Evaluation: Or How I Use My Time

Under the heading of: "If you can't say something nice..." I just deleted a comment/critique of a divination tool a friend had posted.

I think the concept for the tool is super cool. I think the execution is too general, pedantic, and tells you *exactly* what you already know (or should already know, like, "you are not happy when people treat you like crap" [this last was paraphrased]). Everyone else in the thread was thrilled with what they got and said so in their comments. I found it only somewhat accurate and not terribly useful.

But, a critique, in that way, was not requested, and so I removed my comment. I wasn't asked to review the product. So, why did I feel the need to give my honest response? And more importantly, why did I click on it to begin with?

I'm a natural evaluator and have done that work many times. So, I tend to look at most anything new with an evaluator's eye. I also do readings and so cool new tools spark my interest. Those explain why I clicked and why I evaluated in my head. But the question remains, why did I feel the need to write my thoughts down and post them in a comment?

Perhaps, that was this tool's use for me. I sparked my own thinking about how I use my time.

 

I believe this is about awareness, evaluation, and vigilance. If I remain aware about where my time is going, I can evaluate my activities and thoughts in the present moment. If I am on task towards my ultimate goals,* I am good to go. If I am not, I must remain vigilant of activities that waste my time and correct my course in the moment.

How about you? How do you maintain your course towards your ultimate goal? Do you set up reminders? Do have an easy or tough time with staying focused?

*More on Ultimate Goal coming soon.

Productivity Tuesday: On the count of 5

I stay busy. I work 10-14 hours almost every day. I have seven different businesses going at the same time. So, if I'm going to get anything done, I'd better be efficient and productive.

I wish I could do it consistently, but like everyone, I go through periods where I just don't want to get up and do the next thing on my list. I'll get distracted away from starting my task. And if distractions don't present themselves, I'll seek them out. I'll sit on Facebook. I'll check Twitter. I'll brush the dog (that needs to be done daily since he's a Husky, but it doesn't need to be done right when I decide to do it because I'm avoiding drafting the invoice I have to create). I'll pretend like the task I end up doing was important enough to put off while the actual task that sits patiently on my to-do list waiting to be checked off as completed.

The resistance to starting seems to be my sticking point. Once I'm going on the task at hand, I get into it, and I do it. But up until the second I get my butt in gear and get moving, I'll seek and find the limits of my ability to procrastinate.

I've been reading a lot about how the brain is a habit-seeking structure. If what we need to do is habitual, we will get it done, often without thinking about it. Imagine brushing your teeth. For most of us, by the time we are adults, brushing our teeth has habitualized to the point that we rarely need to remind ourselves to do that. We might still need to remind ourselves to floss, but at least the brushing gets accomplished.

In other aspects of my life, I've developed a paradigm where I give myself permission to procrastinate before beginning a task. Sometimes, we just need that extra down time in order to recharge. But, for many of us, that extra few minutes turns into hours or even days. Suddenly, weeks have passed, and we are no closer to the goal. 

The setting and achieving of long term goals is for another post (perhaps that will be next week's Tuesday post). For today, I'm talking about small but important tasks we know we must do but do a great job of avoiding.

So, here's where the Count of 5 comes in. When I need time to procrastinate, I make that time a micro length. Instead of allowing myself minutes or hours to wallow in the sty of procrastination and avoidance, I give myself a count of 5. Now, that count of 5 (a simple 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) can be as long and languid as my breath can make it. I give myself that micro-break to think and dream about whatever I want. I release all need or anxiety about the task I need to begin. I float on a cloud of relaxation and enjoy the heck out of myself without thoughts of working, doing, or planning. I allow myself the pleasure of existence without stress. And I count to five. At the end of the five, I get up, I get moving, and I begin the task. Knowing that I had that time to myself without stress helps me proceed and blast off.

To me, utilizing this micro-break relaxation paradigm is a critical component of my productivity. If I give myself permission to revel in the freedom of those few seconds, that rejuvenation allows me to rise, forge ahead, and thrive.

