do the next right thing

Over the last few weeks, I’ve felt less & less productive. I’ve been shrugging off my homework and choosing to snack, watch TV, and mope around. I’m not sure how to rediscover my strength or groove. Today, I’ve already been a bit productive and I’d like to accomplish a bit more:

• Sweep kitchen floor
• Swiffer kitchen floor
• Clean kitchen sink
• Spot clean kitchen
• Finish reading assignments for class
• Pick out meals to cook for the next few days
• Print my Becker cards
• Create a list of cleaning chores divided between my sweetie & I for this week

The Coming Week
Work has been dragging me down. I take the stress of my work home every night, literally & figuratively. This next week will be an emotional one, and I need to take care of myself (in a healthy way) and start tackling my homework.

• Find & flag 10 more articles to read for my literature review
• Print & read those articles
• Complete my cleaning task every night
• Go to the gym 3 times

For the first time in almost 3 months, I have a day off from work, and so I have both rejuvenation and accomplishment:

• Pick up a pastry from my favorite bakery in S. Mpls ... closed so I went to another great bakery
• Go to school and print the readings for Wk 11
• Pick up tuna & crab cakes at local fish shop
• Have crab cakes & spinach from Every Day Pasta from lunch
• Read Sections 4-11 in the Stats textbook
• Swiffer the living room floor
• Buy a halogen bulb and mini-blinds from Target or Home Depot

Friday night added some additional stress to my life. I accidentally side-swiped a retaining wall next to my parking spot and that resulted in some minor but most likely expensive damage to my car. Anyhow, I’ve already reported this to my insurance company and now have to wait for them to send an agent out to inspect the damage.

Now, I have to get back to living and not let this cause me mental anguish. The next right things will be:

• Update my budget tracking for October
• Read Chapter 9 from the textbook
• Watch another episode of House
• Wash the dishes ... done but more dishes to wash now
• Clean the kitchen counters
• Read Sections 4-11 in the Stats textbook
• Swiffer the living room floor
• Ask my sweetie to sweep the kitchen
• Go to school and print the readings for Wk 11

As my fiance noted yesterday, I’m in a rut. I’ve been kind of down since last weekend… there’s a lot of things in my life that are pulling on me, both necessary chores and potential fun (or lack of it more precisely). Anyhow, I have an evening of work to do with a bit of fun to balance it out:

• Pay the bills
• Read the 1st section of my homework
• Watch an episode of House, MD
• Read the 2nd section of my homework
• Watch another episode of online TV goodness
• Work for an hour or more ... wow, 1.75 hours down
• Organized 2 more drawers in the 2nd bedroom

Okay, I was more productive than I even expected… yay!

Despite some sleepiness and procrastination, yesterday turned out great. I finished my paper this morning and have a good start on my annotated bibliography.

• Grocery shop and stay under my set limit
• Finish the annotated bibliography
• Go to the gym and run for at least 20 minutes
• Buy an iPod Nano
• Clean the bathroom, with my sweetie’s help
• Begin re-organizing the second bedroom

A business trip & school never seem to combine well for me. To top it off, I got sick during this trip and slept badly most of the three nights, so I accomplished very little toward my school work. Thank heavens I forced myself to complete all the reading before I left.

Today, I am going to be alternating the joy of cleaning, laundry and homework. Though, homework is the first priority because I have two assignments due tomorrow at 4:30pm.

• Finish the 2nd page of my paper
• Unpack my suitcase & put away its contents
• Sort & put in a load of laundry
• Read 2-3 of the historical research articles for my citations
• Neaten up the living room
• Finish the 3rd page of my paper
• Browse recipes & pick 3 for grocery shopping
• Read another 2-3 articles for the citations

I cannot buy my iPod Nano today until the paper is done. Speaking of which, I had a goal which I completed outside 43 things to stay within my budget for eating out, groceries and miscellaneous until 10/20, and if I did, I could finally buy a new iPod. Yay!

Yes, it’s another day to be busy and productive (though not as crazy as last weekend).

• Finish all of my readings for class, listed below
• Chapter 8 of Basic Research Methods
• Historical Inquiry – Telling Real Stories
• Information History
• Unannounced & Unexpected: The Desegregation of…
• Call United Noodles about take-out boxes
• Prep origami supplies for my trip
• Go for a run/walk outside.
• 4:30pm: Volunteer at Church
• Pack for my business trip
• Create a personalized tag for my origami gifts
• Begin searching for historical citations for my topic

Saturday is all about finishing, proofing and revising my paper and so with that said:

• Finish writing the paper completed at about 3pm
• Proof & revise the paper ongoing throughout the day
• Relax & then repeat steps above several times throughout the day
• Cook a healthy, tasty breakfast
• Cook a delicious, frugal lunch

For tonight:

• Read through the paper twice
• Complete 2 sets of stair push-ups
• Eat a lite dinner and minimal snacks

So far these short lists are really quite helpful. It allows me to focus my attention on the 4-5 items each day and plan ahead to handle situations in a positive manner.

• Complete week 5 of the Couch to 5k!
• Cook a healthy dinner ... not perfect but good enough
• Write another page of paper… 1/2 a page down, this may wait until tomorrow
• Post responses to at least 2 discussion questions
• Complete 10 knee push-ups

Tonight, I must start writing this paper, despite the fact that I feel like I don’t know up from down on the topic. What’s left to do:

• Research the requirements for the paper
• Write at least one page
• Two sets of ten stair push-ups
• Quick trip to Target for more soda & only one piece of chocolate… no other snacks or indulgences allowed
• Draft my second discussion questions