Tuesday 13 July 2010

The Outlook Was Decidedly Blue But As I Walked Through The Foggy Streets Alone It Turned Out To Be The Luckiest Day I've Known

I try to be an efficient person. I make lists and I plan and I think of possible outcomes and different scenarios. I spend a lot of time thinking. I scheme.

I keep myself busy. I spin from one project to the next, barely allowing myself time to take a breath. I often don't finish a project before I hurl myself into the next, leaving a trail of inefficiency and unfinished projects in my wake. The unfinished projects pile up until I am paralyzed at the thought of how much time they would require to complete. It's silly. If I just buckled down and completed the tasks, I could check them off my list and move on. Instead, I avoid my old / incomplete / difficult / uncomfortable projects for new! fun! exciting projects like painting the bedroom or reading the Stieg Larsson trilogy. Which is why I have three weeks to complete two modules and assignments before my accounting final but I could talk in depth about Lisbeth Salander and my bedroom walls are the perfect shade of dove grey with a deep turquoise accent wall.

It's something I struggle with - the self-discipline and willpower to accomplish the boring stuff. I'm trying to find the balance between the mundane and the exciting. I'm not always successful (clearly) but I am getting better (says the lady who is blogging instead of reading her accounting textbook. *sigh*)

19 comments:

  1. I could have written this myself. I never finish anything...and I hate it. I also have the most difficult time nailing down the most important tasks and even though they stress me out, I fail to just BUCKLE DOWN. Ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm right there with you. I have IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS! And piles of unfinished projects in every corner. But I either never start them but say "Oh, I'll start this project when..." or I start them all gung ho, then get bored and move on to something else. I've done this my whole life. I'm almost 30 and have no idea how to change.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have the hardest time completing things, as well. My to-do list is extravagant.

    (Also, I don't know why but the RSS feed of your blog isn't updating in my Reader, I haven't read here in a while!! :( Gonna work on getting that fixed!!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Um. Me too.

    (See you Saturday!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah, not many people enjoy the boring tasks and would gladly do just about anything else instead. Perhaps you could create a reward system. For example, if you study for 4 hours, you get an 1 hour of something you really want to do. Something that is realistic for you and that you think you could actually stick to.

    I think my friend would tell me that I was just supposed to sympathize and not offer a solution of any kind. Sorry about that. I hope you pull it all off.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amy: Yes! Exactly. My stress does not translate into actually getting things accomplished. It's ridiculous and frustrating and something I need to fix.

    Stevie: Me neither. If you figure it out, let me know :)

    Jessica Maria: I like that you describe your to-do list as extravagant. I think I will start doing that too :) It sounds better than "extensive" and "shameful."

    Angella: Ugh. It's so silly, isn't it? You'd think that as type-A people we'd have our shit sorted. In my case, it just means that I worry and fret about it :)

    J: Solutions are always welcome!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm a lot like this too - I love being busy and having lots of stuff on the go, but I also like VARIETY which also translates to lots of unfinished projects. And many half-read books sitting around my house :) They do say that disorganization and haphazardness are signs of a creative mind though, so at least we can take comfort in that along with the stress of it :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sometimes deadlines are the only thing that keep me on track ... and a deadline way out in the future does no good. That and a very clear reward system seem to do the trick for me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am all kinds of understanding of the blogging/doing 8 million other things rather than the task you're supposed to be doing. However. I would like to know just one thing, lady. WHERE is the picture of the perfect shade of dove grey with a deep turquoise accent wall? Because wow, would I love to see this.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Emily-Jane: Oh! I like that. I'm creative, not flighty!!

    Nilsa: Oh I am a superstar when I have a concrete deadline (that I didn't set myself.) It's when the deadline is far off in the future or is more of a suggestion than a demand that I falter.

    Lemon Gloria: Well. I was going to post a picture of my amazing paint job but I still need to touch up the seam where the blue wall touches the grey walls. I need some sort of special brush that will give me extreme accuracy. I'm going to go buy a brush, really. I am. It's on my to-do list. *sigh* Did I mention that I painted the bedroom 7 weeks ago? For 7 weeks I have been thinking about buying a brush. It will literally take me an hour to do, once I actually have the brush.

    ReplyDelete
  11. But reading Stieg Larson's trilogy is just SO MUCH more entertaining!!

    I'm never good with deadlines unless I'm being held accountable by someone else.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved the Stieg Larson books. So much better than studying. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm a huge fan of building in rewards- for studying I'll study for a half hour and then read something fun or watch TV for 10 minutes. Changing it up regularly makes it less of a chore.

    And I sometimes treat myself like I'm 6. If I get a popscicle after, I'm more of a happy camper along the way lol

    ReplyDelete
  14. Finally... someone to put into words all the things that I have been feeling this past week. I have so many little tasks to accomplish and yet no motivation to get them done.. How can we buckle down and just do it? Let me know when you find the solution!

    Best,

    Hannah Katy

    ReplyDelete
  15. I can totally, completely relate.....TOTALLY.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Those wall colors sound divine! (And I am guilty of the same thing... not finishing things before starting something new. I think it means we are awesome.)

    OX!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I don't think it sounds like you have trouble with self-discipline, I think you don't want to read an accounting textbook, which would make you human. I mean, I like to read and learn, but I'm pretty sure I would rather have my feet gnawed off by a badger than read an accounting textbook.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi, let's talk about how pretty your new design is. Because it is, like a lot.

    Also, grey and turquoise are one of my fave color combos!

    ReplyDelete
  19. We may have been separated at birth. You should read: "What to do when you want to do everything?" by Barbara Sher.

    Also; I've figured out a way to manage the endless ideas conundrum. This may not work for you but give it a try. Get a beautiful, large notebook (something that you feel is like a keepsake) and every time you have a new idea, write it out in there. It frees your mind to focus on finishing the ideas you had before. After years of trying to figure this out, I've not only become a "starter" but I've also become a "finisher". I do have to keep a close check on myself and a personal project management schedule (sort of: a page in my idea book where I block in the little ideas I've decided to act on and the longer-term projects that I want to finish no matter what).

    I also wrote out a short list of things entitled "What I wouldn't forgive myself for not doing" if I was about to die tomorrow. Whenever I have an idea that I want to act on, I check back to those life goals. Do they go any way towards furthering those? Or are they great ideas, but for someone else? (If they're only little ideas that will take an afternoon or a day or two, I might do them anyway just for fun).

    ReplyDelete