It's been a pretty busy week for me. Maddy and I both ended up with the flu, we celebrated her first birthday with most of our family and Keith's been gone covering the Scotties for the paper. Even after a few years of him having to leave for a week at a time, three times (sometimes more) a year, it's still an adjustment. I will admit, though, that his absence this year is much, much easier to deal with than last year's - he had to leave for the first provincial bonspiel only a few weeks after Maddy was born. And because I live in Manitoba, and it was January, leaving the house with a tiny baby just for fun was out of the question.
But even with the slight chaos around here, I've managed to get a few things 'done'. I've updated my Monster and Workopolis profiles. I'm about 90% finished the two posters I'm going to put up around town, hopefully drumming up some local business. I still have to compose the ad(s) I'm going to submit to a local classified website. There's a deadline I've set - the end of January - to get some work and I'm determined to hit it. If I don't, back to work for me.
I do want this to work, though... even though a lot of my friends (and perhaps family, but they're more subtle about it) think it's a phase and that I'll snap out of it soon and get back to work. I'm not desperate to prove them wrong, but it's getting really, really frustrating trying to convince them that I do want to do this and I can do this. It'd just be nice to have some support, that's all.
My biggest fear, when this all gets off the ground, is that I will end up spreading myself too thin. It's a habit that's probably not going to be easy to break - I like to be busy and, more often than not, will bite off way more than I can chew. For the most part, I can usually keep up with everything, but now that I've got a child and everything that goes along with being the stay-at-home parent, I don't have access to all 24 hours of the day. It's going to take some time to figure out the priorities every day.
But things are progressing. Not quite at the speed I had hoped, but they're going forward, and at this point that's the main thing. Just can't let them stall or else I may as well just go out and get that job at McDonald's that my parents think I'm going to end up at anyway.
Showing posts with label procrastination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label procrastination. Show all posts
Needle in a haystack
Now that Christmas is over and we've been stuffed and spoiled (Maddy infinitely more than either Keith or I, of course), it's time for me to actually do something about this whole freelance/crafter/designer thing I've been humming and hawing about for months now.
Problem #1: My desk.
Problem #1: My desk.
This is my desk as of 10 minutes ago. Abysmal, isn't it? The sad part is I used to be perfectly okay with working like this. Not anymore, if only because I can't find my notebook. Cleaning my desk requires a decent chunk of time, what with the filing and sorting and general need to not lose this month's bills.
Organization is definitely not my forté, but I'm also not the only one who uses my desk. (I say 'my' because I brought it into the relationship and have had it for close to 27 years.) However, because I use it the most, it becomes easy to take on the organization/cleanliness of when it has to be done. And right now, it has to be done. Boo.
Maybe I should be doing that rather than this...
Precipice
With less than 2 days of work to go (Friday is our company Christmas party and an early release from work afternoon), I've managed to keep fairly 'busy' doing 'things' at my not-as-ugly-as-I-remember job. I didn't have much to do with the last issue of the year last week during production and have spent the majority of my 8 days archiving and tidying.
The excitement. It never ends.
This is why tomorrow, I plan on spending my day doing as little actual constructive work as possible. I have one thing that has to be done - a wrap-up/to-do list for my replacement. If all goes according to plan, she'll be the one who's been doing my job for the last few months. And because my company is completely inept when it comes to being proactive about training and management, she's missing big chunks of how the office is actually supposed to run. It doesn't help that the previous manager is/was a moron and that the new one wants as little to do with the non-newspaper side of the office as possible. He (the new boss, who just strikes me as off in a way I can't quite put my finger on) has yet to realize that he's the one who is responsible for everything that goes on in the office and that he is the face of the office. He is expected to attend certain events; he is expected to do things that he is asked to; he has responsibilities that his staff can not, nor should not, do. And then there's his abject opposition to the weather...
