New year's resolutions anyone?
dot mail dot to dot mo@gmail.com Mo
this coming year. I have been suffering a great deal from coping issues and
would very much like to see that improve, as well as my communication
problems. Wouldn't it be lovely if I could once again just put my thoughts
into words, do the things I plan to do and just get things *done*? The
procrastination issues have been gigantic and I would like to see that
improve vastly as well. (This is not your garden variety procrastination I
am talking about, there are deep underlying psychological problems that
aren't easily addressed).
I would like to see the problems with Open University resolved, it's been a
year and a half of sleepless nights, panic attacks and such, I can very much
do without it. I think 2010 would be a nice year to see the problems with
the tax office resolved, for they've been going on and on since 2006, so
it's long been getting old. I don't want to hear anything from social
services at all this year, thank you very much, please leave me in peace.
I hope to be less chaotic, more organized and definitely no longer
permanently on the verge of a meltdown.
Oh, and I'd also like to lose the better (or rather: worst LOL) part of my
weight ;-).
Happy new year everyone and all the best for 2010!
--
Mo
Betsy
Spend less time at the computer.
Fold the laundry every day.
Run around cleaning enough to keep up.
Get more organized with kids chores and keep them doing them.
I am now off to fold laundry.
--Betsy
superbitch
have a tendency to slip after about a week or so.
i think starting small, and being realistic will stop me getting
disillusioned...
this year i would like to do quite a few things to change my lifestyle
and be healthier and fitter, starting with stopping smoking. i have
set a quit date of january 18th, 2 weeks away and am trying to
mentally prepare myself for that, at the moment i'm freaking out and
fooling myself that i don't really want to stop. it's a lie though and
i do want to stop, desperately. i know there will be withdrawls but
figure that by february, i should be hardly missing it at all, (one
hopes!) and will have the rest of the year to get fitter, as my lung
power increases so too should the amount of activity i am able to
do....
that's the big one really, but i've also joined flickr 365 project,
which involves taking one photo each day and uploading it to the net.
i like taking photos, but never seem to get around to it, so this is a
good way of focusing myself i think! it's been awful weather where i
am, so all of my photos so far have been indoors, but i'm enjoying it
so far!
take it easy
helne. x
superbitch
> into words, do the things I plan to do and just get things *done*?
mo, someone told me that if you write things down it means you're much
more likely to do them. i can't remember the statistics, but it does
make sense.
apologies if you're doing this already, and i'm talking nonsense!
all the best
helne x
dot mail dot to dot mo@gmail.com Mo
> Mine are somewhat simple.
>
> Spend less time at the computer.
> Fold the laundry every day.
> Run around cleaning enough to keep up.
> Get more organized with kids chores and keep them doing them.
They're very good ones :-). Most of them are included in my resolutions as
well, but since specifying all my must/want/need do things would result in
an endless list, I decided to stick with more general resolutions and hope
that I manage to make some progress there.
> I am now off to fold laundry.
Very good :-D.
--
Mo
dot mail dot to dot mo@gmail.com Mo
> i'm always slightly suspicious of new years resolutions, because i
> have a tendency to slip after about a week or so.
As do I (and most people, for that matter) ;-).
> i think starting small, and being realistic will stop me getting
> disillusioned...
I agree completely, which I why with my own resolutions I tried to stick to
the bare necessacities (it's just that those are rather big in my case LOL).
> this year i would like to do quite a few things to change my lifestyle
> and be healthier and fitter, starting with stopping smoking. i have
> set a quit date of january 18th, 2 weeks away and am trying to
> mentally prepare myself for that, at the moment i'm freaking out and
> fooling myself that i don't really want to stop. it's a lie though and
> i do want to stop, desperately. i know there will be withdrawls but
> figure that by february, i should be hardly missing it at all, (one
> hopes!) and will have the rest of the year to get fitter, as my lung
> power increases so too should the amount of activity i am able to
> do....
Oooooh, I wish you good luck with that, I hear it is very hard to stop
smoking, but pretty much everyone that manages to stop is very happy that
they went for it. As for the motivation issues, I find it helps if I make a
pro and con list, it helps me stay focused, motivated and it creates a
clearer picture in my mind why I need/want to do something.
> that's the big one really, but i've also joined flickr 365 project,
> which involves taking one photo each day and uploading it to the net.
> i like taking photos, but never seem to get around to it, so this is a
> good way of focusing myself i think! it's been awful weather where i
> am, so all of my photos so far have been indoors, but i'm enjoying it
> so far!
