Week 17/2022: Hi-ho

Week of 25 April

Hi-ho

This was the last week of my extended Easter holiday. I’d decided not to go back to work on the day after Anzac Day, which was Tuesday, because Tuesday is my half day. I had a medical appointment in the middle of the day on Wednesday, which I had been waiting six months for, and then a day’s activity planned with Kramstable on Thursday.

There didn’t seem much point to going back to work in dribs and drabs and have that add to the things that were already on my mind in a kind of half-work, half-holiday way.

So Friday was my first day back, which, in a way was bad, because I could have had it off as well and extended my holiday by another three days over the weekend, but it was also good because it meant I could clear away a bunch of small tasks and be ready to get back to my main projects on Monday.

What did I want to do this week and did I do it?

I wanted to

• Look back over the book Four Thousand Weeks and make notes for a blog post about the book
• Edit some photos from my trip and post on my photo blog
• Take photos of the house windows
• Work through the journal activities for a photography/creativity program I’ve been neglecting. Set aside time every day to work on this

I did parts of all of these things, and I made the first photo blog post from the trip. However, I realised when I made my “big rocks” list for this week, I’d forgotten something.

It went like this.

My TAFE assignment is due on 2 May.

Me this week: I’m on holidays and I still have more than a week to do the assignment.

Me on Friday afternoon: 2 May is Monday. As in, in three days.

Me on Friday afternoon: Fuck.

So, the things on my list I was intending to do on Saturday got hastily shunted for the assignment, which I spent most of Saturday and some of Sunday on.

But I got it done, along with the second assignment task that’s also due on Monday. I’m going to sit on them overnight and look at them one last time before I hand them in.

What worked well this week?

I think being on leave worked well, if that’s a thing that can *work*.

What I really wondered was how I can teleport the less stressed me from the holidays into the days I have to work. I felt like when I was on holidays, I had just enough things keeping me stressed that I could react to something unexpected without going into meltdown (let’s exclude the airport bag fiasco from this), but add work back into the mix and I know it will be a different story. Something to work on.

What didn’t work so well?

I think I’m still falling into the trap of setting myself too much to get done in not a lot of time. What I’m reading in Four Thousand Weeks is making me rethink my priorities and realistic expectations of myself, including the impossibility of being able to get all the small things out of the way to give myself space for the big things.

This is a massive mindset shift. The whole book is.

22 for 2022 update

Obviously, I worked on my TAFE work (thing 8), and I kept reading for my reading challenge (thing 21).

22 for 2022 summary

• Things completed to date: 5 (10, 11, 13, 18, 22)
• Things completed this week: 0
• Things I worked on this week: 2: (8, 21)
• Things in progress: 4 (1, 8, 12, 21)
• Things not started: 13 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20)

What do I want to do next week?

• Hand in my TAFE assignments (1 and 2A)
• Do the work for TAFE assignment 2B
• Look back over the book Four Thousand Weeks and make notes
• Take some photos of the house windows
• Make another photoblog post from my trip
• Review week 3 (part 2) of Mindspot
• Sign my tax return papers and send them back to the accountant

Weekly summary

What did I learn this week?

I need to actually plug my laptop into the power if I want it to not die after a few hours of work. Plugging it back into the monitor isn’t the same thing . . . Who knew.

What were the best things about this week?

Hanging out with Kramstable for the last week of the school holidays. Looking at a wonderful book I got before I went on holiday and finally had a chance to sit down with. Steve Martin’s scene in The Muppet Movie.

What I’m reading this week

• The Novel Project by Graeme Simsion
• Menopocalypse by Amanda Thebe
• The Love You Deserve by Jen Morris

Habit tracker

• Days I went for a walk in the morning (Goal = 7): 7
• Days I did my morning planning routine at work (Goal = 1): 1
• Days I did controlled breathing (Goal = 7): 7
• Days I did jaw stretches (Goal = 7): 0
• Days I did my post-work pack up routine (Goal = 1): 1
• Finish work by 5.30 (Goal = 1): 1
• Days I worked on my art (Goal = 2): 4
• Days I read a book (Goal = 7): 7
• Days I went for a walk or did other physical activity in the afternoon (Goal = 5): 7
• Days I shut my computer down before 9.30 (Goal = 6): 7
• Weekly review at work: Yes
• Weekly review at home: Yes