Tomorrow is my last real day of work at the paper. I don't know if I'll ever work at another paper, but if I do, it won't be for a while. A long while. I think this job has done what every other newspaper job has threatened to do: change my approach to my career. I like designing. I like editing. I hate writing. I want to design and edit for a living. There are no jobs for designing editors around here, so I have to make one for myself.
My plan tomorrow is to have a cup of coffee (or several) and go through 50 of the world's best design blogs (found via Etsy's Twitter feed). I'm not sure if I'll find inspiration or discouragement by gorging myself on other people's designs, but I think it's a nice way to spend a day, trapped in a sunless office with a boss who barely speaks.
I'm still working on what I'm going to do after Friday. I have a list that I'm working on of what I can do, what I want to do, and what I have to do. I've been tossing around the idea of setting a deadline for myself - if I don't make $X by X day, I have to find a job - but I worry that doing something like that is only going to force me to either produce shit or give up and just get a damn job. I don't want a damn job, I want to work for myself. Problem is, what the hell am I going to do to keep from having to get that damn job?
The excitement. It never ends.
This is why tomorrow, I plan on spending my day doing as little actual constructive work as possible. I have one thing that has to be done - a wrap-up/to-do list for my replacement. If all goes according to plan, she'll be the one who's been doing my job for the last few months. And because my company is completely inept when it comes to being proactive about training and management, she's missing big chunks of how the office is actually supposed to run. It doesn't help that the previous manager is/was a moron and that the new one wants as little to do with the non-newspaper side of the office as possible. He (the new boss, who just strikes me as off in a way I can't quite put my finger on) has yet to realize that he's the one who is responsible for everything that goes on in the office and that he is the face of the office. He is expected to attend certain events; he is expected to do things that he is asked to; he has responsibilities that his staff can not, nor should not, do. And then there's his abject opposition to the weather...
Tomorrow is my last real day of work at the paper. I don't know if I'll ever work at another paper, but if I do, it won't be for a while. A long while. I think this job has done what every other newspaper job has threatened to do: change my approach to my career. I like designing. I like editing. I hate writing. I want to design and edit for a living. There are no jobs for designing editors around here, so I have to make one for myself.
My plan tomorrow is to have a cup of coffee (or several) and go through 50 of the world's best design blogs (found via Etsy's Twitter feed). I'm not sure if I'll find inspiration or discouragement by gorging myself on other people's designs, but I think it's a nice way to spend a day, trapped in a sunless office with a boss who barely speaks.
I'm still working on what I'm going to do after Friday. I have a list that I'm working on of what I can do, what I want to do, and what I have to do. I've been tossing around the idea of setting a deadline for myself - if I don't make $X by X day, I have to find a job - but I worry that doing something like that is only going to force me to either produce shit or give up and just get a damn job. I don't want a damn job, I want to work for myself. Problem is, what the hell am I going to do to keep from having to get that damn job?
Stumbling links
I'm a big fan of using StumbleUpon when I'm bored and feel like I've reached the end of the internet, something that happens on an almost-daily basis.
I've found some amazing sites by stumbling - FOUND Magazine, Gawker, The Pioneer Woman, and a re-make of the Star Wars opening credits. Of my 1100+ bookmarks on del.icio.us, most were found by stumbling.
Today's finds - craftgawker and COLORlovers were my prime finds. I have only spent a few minutes at each site, but I'm sure that when I find more than 10 minutes where I'm not trying to play catch-up with everything else on my to-do list, I'll end up lost in one of those site's depths.
craftgawker is already making me think about what I can do to possibly make some extra cash. The designs and ideas that some people come up with are just astounding and incredibly intimidating for someone like me, someone who hasn't really accepted the fact that I have, in fact, been a crafter for years and it may just be time that I take advantage of this 'talent' and make some money off of it. (And with craftgawker comes foodgawker, another site that will likely become a favourite fairly quickly.)
COLORlovers... god. What a beautiful site. Colors intrigue me - I'm fascinated at how some colors can work together so well and accomplish so much for a designer. I've used kuler as my go-to for color ideas for the last couple of years, but I think I've found a new favourite. (It's been really, really hard to write anything about this site without spelling it COLOUR. Damn Canadian spelling rules.)
