January is two-thirds done now, so it seems like a good time to do a goals reality check.
1. Financial area – Quicken has not been updated. In fact, I’ve just begun getting things arranged for the New Year, spreadsheets created new for 2011, etc. I tackled my desk (again!) yesterday and that is the plan for this afternoon, to finish clearing my desk. We had the opportunity last week to rent our property in Alabama and so I spent several days making those arrangements and getting documents in the mail.
2. Personal goals – I have (mostly) replaced playing online Solitaire with putting together a puzzle! I can’t say that I have not played any games of solitaire, but my time has certainly been reduced drastically. Now, if I have five or ten minutes to kill, I go work on the puzzle instead.
3. Personal goals – My guitar practicing has not been quite as successful, although there has been progress there too. I have remembered to practice 12 out of the last 24 days, but most of that was in the first half of that time period. One day missed and then I forgot for several days. But even with that amount of time, my fingers are getting more limber and my finger drills are going better. I think I am about ready to move along to the next section of the DVD Lessons, chords!
4. Personal goals – I have not “put myself out there more”, not yet, anyway. I did start back up with my clogging lessons last week! I was not as far behind as I thought and I remembered most everything. Bill & I did try to go square dancing to a new club on Tuesday’s the first week of January, but we didn’t have the proper directions and never found the place. And the last two weeks haven’t worked out. I am going to stop in at the Library tomorrow and see about any book clubs.
5. Personal goals – Calling my siblings. I called my sister Wendy last weekend for her birthday! One down, three more to go and only 12 days left in the month!
6. Blogs – I am doing great with my personal blog, especially since I joined the 365 Mommytography Project and have to post a picture each day. Actually, that is probably contributing to my getting less done in other areas. I am having too much fun taking, editing and posting pictures! But I have done a few posts to my Leaping blog. I am still debating whether to continue my Racing blog or not. I don’t seem to be able to generate a continuing interest in writing about racing. My domain renews in March, so I will have to decide by then whether to continue it or not.
7. Website – I definitely need to be working harder in this area. No, I want to be working harder in this area! I forget that I am working on changing my thinking from “should do” and “need to do” to “want to” in order to change my procrastination tendencies. So, I want to be working on my website. And I do!
I really like the puzzle idea. I miss being able to do puzzles. Our wild kittie doesn’t leave anything like that alone for a minute.
Good luck on your decision on the racing blog.
We had to put a sheet of tin foil over the puzzle when we began working on it. Copper thought it was just the place to take a nap! She did not appreciate the foil at all!!
The puzzle is an awesome idea! I may have to try that, too.
I’ve cut back on my solitaire – and discovered that the urge to play seems associated with being tired. So I’m looking at other ways to deal with that, since solitaire really just makes me a zoombie, not perk up at all.
I’m struggling to stay current with our financial spreadsheet, too. Right now I’m off to add a couple of cash expenditures this week. Thanks for the nudge.
And if you aren’t interested in your racing blog anymore, I think it might be time to let it go.
I play solitaire when I have five or ten minutes to kill before I do something, like start supper or wait for the washing machine to finish so I can hang up the clothes. It doesn’t seem like long enough to do anything productive. Not long enough to open my HTML editor and make any web edits. Not long enough to open Quicken and update any accounts. Not even long enough to pick up my current book and read a bit. But, of course, it is long enough to do both of those things, but I always feel like I need longer periods of time. And then I end up spending way longer than five minutes playing solitaire. I’ve had this same trouble in the past with other games that were on my computer and I ultimately had to just go cold turkey, have David remove them from my computer. Harder to remove FB! I’m hoping the puzzles and guitar will wean me away, but cold turkey may be the solution again.
Colleen – I made a list (way back in ahem FlyLady days) of things to do ‘while’ and still work through them. So now if I’ve got three minutes I do a hot spot pick up, wipe down windowsills or a window, or clear the recycling etc.
Still struggle with what to do when I’m feeling tired… usually I end up reading blogs 😉