State of the me

[electricland]

Well, that didn't take long! Having missed 3 days of April already, I shall try -- but only try -- to do better for the rest of the month.

I've been trying to Make My Life Better this year, something I often attempt but rarely follow through on. Don't get me wrong, my life is really good. I have a job I love, a great house in a great neighbourhood, wonderful friends and family, a sweet dog. That said... my job frequently drives me bananas, the house is neither finished nor tidy, I sometimes go weeks on end without seeing anyone outside my immediate circle, and my dog could use some manners. In short, there's always room for improvement.

At present, I'm trying to improve:
- my housekeeping
- my attitude and productivity at work
- my finances
- my fitness

These are all connected to a certain extent. I'm trying to make it to the gym three times a week (I fell off the bandwagon a bit when Jen started going to meditation classes on Thursday nights, and haven't quite readjusted); when I go regularly, I notice improvements in my mood and energy. (And it means I'm using my membership, which is a plus on the financial side.) I'm also using some of the same tools to deal with all of these areas. For starters, I'm trying to track my progress; I've noticed that it's all too easy to focus on everything that still needs to be done and ignore all the improvements that I've already made, so writing down what I do is really helpful.

I've also signed up with FlyLady. Yes, it's often a bit goofy, but I actually find the relentless good cheer and encouragement really helpful. And I love and NEED the philosophy that it's OK to be imperfect and that I'm not behind, I just need to do SOMETHING. Particularly at work, my self-imposed tasks often pile up really fast, and I find myself in the office at 7 p.m. when I should be home feeding my dog, paralyzed by the thought of everything I still have to get done. I need to give myself permission to say "OK, clearly I'm not getting anything else done right now, I'll start fresh tomorrow" at a reasonable hour.

I've been considering a 101 goals in 1001 days project, but I haven't come up with enough goals yet. I sort of feel like they shouldn't all be things I would/should be doing anyway, like painting my trim or loading music onto my iPod. Except, is that really a barrier if I haven't done them yet and likely won't without the encouragement? This is something I need to work through. On the other hand, most of the goals will keep quite happily until I've got my life enough in order to sit down and think about more goals. So I can take more time to ponder.

I'm also trying to work on some personal commandments a la The Happiness Project. Again, this is something I feel like I can take some time with. Jen is working on a variant of her Resolutions Chart; I like that idea too. Maybe next month.

Obviously, Jen has been self-improving as well, so any day now we ought to be shining beacons of mental and emotional stability, productivity, and tidiness. OK, perhaps not, but incremental improvement is very welcome too.

I've always had this feeling like if my life was going well in one area, it had to be catastrophic in another. If my house was organized, work was sure to be a disaster, and vice versa. I think a lot of the time I psych myself out. In a way, Operation Make My Life Better is an attempt to get past that.

I'll keep you posted.

Comments

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

A very dear friend of mine swears by FlyLady, so you're in very good company. :)

[electricland.livejournal.com]

this is encouraging!

I like the routines, too. I mean, much of it seems like it should be obvious, but if it was really so obvious I'd have been doing it already. So I definitely need the system! And so far so good.

[raithen.livejournal.com]

{{hugs you}} Happy you are here, more. Also, missers you....

[electricland.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Going to Rogers soon to see what they can do for me in the way of a phone plan. I miss you too!

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

Sending you massive hugs and wishing I was more awake so that I might type something useful. *hugs*

[electricland.livejournal.com]

thank you!

support is always welcome. And useful is also welcome, but not mandatory in any way!

*hugs*

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

Hee! There are times when the most useful thought in my brain is as follows: "Hugs...er, sleep, plotz, cat, hug"

Keep breathing and be kind to yourself.

[pretentiousgit.livejournal.com]

You can and should put Painting Of Trim on the goals list. Seriously, we finally got a functioning vacuum cleaner only last week because I just lost it and was like NEW CLEANER RIGHT NOW, NO, NOW, I MEAN IT. So.. yes. Put minor things as well as major ones on the 101.

The idea is just to give you a checklist to run through, after all.

[electricland.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. Good point. I shall revisit the list! And after all, at an average of 1 goal every 10 days, they can't ALL be massive and impressive.