So there's how I spent a chunk of my Sunday, when I wasn't occupied with my 9-month old (how the hell did that happen?) or baking bread or doing laundry. See, I can procrastinate and accomplish a lot all at the same time. Perhaps I deserve a slice of chocolate chip banana loaf for that achievement today :)
I've found some amazing sites by stumbling - FOUND Magazine, Gawker, The Pioneer Woman, and a re-make of the Star Wars opening credits. Of my 1100+ bookmarks on del.icio.us, most were found by stumbling.
Today's finds - craftgawker and COLORlovers were my prime finds. I have only spent a few minutes at each site, but I'm sure that when I find more than 10 minutes where I'm not trying to play catch-up with everything else on my to-do list, I'll end up lost in one of those site's depths.
craftgawker is already making me think about what I can do to possibly make some extra cash. The designs and ideas that some people come up with are just astounding and incredibly intimidating for someone like me, someone who hasn't really accepted the fact that I have, in fact, been a crafter for years and it may just be time that I take advantage of this 'talent' and make some money off of it. (And with craftgawker comes foodgawker, another site that will likely become a favourite fairly quickly.)
COLORlovers... god. What a beautiful site. Colors intrigue me - I'm fascinated at how some colors can work together so well and accomplish so much for a designer. I've used kuler as my go-to for color ideas for the last couple of years, but I think I've found a new favourite. (It's been really, really hard to write anything about this site without spelling it COLOUR. Damn Canadian spelling rules.)
So there's how I spent a chunk of my Sunday, when I wasn't occupied with my 9-month old (how the hell did that happen?) or baking bread or doing laundry. See, I can procrastinate and accomplish a lot all at the same time. Perhaps I deserve a slice of chocolate chip banana loaf for that achievement today :)
One of these days... I swear
I haven't actually designed anything for over a year now. And suddenly, with less than 3 months until I go back to work, I'm finding myself wanting to design. I've been coming up with ideas for different things - finger puppets, desktop wallpaper, pillows, jewelry boxes - but haven't really done anything about it.
Yes, procrastination rears it's ugly head... again.
But this it's more than procrastination. It's trepidation and a realistic lack of time. I'm mom to a very active 8.5-month old, and while I don't work, I have very little time to myself to do anything besides housework.
The trepidation comes from the knowledge - and I admit this freely to anyone who asks - that I have no formal training whatsoever in design. I was working towards a Bachelor's degree in History (with minors in Political Science and Geography) when I quit 7 years ago. Not exactly an education that screams 'creativity'. Heck, it was barely an education to begin with - I only stayed in university so I could keep working at the student newspaper where I learned to write properly (take that, grade 9 English!), take decent photos and the basics of graphic design.
So, yes, I have experience designing, but no formal education, which has been my downfall when it comes to getting a decent job. But I have experience, which counts for something.
As an aside, I tend to over-rationalize some things, like this whole design thing. I know I can do it, but will I let myself? And what list of excuses will I use this time to prevent myself from doing so?
But back to the point I'm attempting to make (and if you've stuck it out this far, yay!) - there's a craving to start designing again somewhere in my head. The only thing I can realistically see holding me up (outside of the usual suspects of procrastination and trepidation) is the logistically problem of actually designing something. I looooove working with vectors and I've tried using some of the free programs out there and nope, can't do it. My only other choice is to go back to my 2002-ish iBook and use Illustrator. That'd be the one for the first edition of CS. I don't have the money to splash out on CS4 right now (or perhaps ever) and I'm technologically inept when it comes to getting it the **other** way.
And there's the fact that my laptop smells, too. That stinks. Ha. Ha.
I have a design for a desktop wallpaper that's been bouncing around for a couple of days, working it's way into something that I could theoretically do, if I have the right tools. And it looks like I've got the right tools... I just need a push (and time) to actually do it.
