Reminders Can Be Good?

Reminders Can Be Good?

I received a reminder this morning that I needed to update my blog. It told me it had been 4 days, 16 hours and. I don't remember all the specifics, but there was an entire string of numbers telling me how long it had been since I hadn't done something. I had reset the reminder before when it was popping up every day! I knew I needed to be realistic about how often I would be able to write here so I set it for every 4 days. That's when I got the reminder this morning. It must have worked because here I am, blackening a page with alphabetic characters. But it didn't take me long to realize I needed to make a change on how often I wanted that reminder. I've gone through his wonderful delusion before, where I have set reminders, and notices, and used tools to keep me on track, thinking I will get things done more often or on a more timely basis. It didn't always work out as planned. I've figured out that way isn't always the best to motivate myself. It can backfire pretty quickly. It can turn into another reason to feel bad about not achieving something I wanted to do when it hangs out there undone. I'm a pretty self-motivated person as it is. Adding notices and reminders can be a good thing. It's only when I use them to push myself too far, when I have too little time. It's as if when I am the busiest, I will use these type of tools which only set me up to be defeated - by myself. Ah, it's a horrible game of push and shove I play on myself, like nothing anyone else would push me to do. But, ah well. This might have been a good post if I had the time to sort through the ideas I presented. As it stands, it's just a way to be able to delete that reminder out of my inbox, so I can move along to the next notice, reminder, and tracking tool that is ringing away at me at the moment. TT

*sigh*

I need a massage.

I don't really care for massages.  I'm not thrilled with the idea.  I don't think it's the soothing, relaxing experience some people look forward to having done.  I would rather do without.

Unfortunately, I also know that the muscles in my upper shoulders and neck are starting to go beyond the point of being able to un-kink on their own.  They have gotten to the point of the constant ache, and no matter the stretching and prompting myself to relax these spots have eased the feeling of tension that has built up.  I think I have no choice but to surrender to the obvious.  *sigh*

Maybe I can get away with only 30 minutes.  I don't think I could stand an hour.
TT

Friday 'fess up

It's Friday, so it's time for me to 'fess up about my goals. Yes. 

I just posted how I did with the weekly goals I posted on Monday. It turns out, I didn't do as bad as I thought I might. Here are my original goals and how I managed this week.

1)-Arrange to take Friday off from work  
2)-Continue writing on my current short story by committing to:
-Two (2) - 1 hour sessions after work between Monday and Thursday (halloween?!)  
- One (1) - 2 hour session on Friday when off from work  
3)-Run 3 times between Monday and Friday for a minimum distance of 3 miles each time.  I only ran twice for a total of 7 miles (But, I still have the weekend!) 

I had to break down my first writing session into two 30 minute sessions instead of a full hour. I was having terrible trouble getting the words to flow and by the time the clock ticked over to the 30 minute mark I was pretty much toast. I wasn't feeling particularly good about what I had written when I finished that session. As it turned out, I was able to put in another 30 minutes (to complete that hour) early the next morning, and found what I slogged through the day before wasn't too bad. My next attempt went really well and then today, while I was off from work, I skipped through two more one-hour sessions like I was chasing butterflies. There wasn't a thing to worry my silly head over. I must remember this as a testament to keep the discipline, even when I think I need to stop. Hang in there, do the work, even in shorter increments, as long as I consistently keep at it. It's amazing how many written words I have to show when I actually sit down and write them instead of thinking I should. What a concept! 

So, Friday 'fess up wasn't too difficult. I managed to get what I set out to do done. Well, mostly. I did skip one run.
I thought too hard about it.
TT

Ghostly goals

Oh dear, what have I done?

The past few weeks, I have posted weekly goals on Mondays at the writing.com site and updated the status of those goals on Fridays. The StoryMistress (Webmaster) has generously rewarded me, and all the other individuals that commit to their goals, with 1000 gift points for posting goals and another 1000 gift points for following up again on Fridays on how they measured up on achieving what they posted on Monday. It seems to be a good way to think about what you want to accomplish during the five-day time span.  Put it down, act on it, and then review it at the end of the week to see how much you've done. Or how little you managed to do. It's a simple process. Put it down on Monday, 'fess up on Friday.

Sure, simple. But, after last week, I barely managed to 'fess up. I had completed my stated goals by Friday, sort of. I finished the book I was reading  I wrote three book recommendations  I didn't write the Public Review until Sunday  

I decided I was going to skip this week, as far as posting weekly goals. Then, I woke up Monday morning feeling rested, great, ambitious, and I went and posted goals! Not only did I post goals but I made them even more difficult than the prior week. Here is what I committed to do:

1)-Arrange to take Friday off from work
2)-Continue writing on my current short story by committing to:
-Two (2) - 1 hour sessions after work between Monday and Thursday (halloween?!)
- One (1) - 2 hour session on Friday when off from work
3)-Run 3 times between Monday and Friday for a minimum distance of 3 miles each time.

