Prioritization: Want vs. Need
I've been meaning to come back and post here for some time now - I have books to tell you about, and probably thoughts and such as well - but my energy levels have been unpredictable, and not usually super-high, and so it has gone by the wayside. It doesn't mean I haven't missed you all. In fact, when my energy levels plummet, I don't have lots of tolerance for socialization, but it is nice to know others are out there and thinking of me.
To borrow a phrase (and then repurpouse it) from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, I pretty much dropped my basket this fall. My bullet journal contains about six daily entries in September, one in October, and one in the month of November. I have a grand total of seven for the month of December (one on the 1st, one on the 5th, and then the last five days). Which is to say, that I'm starting to try to get some semblance of order and action going around here. Wish me luck.
About that November entry . . . I wrote it on November 29th, and it is not a usual daily page (with little boxes and triangles and to-dos and have-dones). Instead, it's a couple pages of rambling, as I started to try to get all the clamor out of my head and down on paper, so I could (perhaps) sort it out and get going.
I essentially dumped things into two categories: Things I NEEDED, and things that I WANTED. I started with NEED, and it contains a mere five items: a haircut, new glasses, to complete some disability paperwork, to write a book review for Guys Lit Wire (since the deadline was coming up), and to pay bills. The "I WANT" list is significantly longer, and includes both practical items (finish crocheting an afghan, buy a power cord for my daughter's laptop) and more fanciful or abstract ones (dance more, get back to writing).
Turns out that setting the lists up as I did naturally helped me to prioritize. The NEEDs definitely weigh a lot more than the WANTs, and are therefore 80% accomplished. As you probably know, I got that Guys Lit Wire review done (of A Christmas Carol, since 'tis the season, fa la la). And I completed three other tasks, too - the paper stuff right away, the haircut last week. But I still really need new eyeglasses, which I will get around to soon. (Why is it so hard to pick out frames? Why do I dread it so much? Who can say, and yet I reallyreally need them because they are a stronger prescription and this current one isn't cutting it anymore.)
The WANTS list had 23 things on it, some with sublists (e.g., "paint" has 7 subheadings, and some of those are not singular items). I am working on it, but more slowly. And that's okay. Because they are all things that would be nice, but none of them are exactly necessities. That lets me off the hook when I start to feel overwhelmed, which sometimes occurs, especially on low-energy days.
Today's bullet journal isn't getting ticks in all its boxes (the post office and Target will have to wait until tomorrow, now that it's dark out), but at least "write blog post" is accomplished. And that feels good.
To borrow a phrase (and then repurpouse it) from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, I pretty much dropped my basket this fall. My bullet journal contains about six daily entries in September, one in October, and one in the month of November. I have a grand total of seven for the month of December (one on the 1st, one on the 5th, and then the last five days). Which is to say, that I'm starting to try to get some semblance of order and action going around here. Wish me luck.
About that November entry . . . I wrote it on November 29th, and it is not a usual daily page (with little boxes and triangles and to-dos and have-dones). Instead, it's a couple pages of rambling, as I started to try to get all the clamor out of my head and down on paper, so I could (perhaps) sort it out and get going.
I essentially dumped things into two categories: Things I NEEDED, and things that I WANTED. I started with NEED, and it contains a mere five items: a haircut, new glasses, to complete some disability paperwork, to write a book review for Guys Lit Wire (since the deadline was coming up), and to pay bills. The "I WANT" list is significantly longer, and includes both practical items (finish crocheting an afghan, buy a power cord for my daughter's laptop) and more fanciful or abstract ones (dance more, get back to writing).
Turns out that setting the lists up as I did naturally helped me to prioritize. The NEEDs definitely weigh a lot more than the WANTs, and are therefore 80% accomplished. As you probably know, I got that Guys Lit Wire review done (of A Christmas Carol, since 'tis the season, fa la la). And I completed three other tasks, too - the paper stuff right away, the haircut last week. But I still really need new eyeglasses, which I will get around to soon. (Why is it so hard to pick out frames? Why do I dread it so much? Who can say, and yet I reallyreally need them because they are a stronger prescription and this current one isn't cutting it anymore.)
The WANTS list had 23 things on it, some with sublists (e.g., "paint" has 7 subheadings, and some of those are not singular items). I am working on it, but more slowly. And that's okay. Because they are all things that would be nice, but none of them are exactly necessities. That lets me off the hook when I start to feel overwhelmed, which sometimes occurs, especially on low-energy days.
Today's bullet journal isn't getting ticks in all its boxes (the post office and Target will have to wait until tomorrow, now that it's dark out), but at least "write blog post" is accomplished. And that feels good.