Yes, procrastination rears it's ugly head... again.
But this it's more than procrastination. It's trepidation and a realistic lack of time. I'm mom to a very active 8.5-month old, and while I don't work, I have very little time to myself to do anything besides housework.
The trepidation comes from the knowledge - and I admit this freely to anyone who asks - that I have no formal training whatsoever in design. I was working towards a Bachelor's degree in History (with minors in Political Science and Geography) when I quit 7 years ago. Not exactly an education that screams 'creativity'. Heck, it was barely an education to begin with - I only stayed in university so I could keep working at the student newspaper where I learned to write properly (take that, grade 9 English!), take decent photos and the basics of graphic design.
So, yes, I have experience designing, but no formal education, which has been my downfall when it comes to getting a decent job. But I have experience, which counts for something.
As an aside, I tend to over-rationalize some things, like this whole design thing. I know I can do it, but will I let myself? And what list of excuses will I use this time to prevent myself from doing so?
But back to the point I'm attempting to make (and if you've stuck it out this far, yay!) - there's a craving to start designing again somewhere in my head. The only thing I can realistically see holding me up (outside of the usual suspects of procrastination and trepidation) is the logistically problem of actually designing something. I looooove working with vectors and I've tried using some of the free programs out there and nope, can't do it. My only other choice is to go back to my 2002-ish iBook and use Illustrator. That'd be the one for the first edition of CS. I don't have the money to splash out on CS4 right now (or perhaps ever) and I'm technologically inept when it comes to getting it the **other** way.
And there's the fact that my laptop smells, too. That stinks. Ha. Ha.
I have a design for a desktop wallpaper that's been bouncing around for a couple of days, working it's way into something that I could theoretically do, if I have the right tools. And it looks like I've got the right tools... I just need a push (and time) to actually do it.
A Stitch In Time
I had all these intentions on putting my daughter down to nap, grabbing breakfast and a coffee and sitting down to do something productive that doesn't involve housework or my daughter.
I guess spending a good chunk of time hunting down album covers for iTunes is productive, in a sense. I mean, it's not like I ever use the full-scale iTunes player - I always use the mini player or the FoxyTunes extension on my brower, so my desperate obsession with having all my albums have covers is a little redundant.
I'm still working on some 'projects', mostly for my daughter. There's only one that has gone from the stuck-in-my-head phase, an animal mobile that will eventually hang over her change table. Maddy's fascinated with animals of all shapes and sizes, especially jungle/zoo animals. That probably comes from the overabundance of quilts in her room with that particular theme, but it's much easier (and cheaper) to go along with that kind of theme than some of the other ones available.
I didn't want to buy a mobile for her because a) I can make one and b) I'm cheap. I'm pretty sure the total cost for this mobile, with it's dozen or so animals will cost me in the range of $12, most of that on felt. I went to this site and downloaded some of the pages to use as templates to make the animals. The biggest challenge for me, the inept crafter, was figuring out how to keep the template on the felt while I cut it. I solved that problem the only way I could - with staples. Looking back, pins would have been an acceptable solution, but I don't have pins for some odd reason.
I do, however, have skeins and skeins of embroidery floss, which I've discovered is infinitely easier to use than yarn when sewing these animals up. They're only 4 or 5 inches high, some less than an inch wide, so the thinner the thread, the better. I'm not an expert sewer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know how to do a simple whip stitch along the side to at least attach the two pieces of felt together, keeping the stuffing inside, and make it somewhat attractive, perhaps even useful.
So I've got a dozen or so random zoo/jungle animals- lion, tiger, elephant, gorilla, giraffe (Maddy's favourite animal EVER) - to go on this mobile. All cut out, ready to be sewn and stuffed. Because I'm a mom to an 8-month old who's started to move very, very quickly around the living room, I have no time to do the animals during the day. The two 1.5-2 hour blocks I have during the day are times I need to run errands, do housework, have breakfast, shower, etc. so I can feel somewhat normal and productive as a human being. I don't sit on the couch while Maddy plays in her gated area in the living room, or anything. Well, not always. If she's content playing with her toys by herself, I let her be. If she's constantly trying to climb into my lap, I try to grab a book to look at or find a show for her to watch (yes, I let her watch TV. She's going to be the worst. child. ever. because of it. Whatever.). We spend quality time together. And because of that, I can't work on her mobile - little bits of felt and thread and scissors and paper within her reach? Yeah, no.
