[Mistr]

With the late fall 2024 challenge, I am back around to my first challenge of the year.

 

My top goal for this challenge is to take notes in my log book. Especially to write down how I am feeling about things. I frequently wonder if I am making the right choices. Writing down what I did and how it worked out will help me evaluate that. Having notes also helps me see what I really did when I am trying to figure out where all my time went.

 

I still have not found the magic wand to wave and get my energy back. I see some improvement, but nowhere near where I was before. I am feeling a tug-of-war between "I want to get this DONE" and "I want to sit on the couch with a warm beverage and relax".

 

As this is largely a mental health challenge, I am giving myself credit for anything I get done. Shiny stars for things that have been bugging me. This means that washing the dishes counts, but taking a pile of stuff to the charity shop counts extra because I no longer have to look at the pile.

 

I will also set specific goals so that I have accountability to get them done.

 

Bonus goal #1: figure out how to use the electric spinner I bought last year so that I can actually do spinning at my local spinning group meeting next Monday.

[Mistr]

Small wins:

• toasted walnuts to use on salads and in brownies
• printed out homeowners insurance paperwork for the mortgage company

This evening may include cleaning and cooking or maybe not. TBD.

[Sovalis]

Good stuff. Here to cheer!

[Heidi]

16 hours ago, Mistr said:

I am giving myself credit for anything I get done. Shiny stars for things that have been bugging me. This means that washing the dishes counts, but taking a pile of stuff to the charity shop counts extra because I no longer have to look at the pile.

I have two categories for tasks: Done and Done&Dusted. The first is for thigns that recur, like dishes or laundry or making my bed, and the second is for tasks that are complete, such as building the bookcase. I like that you are giving yourself shiny stars for the Done&Dusted things; this always helps me remember to give myself credit and also acknowledge that there is an end point. I also like that you are giving credit for the slow-burn of daily life management (dishes for one person is a churn; dishes for more than one can feel like an onerous slog). 

 

For the mindset challenge, I like that you are looking at logging how you feel. 

Several years ago I picked up a Five Year journal, a blank book with five sections on each day that then get filled out on subsequent years. I was intrigued, but had no real understanding, and then three years into it, I saw patterns.

How the hell am I writing the same thing I wrote last year and the year before? Can that even be right?

or

Wow, that thing I wrote last year seems forever ago; I've really changed the dynamic in that.

And these insights were super helpful. 

I've contiuned with the five year journal model, and 2024 is my last year in this book, which also feels a bit like closing a chapter. 

Do you have any way to juxtapose your daily reflections for a larger view?

 

I do wholly support the daily reflections in any event. #DruidApproved.

[Harriet]

Excellent. I wish you many shiny stars for satisfyingly completed tasks. May you gaze upon your work and find it good.

[Mistr]

I am so glad the forums are back up. I missed you all when the site was being updated.

 

In retrospect, I should not be surprised that I was a slug last night. The whole reason I went home instead of to aikido was that I had a sleep fail on Tuesday and had no brain. Turns out that means I did not have the energy to do anything new, not even pick up a new book to read. I didn't feel exhausted, just totally unmotivated. It was an achievement to get to bed on time.

• Got my new challenge posted

4 hours ago, Heidi said:

Do you have any way to juxtapose your daily reflections for a larger view?

 

No, not really. I keep a spreadsheet view for exercise, aikido and zen. That lets me quickly see the patterns and figure out what to do next in things that rotate through several options. I have old notebooks going back for years, but I mostly use them to look back for specific information.

 

Thanks to Dumbledore's urging, I have tomorrow off. I have four weeks of vacation time accumulated and no trips planned. So I am taking a long weekend every other week. My plan is to work on projects at home. I would like to get a lot of the fall yard work done, clean the floors in the house and do spinning and knitting.

[Heidi]

2 hours ago, Mistr said:

So I am taking a long weekend every other week

I really like this for you.

Please be stingy and exclusive with this time. 

You have an appointment with yourself. 🙂