner
4. read for 2 hours this morning

new habit taking shape

Wow! This focus and timeliness stuff is pretty cool. I have had a really good day today, doing things I have been putting off and getting other ideas thought/planned out.

I realize that part of the reason I procrastinate around the house is that everything feels insurmountable. When I look at all the laundry that needs to be done, all the linens that need changing, the clothes that need to be mended/thrown away/donated, the dishes that need to be washed and put away, I get frustrated and don't do anything. Well beginning today, my new motto is: something is better than nothing. It doesn't matter if I only do one load of laundry, I still did something. It doesn't matter if I don't read all the articles tonight, as long as I read some everyday, I will be ok. I can't let myself get frustrated that after a long day of work, I am still not done with the two main projects I worked on. The projects may not be complete, but they are much closer to completion than they were this morning. That, my friends, is progress.

Successfully changing my behaviors and learning new habits to replace my old friend procrastination is going to be a long, but exciting road. I was so happy today putting away laundry in Leo's room because he and I spent 15 minutes reorganizing and making things more functional. We moved out the impractical piece of furniture and repurposed old storage bins for his uniforms and sports equipment. This was an especially big achievement because I did it without spending money. My excuse had always been that I would buy hooks when we got some extra money. Well, not only are we trying not to spend money, but hooks are not the only acceptable form of storage for his room.

Something else I learned today is that, at least in the beginning, my new lifestyle is going to be less time-efficient than I would like. I need to get things done as I am able/willing, which means that bundling errands and activities is going to have to wait. Maybe that will be 2008's goal. ;)

2007 personal goal

I have been thinking a lot about goals for next year. As a couple/family, NBA and I have already decided that debt reduction is our goal. [see previous posts] Although this will encompass all aspects of our lives and require much from me as an individual, I still need to set a personal goal.

I have been looking at my life recently and beginning to articulate the areas bugging me and in need of improvement. Here are the main ones: the stress I feel, the state of my house, the pressure of school, my lack of involvement in Leo’s school, disorganized state of preschool materials, my inability to break free from fast food, my lack of progress in Pilates. There is one common thread linking them together and preventing me from making progress in any of them. It is procrastination. I have written briefly about my struggles before, but I really only scratched the surface. This is a MAJOR problem in my life, and one that will take a long time to overcome.

Procrastination has been with me for as long as I can remember. It is my M.O. Until recently, I have always thought of it as a part of who I am, not as I habit I have that can be unlearned. Well, beginning today and continuing throughout 2007, I will be unlearning my procrastination habits and learning healthier, more productive ways of living.

My purpose in doing this is to “make new habits that bring me closer to the life I want to live.” http://encouragingcoach.com/newhabit/index.htm I want to be able to enjoy watching my kids play and ride bikes in the park without worrying that I won’t have time to study for my exam, even though I had 15 hours at work to do it throughout the week. I want to be able to sleep normally. I want to have time to enjoy learning new crafts. I really want to make curtains for my house.

One of my biggest challenges is going to be taking back power from deadlines and giving it to myself. I mean, making my self-imposed deadlines as powerful, important, and non-negotiable as those created by others. I am great with making outlines and plans for projects and ignoring them because they are not imposed from without.

This plan ties into my ultimate goal of living more simply in ways that I will discuss in a future post.

procrastination

My name is Miss Muffet and I am a procrastinator.

There, I said it. Is that the first step?

Seriously, though, procrastination is becoming more and more of a problem for me, my friends, and family. I feel like I am letting people down because I push everything to the 11th hour, and then am unable to help people out. It's not like I don't have the time. The problem is, I think, I have too much time.

In fact, I am procrastinating right now, even though I only have until 10:30 to get a significant chunk of work done without having to stay up all night when the kids are asleep.

The problem with my procrastinatory style is that it has residual effects that grow and grow. For example, I stayed up late working on my report for Tuesday's class and was so burnt out, that I was unable to work on Wednesday. Now it is Thursday, my new project is due in 23 hours, my full day of childcare fell through, and I have to assist at Taurus' school.

I have no one to blame but myself.

This is my primary personal goal for 2007: getting this bad habit under control. It will allow me to do all the other things I want to do next year--crafting, cooking, exercising, organizing, decluttering.

keeping focus

Well, I did it. It is Dec. 1, and I am officially done with Christmas shopping for the kids. I stuck to my plan and got them 1 joint gift from Santa and 3 individual gifts--one from Santa and two from us. There will be no avalanche of gifts under the tree, but that's ok because they have grandparents, and that's what they provide.

We need to finish up the napkins for the g-parents, and I need to type up the menu/invitation for the Christmas Brunch and get a *$ card for g-father, then I am DONE!!

Now I can focus on shopping for the brunch and soup exchange.

Go me!



ps. All this advance preparation means that my school projects are languishing until the last minute. C'est la vie!