So I've managed to finish a seal, dolphin, monkey, rhino, tiger and gorilla in just over a week. It's not quite the speed at which I'd hoped I would be going, but at least it's something. I'm still being dogged by procrastination and moderate fear over doing anything else, but maybe once this is done (I plan on attaching the finished animals to a circle-shaped metal coat hanger with yarn), I'll be well on the way to creating a lot more. I'm trying to imagine how I could not only make money doing this (that goes back to my whole 'I sure as hell don't plan on working 2 full-time jobs so I can put my daughter in day care' plan come December), but also how satisfying this would be for me to do as a half-assed job. I really, really, really don't want to be spending the rest of my working life bouncing from job to job, hoping that whatever one I land at is it and that I'll finally be happy. I don't want to go back to full-time, out-of-the-house work until my daughter is in school, and that's 5 years away. There's still a semi-plan to go to school next fall for culinary arts; that idea may be pushed right off the back burner if I can't figure out a way to go to school but not work at the same time (also falls in with the 2-jobs-to-pay-for-day-care' thing). I need to make a decision soon... I go back to work for 2 weeks in less than 3 months. I'm not going to be there beyond my required 2 weeks, but I still need to pay bills.
But back to the point. I'm making a kick-ass mobile for my daughter. I may even try making a felt book for her next (one that I'll attempt to write) so she doesn't chew the hell out of her other books before she gets to actually enjoy them. I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself in my creative plans, but if I don't have something sort of lined up for the next project, I know I'll just fall back into that procrastination/fear trap that seems to be just one step away.
I guess spending a good chunk of time hunting down album covers for iTunes is productive, in a sense. I mean, it's not like I ever use the full-scale iTunes player - I always use the mini player or the FoxyTunes extension on my brower, so my desperate obsession with having all my albums have covers is a little redundant.
I'm still working on some 'projects', mostly for my daughter. There's only one that has gone from the stuck-in-my-head phase, an animal mobile that will eventually hang over her change table. Maddy's fascinated with animals of all shapes and sizes, especially jungle/zoo animals. That probably comes from the overabundance of quilts in her room with that particular theme, but it's much easier (and cheaper) to go along with that kind of theme than some of the other ones available.
I didn't want to buy a mobile for her because a) I can make one and b) I'm cheap. I'm pretty sure the total cost for this mobile, with it's dozen or so animals will cost me in the range of $12, most of that on felt. I went to this site and downloaded some of the pages to use as templates to make the animals. The biggest challenge for me, the inept crafter, was figuring out how to keep the template on the felt while I cut it. I solved that problem the only way I could - with staples. Looking back, pins would have been an acceptable solution, but I don't have pins for some odd reason.
I do, however, have skeins and skeins of embroidery floss, which I've discovered is infinitely easier to use than yarn when sewing these animals up. They're only 4 or 5 inches high, some less than an inch wide, so the thinner the thread, the better. I'm not an expert sewer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know how to do a simple whip stitch along the side to at least attach the two pieces of felt together, keeping the stuffing inside, and make it somewhat attractive, perhaps even useful.So I've got a dozen or so random zoo/jungle animals- lion, tiger, elephant, gorilla, giraffe (Maddy's favourite animal EVER) - to go on this mobile. All cut out, ready to be sewn and stuffed. Because I'm a mom to an 8-month old who's started to move very, very quickly around the living room, I have no time to do the animals during the day. The two 1.5-2 hour blocks I have during the day are times I need to run errands, do housework, have breakfast, shower, etc. so I can feel somewhat normal and productive as a human being. I don't sit on the couch while Maddy plays in her gated area in the living room, or anything. Well, not always. If she's content playing with her toys by herself, I let her be. If she's constantly trying to climb into my lap, I try to grab a book to look at or find a show for her to watch (yes, I let her watch TV. She's going to be the worst. child. ever. because of it. Whatever.). We spend quality time together. And because of that, I can't work on her mobile - little bits of felt and thread and scissors and paper within her reach? Yeah, no.
