Mae45

You can probably tell from the lack of posting that I have fallen off the wagon (on? I can never remember). Honest truth is that I've been in a sour mood for about a week. I'm not sure why or how to get out of my funk but I do not want to give up on this challenge this time round. I won't, I say! 1. Video record myself while practicing the violin (5/10) I have practiced but I did not record my practices: no checkmarks for me. I also had my second lesson this past Saturday and I am just as excited on the second class as I was on the first. This could be my new favorite thing. I'm still hung up on disturbing the peace around my condo so I ordered a violin mute to help with the volume. It should be coming in tomorrow. 2. Submit all my paperwork for my CPA License by the end of the four weeks. (2/10) Yeah... this has not taken off very well. All I have done is complain about this task and it is only an eight hour course. I think deeper fears are coming into play here. I have devoted some much into this and the big 'what now?' is looming over. I do not like this looming cloud. Get your head in the game, Mae. Okay, the laptop is coming with me tomorrow to work. I can work on it in between work and trivia. My goal is to have it done by Sunday. 3. Battle the Schedule Monster (6/10) I forgot about an appointment yesterday so I lost that battle. (Ack! vanquished!) It was a weekly training that was usually on Tuesdays moved to Monday this week. I wrote in my calendar, it had an alarm...and yet I still managed to drop the ball on that. :-( Today wasn't too bad. Someone was asking about my work schedule this week and I checked my calendar before assuming my day was clear. It was clear but I didn't *assume* it was. Small victories.

1. Video record myself while practicing the violin (4/4) I had a busy day but managed to run home to practice a bit. I can hear the cat running away as soon as I start playing...everyone's a critic. 2. Submit all my paperwork for my CPA License by the end of the four weeks. (2/4) I was celebrating a friend's birthday so there wasn't much time to sit down on a module. And since this is my least favorite task, this is the last thing on my daily to do list. How does one get motivation to do the tasks they really don't want to do? 3. Battle the Schedule Monster (3/4) I did okay. I didn't have much in scheduling so there wasn't much of a challenge today. I have trivia on Wednesday nights and can arrive at anytime before 8. Plenty of time to be on time. I did say 'no' to an invite. This is my biggest problem and my hardest thing to do. A friend wanted to go climbing, but I have my trainer scheduled that night. I could have done both (I would have done both) but climbing would have tired me out and my training session would suffer. That's one thing I haven't considered when I first started battling this monster: it's not just about how I schedule, it's also about how I focus on my schedule.

1. Video record myself while practicing the violin (3/3) A family friend just randomly gave me an electric violin...because that happens. It's actually kind of cool (thank you!) and I want to get it fixed up. I can start practicing more without worrying about my neighbor next door hearing my screeching by plugging in some headphones. 2. Submit all my paperwork for my CPA License by the end of the four weeks. (2/3) I got through 2 out of 5 modules today on the ethics course. It is bad when hearing a voice drone on about ethics just wants me to become unethical for the sheer fact that I have to do this? 3. Battle the Schedule Monster (2/3) Not too bad. Not too bad indeed. I was up earlier than usual just so I can have a jumpstart on the day. Got to work on time (I'm usually cutting it close) and got to a conference call meeting just as the boss was dialing us in. I slacked a little on the 'work blocks' on my calendar but still managed to get a few tasks done. Winning!

This. I overthink all the time. What really gets me is when I think, think, think, deadline! do! do! do! And then I rush and screw up because I rushed.

I have heard of Zombies Run in the past and your description sounds interesting... Time to download app...

Ohhh... this is interesting. I'm intrigued on #11 since we currently have Jose looming over us. What would you say to a tropical storm?

I'm going to count today as a win! 1. Video record myself while practicing the violin (2/2) I got further into my lesson book. It's all about the D string, folks! 2. Submit all my paperwork for my CPA License by the end of the four weeks. (1/2) I had some time before my TM speech so I went through some sections on the ethics course. The thing that annoys me is that I just went over all this ethics info in the CPA exams already. They set you up just to do it again. 3. Battle the Schedule Monster (1/2) Yahhhh! I was on time for my meeting at Toastmasters. I have also started something today at work where I schedule blocks of time in my calendar for items on my to do list. This may be motivating in focusing myself to do the work and get my stuff in on time. I must repeat the experiment tomorrow.

1. Video record myself while practicing the violin (1/1) Did my first rendition of 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'. It was as you'd expect for a beginner (aka horrible) but I did it! I may also be practicing in the basement so my neighbor doesn't hear... 2. Submit all my paperwork for my CPA License by the end of the four weeks. (0/1) Nope. I was working on a Toastmasters speech on Sunday so that took most of my time. The speech is tonight so that will be done soon. 3. Battle the Schedule Monster (0/1) The monster is stronger than expected. I woke up late on Sunday. I was so very tired from the week so that as an excuse. Then, I was late for a meet up. On the plus side, I did clean and worked on prep by servicing my car and grocery shopping for the week. Lessons learned from battle 1: - Go to bed at a decent hour - It is a mental game - try meditation