Sounds like fun :-). Perhaps I might try something similar some time in the
future if I've managed to resolve my current issues (or most of them). Good
luck!
--
Mo
dot mail dot to dot mo@gmail.com Mo
You're definitely not talking nonsense :-). I am making lists and have been
making them for quite some time. ATM I have a to do list with administrative
tasks, ranging from emails waiting to be answered to letters needing to be
written, filing to be done, organizing to sell things online to help the
decluttering process, appointments I need to make, etc. It's definitely my
urgent list. Then there's the list of things I need to do around the house:
cleaning, reorganizing and such. The third list is the one with things that
still needs to be done around the house after my move: drilling holes so I
can hang things, that sort of thing.
While I find that the lists help me keep much needed perspective, sofar it
hasn't helped me getting much done. I try to break down what's on the to do
lists into smaller pieces, so that I have realistic to do lists for a day.
Sometimes I get things done, however most of the time I don't. My quest for
the cause of this and finding the solution to it has been going on for quite
some time. Lately I've been reading self help books about time management
and problematic procrastination and I wasn't surprised that my level of
procrastination is /way/ above what is considering normal. It's something
that I need to work on and it's not going to be easy, but it needs to be
done. Basically the lists are just one step on a long and difficult road,
but hopefully I'll get there in the end.
--
Mo
Betsy
> Betsy wrote:
>> I am now off to fold laundry.
>
> Very good :-D.
I'm glad I checked back here. I'd better go fold the basket of laundry
that is waiting from last night.
The year I kept my New Year's resolution the best was when I made it
really simple. I used to have a bad habit of kicking small dry items
that I dropped while cooking under the edge of the kitchen cupboards to
wait for sweeping. The resolution was to bend over right away and pick
it up. I kept this one for years, until I was having knee pain from
bending over to frequently while holding a baby.
--Betsy
superbitch
>
> You're definitely not talking nonsense :-). I am making lists and have been
> making them for quite some time. ATM I have a to do list with administrative
> tasks, ranging from emails waiting to be answered to letters needing to be
> written, filing to be done, organizing to sell things online to help the
> decluttering process, appointments I need to make, etc. It's definitely my
> urgent list. Then there's the list of things I need to do around the house:
> cleaning, reorganizing and such. The third list is the one with things that
> still needs to be done around the house after my move: drilling holes so I
> can hang things, that sort of thing.
yeah, i know that kind of lists! my problem isn't really writing them
but actually getting the things ticked off. someone told me to
allocate 10 minutes to each task and just go and do it! which makes a
lot of sense because it's only ten minutes so you feel you can manage
but on the other hand it's quite amazing how much you can actually get
done n ten mins! i wrote a list the other day and have now ticked off
all of my items. oh, except one, and it's going to take longer than
ten minutes!
>
> While I find that the lists help me keep much needed perspective, sofar it
> hasn't helped me getting much done. I try to break down what's on the to do
> lists into smaller pieces, so that I have realistic to do lists for a day.
> Sometimes I get things done, however most of the time I don't. My quest for
> the cause of this and finding the solution to it has been going on for quite
> some time. Lately I've been reading self help books about time management
> and problematic procrastination and I wasn't surprised that my level of
> procrastination is /way/ above what is considering normal. It's something
> that I need to work on and it's not going to be easy, but it needs to be
> done. Basically the lists are just one step on a long and difficult road,
> but hopefully I'll get there in the end.
> --
> Mo
yeap, maybe having some sort of traffic light system (i'm thinking
this up as i go along by the way!) where you allocate a colour to the
task depending on order of importance. i know that if i have toooo
many tasks to do it overwhelms me and i don't manage to do any of it
because it's too much, so having a few that i had to do, as well as a
few that are nicer to do but nonessential, might be a plan for me!
i've been thinkng a lot about time management today and wondering how
i can manage better. qutting smoking will help in that direction i
think because instead of thinking "i'll do it after i've had this
cigarette" and then forgetting, i'll just go and do whatever it is i
was blooming well thinking about!
best wishes
helne x
superbitch
> Mo wrote:
> > Betsy wrote:
> >> I am now off to fold laundry.
>
> > Very good :-D.
>
> I'm glad I checked back here. I'd better go fold the basket of laundry
> that is waiting from last night.
ha ha! today, for the first time in several months, i can see the
bottom of my laundry basket! it's been so cold here i've had the
heating on, so washing is drying in superfast time and my poor machine
doesn't know if it's coming or going. it's all folded, too. just, er,
not yet put away.. oops!
take it easy,
helne x
dot mail dot to dot mo@gmail.com Mo
> Mo wrote:
>> Betsy wrote:
>>> I am now off to fold laundry.