So I've managed to finish a seal, dolphin, monkey, rhino, tiger and gorilla in just over a week. It's not quite the speed at which I'd hoped I would be going, but at least it's something. I'm still being dogged by procrastination and moderate fear over doing anything else, but maybe once this is done (I plan on attaching the finished animals to a circle-shaped metal coat hanger with yarn), I'll be well on the way to creating a lot more. I'm trying to imagine how I could not only make money doing this (that goes back to my whole 'I sure as hell don't plan on working 2 full-time jobs so I can put my daughter in day care' plan come December), but also how satisfying this would be for me to do as a half-assed job. I really, really, really don't want to be spending the rest of my working life bouncing from job to job, hoping that whatever one I land at is it and that I'll finally be happy. I don't want to go back to full-time, out-of-the-house work until my daughter is in school, and that's 5 years away. There's still a semi-plan to go to school next fall for culinary arts; that idea may be pushed right off the back burner if I can't figure out a way to go to school but not work at the same time (also falls in with the 2-jobs-to-pay-for-day-care' thing). I need to make a decision soon... I go back to work for 2 weeks in less than 3 months. I'm not going to be there beyond my required 2 weeks, but I still need to pay bills.But back to the point. I'm making a kick-ass mobile for my daughter. I may even try making a felt book for her next (one that I'll attempt to write) so she doesn't chew the hell out of her other books before she gets to actually enjoy them. I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself in my creative plans, but if I don't have something sort of lined up for the next project, I know I'll just fall back into that procrastination/fear trap that seems to be just one step away.
Bitten
I don't know if it's the fact that I'm scheduled to go back to work in 3 months (almost to the day) or if I'm finding my life somewhat back to normal (thank you, Dr. Ferber), but there's been a niggling little voice in the back of my head for the last week or so, trying to encourage me to do some designing.
I have yet to actually do any.
For two reasons:
As tomorrow is my birthday (woo! 33! yay.), I'm going to take some initiative and set aside at least half an hour a day to work on some kind of designing, be it fiddling around with colour combos or figuring out how to use the new design programs I've got or even just checking out other design sites. I need to do something before my mind turns to mush and I end up smothering my child with overbearingness when she's 7.
I have yet to actually do any.
For two reasons:
- I don't have any decent design programs on my iMac. I've tried the free ones but I find them awkward and slightly clumsy. I do have an early, practically stone age version of Adobe CS on my iBook, but that requires me to actually use my iBook (I have one of the stinky ones). It's slow and old and in a small house with an 8-month old, hooking up yet another cord just isn't smart.
- This part is two-fold, and has been mentioned before: I'm a procrastinator and I'm terrified of what other people will think of my work. The former is just a part of my personality that I haven't been able to solve in 33 years and likely never will; the latter is almost inconceivable as I've been producing work publicly for 13+ years now and never had a problem before. Now, though, because it's for a personal reason, worries about judgement and criticism (and not the constructive kind) are keeping me from sitting down and spending an hour even fooling around with what limited resources I have.
As tomorrow is my birthday (woo! 33! yay.), I'm going to take some initiative and set aside at least half an hour a day to work on some kind of designing, be it fiddling around with colour combos or figuring out how to use the new design programs I've got or even just checking out other design sites. I need to do something before my mind turns to mush and I end up smothering my child with overbearingness when she's 7.
