February Bootcamp 2012: Play and Productivity!

Wrapping up this week and this goal with the gift of a four-day weekend. For some reason it is really slow at work right now and my other sources have nothing going on either. Not the best fiscal position to be in but maybe still a chance to be productive in other areas that are equally important.

The whole idea of play has almost totally escaped me during this goal. Sure, we did some playing in Birmingham last weekend, but rather than be impulsive and undirected, I mapped out our fun and our play like a German general plotting a campaign. In other words, it was work to plan the play. Productive, but not what I was hoping for as far as spontaneous goes.

By Monday I will be moving on to the March Bootcamp, but I still have four days to fill with productivity and play. Yesterday I impulsively called a friend and we got together for a couple of hours in the morning and that was fun. I worked my list of chores and that was productive. I selected and booked a late summer cruise for S. and I this year. It is not the one we originally wanted to do because the airfare to Europe is ungodly expensive, twice the Med cruise we wanted to take. But this will be nice and we go places we have not been before. I got a chance to get under the hood of S.’s car which has been giving her trouble. She took it to repair shop and they wanted $200 up front just to diagnosis the problems so yesterday I dragged out my tools and checked a few things out. I replaced all the spark plugs, fixed the right rear turn signal bulb and refitted the hatchback handle. The car still needs to have the valve cover gasket replaced at a very minimum and a general tune-up and compression test is probably required. But changing the plugs resolved the performance problems and made the “check engine” light go off. It took me about an hour and cost $20. She was very impressed with my handymanness and after a shower I was able to get under her hood and tinker around until she was running smooth, too.

Friday I’ve still got a list of things to do that include giving the chiropractor an answer on whether I want to proceed with the treatment regimen he suggested. For fun I’m going to meet up with a couple of people I work with; it is their birthdays this weekend and we are getting together at a Mexican restaurant for drinks and celebration.

Saturday I’ve got work around the house including raking out and prepping the garden for the vegetables and lettuces I plan to get going. My herbs crashed in their starter pots over the weekend while I was not here to water them, but I can start more pretty easily. I also want to take a ride up into the mountains, maybe to Blood Mountain, and get outdoors a little.

Sunday should be chore free and all play. If I can figure out what kind of play I want to do. I won’t try and plan it too hard, just open myself to opportunity. Oh, I also need to do some hard thinking and planning about how to deal with the upcoming promotion being foisted on me at work. In that situation, I will have to be much more responsive and much less reactive.

Busy work schedule, home life and appointments have joined forces to interfere with my daily workout routine. I’ve been going to the gym but not making the progress I mapped out at the beginning of the year. Need to fall back a little and replan. Compounding the aggravation is my stupid shoulder and its stupid slow healing making a lot of stupid exercises stupid impossible. Can’t do a decent set of burpees, bench presses, overhead presses or pushups, among others. But there’s nothing to do about it except keep tending the injured area and taking it easy. I’m going back to the gym with a new plan tomorrow that will emphasis a lot of core exercises. There is some controversy about the value of dedicated core exercises, suggesting that they are unnecessary, or should be done in conjunction with upper and lower body workouts. I’ve got to do some that not only strengthen my core but develop a greater range of motion in my midsection. My main productivity goal for the next three weeks is to hammer away at my core.

Another productivity goal, to bring in some more money, maybe fulfilling itself since I’ve been offered a promotion with a pay increase. I’ve also been working at other odd jobs which is a lot of extra work, but adds to the coffiers a bit. Also I paid off my vehicle this week and got the title back. Now that monthly payment is freed up and I can see about changing my auto insurance terms for a better rate.

On a third productivity front I took a simple step of making hotel reservations for a weekend getaway we are planning for April. Small, measured steps.

Play has been a bit harder. I’ve had fun, during Valentine’s Day of course, and other singular days that were breaks from the routine, but they are the routine breaks. What would be great would be to find an activity or event that allows me to almost step out of myself and do something unique. Still working on that.

I am excited about this month’s bootcamp because it gives me a chance to create a balance between play and productivity. Usually one comes at the expense of the the other in my life. I workworkworkwork until I’m miserable and feel like I’m missing out on so much, then I go overboard and have a big play blowout and like a guy who gets a fat paycheck on Friday and wakes up hungover and broke on Monday I have a helluva time… and pay a helluva cost.

But why not a little of both, in proportion and balance? I’ve often used play as a reward for productivity, but can’t play be an incentive to productivity? I need to make play more what it is meant to be: a release from the routine and occupying my mind and body with events solely for amusement and sport. Rather than controlled and purposeful, it is better to be a little light and irregular, like wind upon the water. Small, reasonable doses of fun. And I mean real fun. An hour watching tv is not fun for me. Fun has to get me out of my routines, not reinforce them.

Equally with productivity. Turning a corner here I need to be productive in many areas of my life, not just one or two. Sometimes I get so focused on doing one thing so well that it eclipses everything else, and the life that goes on outside of that one scenario gets negleted and delayed and overlooked. I need an organized vision and commitment to being broadly productive, and not letting things get overshadowed by what seems the pressing matter at the moment.

Right now if I can achieve a 3/1 ration of productivity to fun, that would be a great start. I’ll spend the month figuring out how to strike that balance.