I am back ladies and gentlemen! I feel like I have been out of commission for too long. First let me just say that if any of you happens to catch the H1N1 flu going around, be sure to go to your doctor within 48 hours. Also, be sure to stay in bed, drink plenty of fluids, take medication, and keep an eye on your temperature. Today is the first day that I have felt better than about 90%. I still have some chest congestion, a slight sore throat, and I am still experiencing a shortness of breath with even the smallest amount of activity.
Last Sunday, September 27th to be exact, I went home from work early. It is now the 7th of October and I have felt so lost and unproductive. I am behind on so many things, some of which include this blog, as well as The Self-Reliance-Exchange. I have to admit that I felt completely overwhelmed last night as I thought about all of the things I would need to do just to get caught back up. As most of you know, I am big on setting goals. That is my answer to helping me not only get back into the swing of things again, but to lessen the weight of everything I need to do.
Last night, before I went to bed, I made a goal list of things that I would like to get done today. Here is that list. I have crossed off the things that I have already done, and will be updating this list throughout the day.
- Go to the DMV
- Mail important documents (2 letters)
- Pay mortgage
- Pay car insurance
- Transfer money to Fully Funded Emergency Fund (ING Direct)
- Write article for EOD (getting back on track)
- Write article for SRE (budgeting basics)
- Do budget for October
- Work on organizing and removing clutter from the sidebar. (EOD)
- Write new “About” page for EOD
- Take Isaac to the park
- Read 5 chapters for school (yes, I am that far behind)
- Lesson 1
- Lesson 2
- Lesson 3
- Lesson 4
- Lesson 5
- Cook dinner for my hard working, pregnant wife. (chicken, potatoes, steamed brocolli…yummm!)
Bonus goals
- Take 3 practice quizzes for school (Lessons 1, 2 & 3)
- Write additional article for EOD (What’s your vice?)
- Write additional article for SRE (Debt Free Christmas post)
So there you have it. I have a lot to do but the day is already going great. A great source of anxiety came from knowing I had to go to the DMV. The DMV is ALWAYS painful—-afterall, it is a Government run train wreck. I decided to drive over the mountain to a neighboring city to handle that part and it paid off. I was in the DMV for only 20 minutes, which saved me God knows how many HOURS. The DMV here in Charlottesville usually takes more than 2 hours to handle even the smallest of transactions. Thankfully, in order to mail my important documents, I was able to pre-pay postage and drop them off in the mailbox out front. Two Government run obstacles succesfully overcome.
Whenever you fall down, be sure to get right back up as soon as you can. It will make a world of difference. Everything I have ever read about goal setting says to make your list before you go to bed. It only takes 5 minutes, and will help your morning start off on the right track. The worst time to procrastinate is in the morning when you want to be productive. It’s also important to know that things do not always go as planned, so you can’t beat yourself up for falling off the horse. Just get back on and start again. Furthermore, if you find that your goal list was too robust, add the things you didn’t complete to your goal list for the next day. What’s important is that you keep moving forward instead of constantly looking back.
This is exactly what I needed today!! I just started a new business, and I am having a hard time motivating myself to do the things I need to each day. I suffer from perfectionism which leads to procrastination. I will try writing my goals for the tomorrow before I go to bed tonight- and not beat myself up if they are not all completed!!Thank you so much!!
Thanks Wendy! I am glad this helped you out. I know it sure helped me out today. I am a perfectionist too and sadly I am bad at procrastination myself. I need to re-read the book called Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
THANKS! I NEED TO HEAR THESE THINGS. I AM A DOER BUT FEAR SOMETIMES CRIPPLES ME AND I GET STUCK. NOT TO MENTION ALL THE SETBACKS THAT TEND TO WEIGH YOU DOWN. THANK YOU FOR BEING REAL IT GIVES US SCARED LITTLE RABBITS COURAGE!!
Isn’t that the truth Dee? Fear paralyzes the best intentions. I was not able to accomplish everything on my list today, but the fact that I accomplished most of it makes tomorrow a whole lot easier. 😀
I’m glad you’re feeling better and had a productive day!
I always spend the last 5 minutes of my day at the office making a to-do list for the next day. It helps me hit the ground running as soon as I get there each day. And it’s one of the things I recommend to my employees who have problems with time management or prioritizing.
Thank you Kelsalynn!! I like that. It helps you “hit the ground running”! There is nothing less motivating than having to create that list of things to do, as soon as you wake up.
CONGRATULATIONS on becoming debt free btw! That is most excellent! I commented on your post, but it is not showing up yet. I hope I sent it through correctly.
Glad to have you back at it. Going to be exciting seeing your creative mind flowing again.
Looking forward to that debt free X-Mas post
Dave Damron
LifeExcursion & The Minimalist Path
I am glad to be back, now I just have to get caught up, especially in my class. I received some new books so I should be taking a nose dive into some new stuff. 😀
Great to have you back!
Was your family spared from H1N1?
Looks like you’re already caught up with everything you need to do; your productivity is out of this world.
Ken – My family got lucky. I can’t believe my son didn’t catch it from me, but my wife—since she is pregnant—received some medication from her doctor since she was exposed.
Beth – Congratulations on your journey to Financial Peace. I know you will get so much out of the classes. Stick with it and one day you will be free as a bird. 😀
The Dad – Thank you sir! I feel so much better! The shortness of breath is still hanging over my head but I hope that goes away soon.
Chris – WOW! Congratulations Chris! Having a new baby around can be exciting! One of the greatest things I my life is that I am a father. It’s something that no matter how bad a day I am having, I can look to my children to cheer me up and make things all better.
So glad you are feeling better!
I’ve been enjoying your blog. You’ve got lots of great resources here which I am going to look into. I’m a list maker too.
I’m in the 7th week of FPU.
Just posted an ad on Craig’s List–selling everything that is not nailed down to fund an emergency fund. Then it’s on to the debt snowball. I’ve got a long way to go but I’m not giving up. Thanks for helping me to keep going!
Wow, way to come back strong! Great post — it’s making me feel a little guilty about how little I’ve gotten done this morning. 🙂
Glad you’re feeling better, Brad, but we already knew you were a bad-ass and would beat that thing quick.
Cheers!
the Dad
Glad to hear things are on the up and up Brad. This time of the year is always the worst for me too. Hopefully the family didn’t catch what you had. My wife and I just had baby about 3 weeks ago and are planning to get the flu shot and H1N1 flu shot.
Chris
Hey Brad – Glad you’re still alive! Now that you got the flu, you won’t get it again!