Perhaps it's time to stop bitching and start doing
I'm still battling with time, for the most part, to get my act together and start doing something. There's a constantly growing list in my head of things I want to do in the next few months. In just over 3 months, I have to go back to work and my 'free' time will vanish. The plus to that (besides a better paycheque) is that I only have to go back for 2 weeks. After that, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I want to take the last couple of weeks of the year off, for both personal and career-related reasons (mainly, who the hell hires anyone at Christmas?); but come the new year, I'll probably have to find another job, hopefully one that lets me work part-time.
I wonder, sometimes, if I'm avoiding doing anything on purpose. I've always blamed 'fill-in-the-blank block' for preventing me from doing anything outside of what people may consider my normal habits. But really, who cares? If I'm doing something I enjoy, why should anyone else have the right to judge me? I guess in extreme cases (ie. criminal), my actions could be judged, but for the most part, it's my creative acts that I'm most worried about.
The kicker? I'm a graphic designer by trade. Also a semi-non-amateur (make sense?) writer. Yet, those are the two things I'm most worried about others passing judgment on.
Time to get over that hurdle. And fast.
Here's a sign of how much of a procrastinator I am. My iMac 'broke' a couple of weeks ago. I fixed it (thank god) and managed to salvage most of my files via backups. I have yet to create a single playlist in iTunes. Not even one for my daughter. Plain sad, if you ask me.
I wonder, sometimes, if I'm avoiding doing anything on purpose. I've always blamed 'fill-in-the-blank block' for preventing me from doing anything outside of what people may consider my normal habits. But really, who cares? If I'm doing something I enjoy, why should anyone else have the right to judge me? I guess in extreme cases (ie. criminal), my actions could be judged, but for the most part, it's my creative acts that I'm most worried about.
The kicker? I'm a graphic designer by trade. Also a semi-non-amateur (make sense?) writer. Yet, those are the two things I'm most worried about others passing judgment on.
Time to get over that hurdle. And fast.
Here's a sign of how much of a procrastinator I am. My iMac 'broke' a couple of weeks ago. I fixed it (thank god) and managed to salvage most of my files via backups. I have yet to create a single playlist in iTunes. Not even one for my daughter. Plain sad, if you ask me.
Pushing aside
I have a feeling, that like my last blog, I will write about procrastinating more than anything else.
So... would that really be procrastinating? Perhaps it's more of an aversion than procrastination. An aversion to what, I don't know, but it's there.
But that's beside the point.
I just spent 15 minutes cleaning up the inbox for an email account I haven't used full-time for 6 years. The last time I cleaned it up was probably in 2007. I had 4058 unread messages, most of them spam. Made me happy - yet again - that I moved over to Gmail when I did.
I wish I spent my time procrastinating more efficiently. Instead, I start reading gossip blogs and I'm sucked in for half an hour. I used to spend that half hour at places like NOTCOT or The Canadian Design Resource. Or, if I was in the mood for a bit of randomness, I'd click the 'Stumble' button on my toolbar for a while, looking for something - perhaps educational - to spend some time with.
I feel like I'm burning through brain cells like there's no tomorrow. I need to rectify this. Only question is, how?
Hrm... I guess this is where I should proclaim that I will avoid the cesspool of gossip blogs I visit every day and start moving back to the good side of the internet to keep my brain from turning to mush and leaking out my ears. But I'm a procrastinator - guess which choice will win.
So... would that really be procrastinating? Perhaps it's more of an aversion than procrastination. An aversion to what, I don't know, but it's there.
But that's beside the point.
I just spent 15 minutes cleaning up the inbox for an email account I haven't used full-time for 6 years. The last time I cleaned it up was probably in 2007. I had 4058 unread messages, most of them spam. Made me happy - yet again - that I moved over to Gmail when I did.
I wish I spent my time procrastinating more efficiently. Instead, I start reading gossip blogs and I'm sucked in for half an hour. I used to spend that half hour at places like NOTCOT or The Canadian Design Resource. Or, if I was in the mood for a bit of randomness, I'd click the 'Stumble' button on my toolbar for a while, looking for something - perhaps educational - to spend some time with.
