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Get Shit Done Week, ending on a whimper …
The beauty of GSDW is that you’ve got a powerful psychological motivation for facing a bunch of shit that has been successfully avoided for a while. Some of the things I did this week, I’ve been needing to do for a very, very long time. And, now they’re done! Hooray!
Plus, the nature of the shit done over GSDW is that it results in immediate gratification — unlike so many of the things we do in academia, when rewards are delayed or are very intangible. It has been very satisfying to be able to scratch concrete items off the To Do list and to see concrete improvements around the house.
On the other hand, I noticed as GSDW progressed, a creeping resentment about the fact that I must set aside a week of my life in order to take care of this annoying shit — or, more to the point, that I can set aside a week because the nature of my academic life means that there are these periods of time in which I am not technically working (i.e., teaching) and in which I am not technically on vacation (i.e., laying on a beach). But, of course, we all know that devoting this week to projects means not doing some of my other work (research, writing, etc.) and that I will have to pay myself back for this time at some point in the future. I think this indicates that it is better to keep GSDW to a short week rather than a full seven days — or it might start to feel as burdensome as anything else would.
I haven’t done much today but I am (mostly) feeling better — or at least good enough to take off this afternoon for my yoga workshop. Then, I’ll be heading out for a little vacation, so it may be a few days before I post here again. Holla!
Alas, the dip in energy and mood that I experienced yesterday evening — and which I interpreted as a mild case of the blues — turned out to be the symptoms of an incipient illness. I was up late last night with a dry cough and this morning I was all achy and tired — but mostly cranky about this interruption to my ambitious GSDW plans. The crankiness morphed over the course of the day into free-floating anger — which turned out to be a good motivation for dragging my carcass off the couch and not letting the day slip away altogether.
Here’s what I managed to get done, between naps, glasses of Emergen-C, gargling with Dr. Gould’s Gargle, and catching up on the final episodes of “Dollhouse.”
1. Took the dog to the vet for shots, etc.
2. Cleaned closet, incl. sorting through clothes that need to go to Goodwill
3. Washed dog’s bedding
4. Started working on cleaning antique family quilt that was the target for some explosive cat vomit
5. Remade guest bed — which is more complicated than it sounds due to vomit incident mentioned above
6. Coupla loads of laundry
… does not quite rival yesterday’s super productivity.
1. To dentist for cleaning
2. Lunch with old friend who I haven’t seen in far too long
3. Bathing suit shopping again — this time I bought a suit that more or less fits, settling for something so that I could stop shopping. Gah.
4. Bra shopping — unsuccessful. Returned home and purchased desired bras from Amazon — what a topsy turvy world we live in, where you buy lingerie from the world’s largest online purveyor of books!
5. Mailed some stuff
And, because I was feeling a bit blue, coaxed Golden Boy to go with me and the dog to the dog park to enjoy the sunset.
Today has been more like the kind of day I envisioned when I instituted GSDW.
1. Took car in for oil change/tire rotation/tire balance
2. Went to Home Depot for supplies
3. Replaced broken toilet seat (No fat ass jokes, please, especially after my swimsuit post of yesterday!)
4. Mortared around new (okay, “new” a year ago) outdoor water faucet
5. Reprogrammed sprinkler system
6. Replaced old light fixture in groovy 50s lamp with new wiring (You will think I have mad repair skillz — but it was much easier than it sounds.)
7. Poured some red wine on the compost (after reading this)
8. Ordered a new compost frame (this one)
9. Made car rental reservations for vacation next week
I did a few other things today that don’t deserve being included on the GSDW list — but which I am going to throw in here, since I’m feeling boastful about what an incredibly productive day I had: I also went to two different stores to buy pet food, had a lovely lunch out with Golden Boy, went grocery shopping, scooped both cat boxes, practiced a little yoga, and made dinner (vegetarian chili). Oh yeah …
I didn’t get as much done today as I hoped, because I had to go in to my office, which is like a black hole where time is concerned. Oh well, here’s hoping tomorrow is better.
1. Had marathon meeting with colleague A about her article
2. Had marathon phone meeting with colleague B about New Project
3. Sent emails regarding New Project
4. Wrote 2 letters of recommendation
5. Wrote silly department PR thingee
6. Replied to student emails
7. Went bathing suit shopping
Yes, that’s right, I’m in the third circle of hell, also known as “shopping for a bathing suit.” Please note that this is not the de facto complaint women are expected to deliver: “Woe is me, I look terrible in a bathing suit! I am not ’swimsuit ready’! I have failed as a human being because my abs are not tight and I have cellulite.” Gawd, I am so over that self-loathing.
Nope, I am pissed at the swimsuit designers of the world for having absolutely no idea what women’s bodies look like or not giving a damn, if they do.
Case in point: Are the women of American lacking in the bust area? Because 99% of the bathing suits I saw today had foam padding. When I look around me, it sure doesn’t seem like most women need any extra material up there. As a women with plenty of natural bust padding, I certainly don’t need faux additions — I need SUPPORT. And that is almost impossible to find.
Anybody have recommendations for bathing suits made for actual swimming, with good coverage/support for actual breasts?
Today is the first day of my new Get Shit Done Week (h/t Redneck Mother). Classes are over, grades turned in — so I’ve undertaken to face some of the things that have been cluttering up my To Do list for months or, um, years. In this instance, GSDW is actually only going to last 5 1/2 days because I’m going to a yoga workshop next weekend — and then Golden Boy and I are getting the hell outta Dodge for a much-needed vacation. You can see my motivation — I have two fabulous rewards waiting for me at the end of this week, so I want to get as much accomplished in the next few days so I can indulge with a sense of just desserts.
Shit I Got Done:
1. Cats to vet for shots, etc.
2. Exterminator inspection
Okay, technically both of these things happened at the end of last week, but they were on my To Do list so I am giving myself credit here.
The exterminator spent approximately 3.5 seconds inspecting the spot where I saw winged bugs that may or may not have been termites, said “yup, sounds like you got termites” and then quoted us a price of $1500 for a “termite monitoring system” that will let us know whether we have termites. To which I said, “Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha …”
3. Repotted tomato plants
4. Top-dressed and dusted all house plants
5. Planted monkey grass
6. Worked on ailing trees
7. First stage in ambitious weed eradication project
And, what I am going to do next …
8. Read & comment on colleague’s article for meeting tomorrow
