lenora_rose (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lenora_rose) wrote2019-06-17 02:02 pm
lenora_rose) wrote2019-06-17 02:02 pm
Organizing my life. Ish.
A thing that has been happening lately is that I have been finding myself sort of coasting. Doing only the sort of bare bones habitual activities, and not really stretching.
It happens.
Some of it was the kids, and more was that dropping some hobbies because of the kids led to being out of the habit once the kids stopped being as much of an impediment.
Recognizing it is one thing, but when I started looking at the things I might do instead... I had SO MANY THINGS, art stuff and house stuff and worky stuff and.... I would end up kind of freezing up. I could push past it once in a while to say "just get *this* done", but overall, it was easy to slide back into habit.
And writing down some household stuff to do on a general list wasn't helping, because there wasn't a good reason why that, and not something else.
I also caught myself chronically spending too much time on social media at work, and not being terribly productive (And also getting more work done in the last two hours at work than in the first 5). I managed to start curtailing that via a regime unrelated to the productivity stuff I am actually going to discuss once I get to the point. (This is part of the reason I have been poking at dreamwidth more, too. And yes, both reading and writing on dreamwidth feels more substantial. And has *noticeably* less time cost.)
I also realized music alone was not keeping me on track, even though it has an undeniable positive effect. So I started listening more to podcasts when I have the kind of data entry work that is a tedious drill-through-this job.
Specifically, I decided to try Productivity Alchemy, because Ursula Vernon and Kevin Sonney are usually entertaining. I tried the then-current one (A report on return-from China plus answering letters), decided it seemed to contain enough amusing stuff to make up for the fact that at its core it's about planners and organizational systems, and besides, hey, I might pick up the odd tip that worked for me despite myself.
It helps, once I got back to the beginning, to learn that Ursula is herself very much a Planner and System Skeptic, and thus a bit of a voice for those of us who think that planners are not things we could ever get in the habit of carrying -- even as she was on the podcast because of deadlines and issues she knew needed to be handled in a more organized and systematic way. And Kevin, the one who loves planners and systems, admits to semi-regularly getting derailed in his organization, and having to haul himself back on track. So, not a podcast done by people who are perfect planning gurus.
So the first two episodes seemed a bit dry except for some smiles and giggles, and very rambly (Though rambly is part of the K&U style) but it picked up, especially with the inclusion of interviews that mean we get other voices.
I started thinking that while a standard planner isn't so much for me, I could see how maybe one of the custom-set-ups that's mostly notebook with some quirky brainstorming pages -- and only partly a planner -- might fool me into carrying it. (And some of them can be pretty. I don't think I don't know a writer, even an all-on-the-computer-writer, who's not at least a little drawn to pretty stationary as an abstract concept.)
I even took a couple of notes. And I mentioned to Colin that we had at least two things where we kind of should decide if we were going to get involved again, for real and properly, or not, though even that was at the time a very disorganized idea.
Then I hit the episodes about formulating goals.
And I don't know, it was like a switch flipped in my head.
I mean it sounds self evident when I say it out, but it was what made sense to me, more than anything: what I needed, to figure out WHAT goals were most important, to figure out which of the many many things I, and in some cases, we, needed to work on.
Goals also led to deadlines. For instance, the priorities in house work (not counting basic maintenance), including the renos, right now are focused on two goals: keeping our kitchen, our main visiting space, as a suitable space for visitors, and getting ready for Colin's mother's summer stay. (The room with the spare bed is ALSO our main storage room AND the place Colin dumped all his computer room stuff when We made Alex his own bedroom, so some of it is definitely not just cleaning, but organizing and getting rid of stuff.)
For music, I started back into singing with the church choir then slid back out of it right after Easter, because it was still too hard to maintain as a schedule while dealing with the kids and the rest of life. But Folk Fest is coming, and I have assigned myself to practice the mandolin again at least until; then, with the aim to feel comfortable playing it in the music circle, or at least practicing there where others might hear me. And if I do the practice but don't feel I am ready, that's okay, at least I tried.
Pottery was a weird one, because I KNOW getting back into pottery on a more regular basis than spending November making the Edge Gallery a few bowls is a goal that is deeply important to me... but with July, and Folk and Fringe coming, now is not the time to explore that one. (There are also dozens upon dozens of goals on the way in it that aren't worth going into).
But what I COULD do is start working on getting back into drawing as a habitual thing. So I picked up a good hardback sketchbook and a set of pencils and charcoal (I have sketchbooks around... somewhere.... and art pencils and charcoals too. It seemed more efficient and faster to just buy new ones and have them ready on the spot than to dig. For now.)
And a couple of things popped up as not-nows specifically because I looked at my goals and saw that they don't fit time-wise. Our lawn and garden areas are a disaster, and long term, yes, those are things I want to amend, ideally with a focus on local plants outside the vegetable patch (Which probably requires the services of a full on landscaper to plan)... but *I* am not doing anything about it this year. This year is about mowing, and maybe in fall, getting Colin to consolidate his wood stacks and tools before the snow falls.
I may not have gone to planners, but I made myself sticker charts for successes. And I made them purple and blue and kinda pretty, and not unlike the charts we had for Joseph before. I did realise that there is a reason I might need to put such things in a planner book, though: Putting them up where they're visible in the kitchen (which I did anyhow) seems like a great idea until I imagine what Joseph or Alex could do to them. At least in a planner they might be safe...
June and pre-Folk July is a testing period, to see if I have indeed found a method that works to get me back into these habits, and ingrain them. If so, the next steps are clearer; decide if the visible chart or the efficient planner are better, and if so, why. Then, the next thing to start thinking about *applying* goals to is kid activities, doing craft projects together or getting them up and moving and playing more with more things. (I don't want to do the common modern parent mistake of over-scheduling them, but there are days we definitely do the opposite and let them idle too much...)