Try it and let me know how it works for you.

Forming new habits or letting go of old ones.

I'm thinking right now about breaking habitual patterns. It's too easy for me to get into the habit of *not* writing. So, I've spent part of today figuring out how to get into the habit *of* writing. 

For me, the vast majority of it is a mental state. If I think of myself as a person who writes, who dedicates a part of every single day to the craft and art of writing, then I do it. If I let that slip for even a little, soon, days and even weeks will pass without me having written a thing.

And then, the rest of it is the physical state of getting my butt in a seat and my fingers on the keys. If I can get the mental part down, the physical comes without too much trouble. So, that's the goal. I need to get to the place where my state of mind always reflects that I am a writer. I am a person who writes.

I have three books to finish: FGD2, Symphony in Ex, and the Arbiter (and that's not counting the four other ones I've had on the back burner for the last three years).

I have also decided not to try to write Seoul Song up by its deadline. Instead, I will focus on FGD2. It's the more pressing of the two. 

But still, the important of all of this is that I need to think of myself as a person who sits down and does the work. When I gave up sugar, I became a person who no longer eats sugar. When I gave up commercial soda, I became a person who no longer drinks commercial soda. Once the paradigm shifted, I had no problem with it. But enacting the habit of writing is harder for some reason. 

Perhaps, it is harder to get into because I am trying to form a habit of doing something rather than giving something up. It is a positive net gain in my life and it is a time commitment. It takes no more time to not drink a diet coke than it does to drink one. The same goes for sugar. 

Perhaps all of this trouble is a time management issue. If I can manage my time properly, I will be able to accomplish the other necessary shifts. 

I will look into my time management practices and I will focus on allocating time to writing. As I learn more about this process, I will keep you all updated.

Time Management

Yegads. I'm obviously too busy. My calendar is what keeps me sane as far as what I need/want to accomplish. I try to put everything into it the second it happens. And I just realized I've put a few things down on the wrong dates. Thank goodness I'm a little anal-retentive about checking and double checking to make sure I have dates down correctly. I caught everything in time. But still ... that is a definite clue that I have too much going on.

What do you all do to keep your schedule? How do you get places on time or make/meet your appointments and obligations? If I'm messing up with my current setup, perhaps there is a better way to go? Thoughts?

Motion Chart (How Much I Move, Day 1)

Day One of my experiment is over. For those who might not know what's going on, I'm doing a week-long experiment that has two goals. One, I want to chart how I spend my time. Two, I need to make sure I move more often than I am. To that end, I have set up an alarm system that buzzes me at twenty-minute intervals for a span of twelve hours a day. When that alarm sounds, I must get up from whatever I'm doing and move around for one minute. Then, I resume my previous task. For more information on the whys and wherefores, go here: http://izoldat.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-often-do-i-move-experiment-to-learn.html

What I've learned today: I thought it would be easy to get up and move regardless of what I was doing when the alarm sounded. For the most part, it was not a big deal to get up and dance. But a few times, I resented the heck out of that little alarm because it pulled me out of my task. Luckily, I didn't have a lot of trouble getting back into the groove. Also, my husband loves watching me dance and giggled every time I stopped what I was doing to get up and shake my tail feathers. :)

My thoughts on the chart: Fully, a quarter of my day was spent at the computer. I also sat doing other things for a healthy chunk of the day. My "in motion" time was spent on yoga, aerobics, and a wee hike with the dog (It will be longer later in the week when it's not raining; Hatha is a rain wuss and wouldn't walk past a block and a half).

Tomorrow, I will try to do more writing, less plain sitting, and far less time just on the computer. To be more efficient, I must use my tools more productively. I will write more if I am at the computer. I will use it for recording music rather than surfing. That will be for the next few days. Here's the problem, I'm not sure how to spend time writing if I am not sitting at the computer.

I'm struck by the amount of information I've gotten just by keeping track for one day, and I'm looking forward to seeing these progress over the next week.