Welp, I am already in trouble with #3. 'Stick to a schedule' seemed so simple at the start, but last night I realized that I don't have a scheduling problem. I have a Scheduling Monster. Four years ago, life was care-free with very little responsibilities. My schedule and I were young. We were able to do things on a whim just because I felt like it. Go on a hike? No problem. Explore a new town/state/country? Just a matter of filling up the gas in the car. Then, I made the decision to go for my CPA. I don't regret my decision. I learned a lot about my profession from studying for the CPA exams. And it's a huge accomplishment getting this far. I'm proud of what I have done these past 4 years. Unfortunately, the downside was that I was very self-contained: ('Sorry I can't do this. I have to study.' or 'Mae is late but she's probably studying') This wasn't right but everyone was expecting it when I started this mission. Last month I passed my last exam. The Scheduling Monster is no longer contained and it is ANGRY. Everything that I put on hold during the exams (running, hiking, climbing) is conflicting with everything I did during the exams (Toastmasters, side job, socializing) which is conflicting with everything I wanted to do after the exams (violin, writing). It's exhausting and keeping to the status quo from BC (Before CPA) is no longer feasible because I am not that person anymore. I have more responsibilities. I have more I want to do but with less time to do them. So Day 1 on this Challenge and I'm already making a change: 3. Stick to my schedule Battle the Scheduling Monster I don't want to kill it. I want to control it. I want to soothe it and calm it now that we are in the AS (After Score) era. I need weapons: Calendar Phone I need armor: Confidence to say 'no' when necessary Most importantly, I need to be more prepared: Get ready for the day the night before Declutter my environment (get rid of the static) Think hard about what my priorities are and what they should be I am also open to advice. Any tips/suggestions as I head out to battle this monster?

Thank you! That would be a good question. A few things I will keep in mind: 1. Keep it simple 2. write it down, and, here is an important one, 3. don't say 'yes' to someone until I check my calendar. I've gotten in trouble with double booking because I didn't do this.

Well, I tried a 4 week challenge before and it did not work out to well. I made it about a week before my motivation dwindled out (which was a week more than I was expecting!). So, I redid my Quests worksheet and thought about why I did not succeed the first time. I geared to try this again starting next week but I will be choosing less to focus on. I have the bad habit of not following through because I overwhelm myself. That is not to say I won't work on my other side quests, I just won't focus on them: Dun Dun! I, Mae, for the next four weeks will focus on: 1. Video record myself while practicing the violin I start my first lesson on Saturday so I think this is the perfect time to record my practices so I can go back and see a progression on my learning. 2. Submit all my paperwork for my CPA License by the end of the four weeks. Yes, a big goal with a lot of steps but I am *so* close to finishing after four years and yet I am stalling at the finish line. I can complete this by the deadline, I know I can. I just need to sit down and do the work. If you are wondering, the steps include: - Complete the ethics course and take the exam - Complete and give my boss the paperwork to sign off on my work experience - Request my college transcripts - Complete and submit (with check) the application for a CPA license. 3. Stick to my schedule Battle the Schedule Monster A major problem I have is in my schedule. I write on my calendar times to run, study, work, practice, etc and I end up not doing it if I don't have to meet up with someone or no one is on me to complete the task. I need more self-discipline on sticking to what I have written down. Once it's down, it must be done. Three. Done. Even as I type this I want to add more but...no.

Well, I tried a 4 week challenge before and it did not work out to well. I made it about a week before my motivation dwindled out (which was a week more than I was expecting!). So, I redid my Quests worksheet and thought about why I did not succeed the first time. I geared to try this again starting next week but I will be choosing less to focus on. I have the bad habit of not following through because I overwhelm myself. That is not to say I won't work on my other side quests, I just won't focus on them: Dun Dun! I, Mae, for the next four weeks will focus on: 1. Video record myself while practicing the violin I start my first lesson on Saturday so I think this is the perfect time to record my practices so I can go back and see a progression on my learning. 2. Submit all my paperwork for my CPA License by the end of the four weeks. Yes, a big goal with a lot of steps but I am *so* close to finishing after four years and yet I am stalling at the finish line. I can complete this by the deadline, I know I can. I just need to sit down and do the work. If you are wondering, the steps include: - Complete the ethics course and take the exam - Complete and give my boss the paperwork to sign off on my work experience - Request my college transcripts - Complete and submit (with check) the application for a CPA license. 3. Stick to my schedule A major problem I have is in my schedule. I write on my calendar times to run, study, work, practice, etc and I end up not doing it if I don't have to meet up with someone or no one is on me to complete the task. I need more self-discipline on sticking to what I have written down. Once it's down, it must be done. Three. Done. Even as I type this I want to add more but...no.

Hi All! This will be the first challenge I participate in on this forum so I may need to get use to the rules/format. I have done aspects of this before on my blog: http://mae45.blogspot.com/ To sum up, I have four tasks I'll be working on in the next four weeks: 1) Yoga everyday 2) Practice 50 CPA Multiple Choice Questions everyday 3) Read 30 minutes everyday 4) Limit takeout and eating out to $20 per day. This will be interesting and I look forward to what I'll accomplish in the next four weeks! Mae