I've lost one day already since this is early Tuesday, before I go to work all day.  I was so tired after work yesterday, I didn't do a thing! All of these goals need to get done after work and I've blown an entire day already! Buckle down, girl. Pick it up, keep your focus, drive ahead. You can still do this if you put your mind to it, right?

Oh dear, what have I done?
Well, I did manage to check the first thing off my list.

I'm off work on Friday! 
TT

I only want

I'm heading out for another run this morning.  I managed five miles yesterday morning but my overall miles over the past months have been in the pits.  This year has not been good for me and running.  I don't have the hard and fast reasons why I haven't been up to par.  If I did, I might have done something to change it.  I certainly don't like where I am, and the only thing I can do is move along.
And moving along is exactly what I will be doing in the next few minutes.  But first, I want to drain this last bit of coffee from my mug.  I want to get these last few words typed up, I want to get those clothes in the dryer when the washer stops.
Oh wait.  I might have hit on some of those reasons.  I've managed to give myself a hundred and one reasons why I need to procrastinate. I don't have time, I need to do this, I missed my window of opportunity.  Yeah, sure.
Not this morning.  Today, I don't care about the coffee, the words, or the laundry.  This morning, I only want to get out and run.
TT

Something better than 'book'

 I found some interesting data yesterday concerning my original book draft within my own computer documents.

Yes.  This is a screen shot.  It's the folder that holds the chapters of my entire draft of my book.  Under the column 'Name' you will see numbers, which is each chapter, and then there is the first column which is titled 'Date Modified'.  You can see I have lots of gaps in between writing, but I  finished the book on 8/24/12.

This screen shot is the 'New folder' of my book draft.  This is the beginning of my revisions.  I started up again on 11/22/12 and went through 12/11/12, cutting and splicing and dicing the story up until that point.  Then I came to a crashing halt.  That was it. No one was giving me input, and I knew it was a mess.

I guess the only reason I thought it was interesting is because I've been thinking about this story again.  It truly IS a mess.  I'm not even sure it could be called a story.  But, if I'm allowed to admit this, it has some good bits of writing in it.  It has some characters that seem to be real.  They are pretty pissed off at me for taking off last year before the holidays, and not giving them a "Hey, how are you, dear friend," in all of that time.  They are sneaking into those early morning waking hours for me, so it might be time to take another stab at a first round of revisions.  I might need to gather these old documents, and do more than take a look at 'Dates Modified'.  I should give myself until 12/11/13 to get started.  That would give me time to finish the draft of the short story I'm slogging through right now.  By that time, I could create a new folder with new dates.  I could even figure out a working title.  Well, I could at least think of something better than 'book'.
TT

Cell phone death

My phone died.

All day Monday I tried and tried to charge it up and it pitifully hovered at 4%.  By 3:30 that day, I was on my way to the Sprint store and they opened it up and prodded it with screwdrivers.  They held out the uncovered flesh of one side for my inspection.  "There," he said as he pointed to a small red rectangle.  "Do you see how that doesn't match the pattern on this side?"  He pushed the other half of my diseased cell phone under my nose.  "It's water damaged."

"No!" I denied.  "I didn't get it wet."  I forcefully kept my gaze steady, and refused to let my eyes move from side to side.

The sprint man just held the two open pieces of my phone in each of his hands, making me view the distinct difference in the red rectangle and the patterned one.  There was no denying they were not the same.  I didn't drop it into water, but could it have built up over time?  That phone is in my pocket when I run.  I get sweaty.  I'm not telling him that, I thought.  How do I know the red pattern means I got it wet?  He could be making it up.

"So, what do I need to do to fix it?" I asked.

"Do you have insurance?"

"No."

He smirked.  Okay, maybe he didn't.  Maybe I smirked.  He said he would add the insurance for me and then I could get a replacement phone for $100.  

What?  $100 for a used phone?  My mind was going into hyper-drive.  Couldn't I buy a brand new phone for that?  I was well into the 22nd month of a 24 year contract, and due for an upgrade anyway.  

"Thank you.  I'll let you know."

I high-tailed it out of there, and headed to my nearest electronic store.    Once I arrived I was able to get a brand new phone.  It cost me a total of $119.68 including tax, and it's faster and better and rings all kinds of sounds and whistles and beeps, and I've found the settings to shut them all off.  Unfortunately, my old phone died before I was able to transfer my photos and contacts.  They couldn't transfer my data because my old phone finally depleted it's charge and just went black.  I had to let it go. 

So, I have a new phone with all the bells and whistles, that I shut off, but without the data I had before.  I'm staying positive, and I'm sure I will build it up again.  Besides, this new phone has 'dropbox' which allows it to backup those kinds of things on my laptop, in the cloud.

So, I've moved on since that fateful Monday.  I will manage without my numbers and photos.  I will boldly continue on from the day my phone died.

TT

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Can you believe it?...this is my 1400 post!