>>
>> Very good :-D.
>
> I'm glad I checked back here.
I'm glad too, it's so good to see activity here.
> I'd better go fold the basket of
> laundry that is waiting from last night.
Hmmm, I've decided to leave the small pile of things needing to be ironed
until tomorrow. It's laundry day again tomorrow, so more stuff to iron then.
Why get out the ironing board today and again tomorrow, when I can do it all
at the same time tomorrow ;-)?
> The year I kept my New Year's resolution the best was when I made it
> really simple. I used to have a bad habit of kicking small dry items
> that I dropped while cooking under the edge of the kitchen cupboards
> to wait for sweeping. The resolution was to bend over right away and
> pick it up. I kept this one for years, until I was having knee pain
> from bending over to frequently while holding a baby.
Good for you for kepping the resolution for so long!
--
Mo
dot mail dot to dot mo@gmail.com Mo
>> You're definitely not talking nonsense :-). I am making lists and
>> have been making them for quite some time. ATM I have a to do list
>> with administrative tasks, ranging from emails waiting to be
>> answered to letters needing to be written, filing to be done,
>> organizing to sell things online to help the decluttering process,
>> appointments I need to make, etc. It's definitely my urgent list.
>> Then there's the list of things I need to do around the house:
>> cleaning, reorganizing and such. The third list is the one with
>> things that still needs to be done around the house after my move:
>> drilling holes so I can hang things, that sort of thing.
>
>
> yeah, i know that kind of lists! my problem isn't really writing them
> but actually getting the things ticked off. someone told me to
> allocate 10 minutes to each task and just go and do it! which makes a
> lot of sense because it's only ten minutes so you feel you can manage
> but on the other hand it's quite amazing how much you can actually get
> done n ten mins! i wrote a list the other day and have now ticked off
> all of my items. oh, except one, and it's going to take longer than
> ten minutes!
Very good effort :-)! Earlier this week I did about a dozen of things from
my 'thing to clean around the house' list, so I was very pleased about that.
Most of the smaller tasks (i.e. that don't take up a lot of time, energy and
thinking) will get done in the end. It's the bigger things, like writing my
letter of complaint about the mess with my university, that get left behind.
Getting started is a big problem for me, and what worries me a great deal is
that I don't even do fun stuff anymore. For instance: I'm into all kinds of
crafts, but even knowing that it would make me feel better AND really
wanting to do them, does not get me going. I've been trying to analyse where
in the process things go wrong, but no luck there yet.
>> While I find that the lists help me keep much needed perspective,
>> sofar it hasn't helped me getting much done. I try to break down
>> what's on the to do lists into smaller pieces, so that I have
>> realistic to do lists for a day. Sometimes I get things done,
>> however most of the time I don't. My quest for the cause of this and
>> finding the solution to it has been going on for quite some time.
>> Lately I've been reading self help books about time management and
>> problematic procrastination and I wasn't surprised that my level of
>> procrastination is /way/ above what is considering normal. It's
>> something that I need to work on and it's not going to be easy, but
>> it needs to be done. Basically the lists are just one step on a long
>> and difficult road, but hopefully I'll get there in the end. --
>> Mo
>
> yeap, maybe having some sort of traffic light system (i'm thinking
> this up as i go along by the way!) where you allocate a colour to the
> task depending on order of importance. i know that if i have toooo
> many tasks to do it overwhelms me and i don't manage to do any of it
> because it's too much,
It's exactly the same here. I just don't know where to start anymore, and of
course there are several things I must do that I know in advance will have a
profound effect on me, emotionally. Hardly a motivator to get started on
them!
> so having a few that i had to do, as well as a
> few that are nicer to do but nonessential, might be a plan for me!
> i've been thinkng a lot about time management today and wondering how
> i can manage better.
I've been reading several books about procrastination and time management
and the colour coding is something that comes up in pretty much all the
books. You could make a living out of this ;-).
> qutting smoking will help in that direction i
> think because instead of thinking "i'll do it after i've had this
> cigarette" and then forgetting, i'll just go and do whatever it is i
> was blooming well thinking about!
I need to write down most things, to keep me from forgetting them. I call it
my external memory ;-). However, I think my external memory is lots bigger
than my internal memory these days, if you know what I mean ;-).
--
Mo