I feel like I'm burning through brain cells like there's no tomorrow. I need to rectify this. Only question is, how?
Hrm... I guess this is where I should proclaim that I will avoid the cesspool of gossip blogs I visit every day and start moving back to the good side of the internet to keep my brain from turning to mush and leaking out my ears. But I'm a procrastinator - guess which choice will win.
Life
Things have been crazy lately - Keith gone for a week, Maddy growing so fast, my computer dying twice, doctor's appointments, yardwork... so, of course, I've put off a few things, like this blog.
Every time I think I should post something, 'life' happens. Right now, we're dealing with our daughter's sleep issues by using the Ferber method to help both her and us get a good night of sleep for the first time in almost 8 months. There's also the ongoing battle to organize the laundry room, our filing system and our finances. I'm still working on a plan to make some extra money this winter so I don't have to work full-time. And yet, life continues to roll on.
I have a pile of coupons that have to be clipped for our monthly shopping expedition next week, there's a pile of envelopes sitting beside my computer waiting to be opened (no bills, though, thankfully), and I know there's a million other things that I have to do to try to stay sane. Yet, I keep putting a lot of that stuff off, leaving me feeling very overwhelmed.
And no matter how many times I try to get organized, I fail. I don't know if it's a lack of knowledge about how to organize properly or if it's just laziness and cutting corners, but something has to be done so things aren't constantly being put aside, to do another day.
Perhaps today's the day I get organized. A girl can dream, can't she?
Every time I think I should post something, 'life' happens. Right now, we're dealing with our daughter's sleep issues by using the Ferber method to help both her and us get a good night of sleep for the first time in almost 8 months. There's also the ongoing battle to organize the laundry room, our filing system and our finances. I'm still working on a plan to make some extra money this winter so I don't have to work full-time. And yet, life continues to roll on.
I have a pile of coupons that have to be clipped for our monthly shopping expedition next week, there's a pile of envelopes sitting beside my computer waiting to be opened (no bills, though, thankfully), and I know there's a million other things that I have to do to try to stay sane. Yet, I keep putting a lot of that stuff off, leaving me feeling very overwhelmed.
And no matter how many times I try to get organized, I fail. I don't know if it's a lack of knowledge about how to organize properly or if it's just laziness and cutting corners, but something has to be done so things aren't constantly being put aside, to do another day.
Perhaps today's the day I get organized. A girl can dream, can't she?
Streamlining
I tend to procrastinate about almost everything in my life, with the exception of my daughter, who won't let me procrastinate when it comes to her. And as such, I'm already falling into a nasty rut with this particular blog in terms of frequency of posting. As in, I'm not that frequent about it.
I spend a fair amount of 'free time' online. That'd be time where I'm not feeding, playing with or just hanging out with my daughter. My time online is spent checking the same sites over and over and over again, usually a couple of times - each - in 10 or 15 minutes. Shockingly, things rarely change when I'm away from those sites, even for a few moments.
So, I am, right now, going to attempt to post here, on this blog, at least once a day. Even if this place becomes a massive link dump, at least I'm doing something.
Right?
I'll try to keep things from getting to dry or mundane, but I tend to be dry and mundane in real life, so it might be a bit of a stretch.
That said, here's a lovely, wonderful site to get lost in on a Saturday afternoon.
I spend a fair amount of 'free time' online. That'd be time where I'm not feeding, playing with or just hanging out with my daughter. My time online is spent checking the same sites over and over and over again, usually a couple of times - each - in 10 or 15 minutes. Shockingly, things rarely change when I'm away from those sites, even for a few moments.
So, I am, right now, going to attempt to post here, on this blog, at least once a day. Even if this place becomes a massive link dump, at least I'm doing something.
Right?
I'll try to keep things from getting to dry or mundane, but I tend to be dry and mundane in real life, so it might be a bit of a stretch.
That said, here's a lovely, wonderful site to get lost in on a Saturday afternoon.
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