It happens.
Some of it was the kids, and more was that dropping some hobbies because of the kids led to being out of the habit once the kids stopped being as much of an impediment.
Recognizing it is one thing, but when I started looking at the things I might do instead... I had SO MANY THINGS, art stuff and house stuff and worky stuff and.... I would end up kind of freezing up. I could push past it once in a while to say "just get *this* done", but overall, it was easy to slide back into habit.
And writing down some household stuff to do on a general list wasn't helping, because there wasn't a good reason why that, and not something else.
I also caught myself chronically spending too much time on social media at work, and not being terribly productive (And also getting more work done in the last two hours at work than in the first 5). I managed to start curtailing that via a regime unrelated to the productivity stuff I am actually going to discuss once I get to the point. (This is part of the reason I have been poking at dreamwidth more, too. And yes, both reading and writing on dreamwidth feels more substantial. And has *noticeably* less time cost.)
I also realized music alone was not keeping me on track, even though it has an undeniable positive effect. So I started listening more to podcasts when I have the kind of data entry work that is a tedious drill-through-this job.
Specifically, I decided to try Productivity Alchemy, because Ursula Vernon and Kevin Sonney are usually entertaining. I tried the then-current one (A report on return-from China plus answering letters), decided it seemed to contain enough amusing stuff to make up for the fact that at its core it's about planners and organizational systems, and besides, hey, I might pick up the odd tip that worked for me despite myself.
It helps, once I got back to the beginning, to learn that Ursula is herself very much a Planner and System Skeptic, and thus a bit of a voice for those of us who think that planners are not things we could ever get in the habit of carrying -- even as she was on the podcast because of deadlines and issues she knew needed to be handled in a more organized and systematic way. And Kevin, the one who loves planners and systems, admits to semi-regularly getting derailed in his organization, and having to haul himself back on track. So, not a podcast done by people who are perfect planning gurus.
So the first two episodes seemed a bit dry except for some smiles and giggles, and very rambly (Though rambly is part of the K&U style) but it picked up, especially with the inclusion of interviews that mean we get other voices.
I started thinking that while a standard planner isn't so much for me, I could see how maybe one of the custom-set-ups that's mostly notebook with some quirky brainstorming pages -- and only partly a planner -- might fool me into carrying it. (And some of them can be pretty. I don't think I don't know a writer, even an all-on-the-computer-writer, who's not at least a little drawn to pretty stationary as an abstract concept.)
I even took a couple of notes. And I mentioned to Colin that we had at least two things where we kind of should decide if we were going to get involved again, for real and properly, or not, though even that was at the time a very disorganized idea.
Then I hit the episodes about formulating goals.
And I don't know, it was like a switch flipped in my head.
I mean it sounds self evident when I say it out, but it was what made sense to me, more than anything: what I needed, to figure out WHAT goals were most important, to figure out which of the many many things I, and in some cases, we, needed to work on.
Goals also led to deadlines. For instance, the priorities in house work (not counting basic maintenance), including the renos, right now are focused on two goals: keeping our kitchen, our main visiting space, as a suitable space for visitors, and getting ready for Colin's mother's summer stay. (The room with the spare bed is ALSO our main storage room AND the place Colin dumped all his computer room stuff when We made Alex his own bedroom, so some of it is definitely not just cleaning, but organizing and getting rid of stuff.)
For music, I started back into singing with the church choir then slid back out of it right after Easter, because it was still too hard to maintain as a schedule while dealing with the kids and the rest of life. But Folk Fest is coming, and I have assigned myself to practice the mandolin again at least until; then, with the aim to feel comfortable playing it in the music circle, or at least practicing there where others might hear me. And if I do the practice but don't feel I am ready, that's okay, at least I tried.
Pottery was a weird one, because I KNOW getting back into pottery on a more regular basis than spending November making the Edge Gallery a few bowls is a goal that is deeply important to me... but with July, and Folk and Fringe coming, now is not the time to explore that one. (There are also dozens upon dozens of goals on the way in it that aren't worth going into).
But what I COULD do is start working on getting back into drawing as a habitual thing. So I picked up a good hardback sketchbook and a set of pencils and charcoal (I have sketchbooks around... somewhere.... and art pencils and charcoals too. It seemed more efficient and faster to just buy new ones and have them ready on the spot than to dig. For now.)
And a couple of things popped up as not-nows specifically because I looked at my goals and saw that they don't fit time-wise. Our lawn and garden areas are a disaster, and long term, yes, those are things I want to amend, ideally with a focus on local plants outside the vegetable patch (Which probably requires the services of a full on landscaper to plan)... but *I* am not doing anything about it this year. This year is about mowing, and maybe in fall, getting Colin to consolidate his wood stacks and tools before the snow falls.
I may not have gone to planners, but I made myself sticker charts for successes. And I made them purple and blue and kinda pretty, and not unlike the charts we had for Joseph before. I did realise that there is a reason I might need to put such things in a planner book, though: Putting them up where they're visible in the kitchen (which I did anyhow) seems like a great idea until I imagine what Joseph or Alex could do to them. At least in a planner they might be safe...
June and pre-Folk July is a testing period, to see if I have indeed found a method that works to get me back into these habits, and ingrain them. If so, the next steps are clearer; decide if the visible chart or the efficient planner are better, and if so, why. Then, the next thing to start thinking about *applying* goals to is kid activities, doing craft projects together or getting them up and moving and playing more with more things. (I don't want to do the common modern parent mistake of over-scheduling them, but there are days we definitely do the opposite and let them idle too much...)