WorldSave

Yesterday was the 10th day of the Laziness trial.  I spent it all day in the city with friends.  We walked about 5 miles plus and my feet were killing me, but it was fun.  We went to a bakery called babycakes.  It took 4 miles of walking to get there (that was the bulk of it), but it was totally worth it.  They had all of the best baked goods I’ve ever had.  Best corn bread, best cupcakes, BEST cinnamon buns (they called them skinny buns).  The brownies were excellent too, but a little rich for my taste.  And the best part?  It was all vegan and wheat free.  They even had stuff that was gluten free.  And there was no granulated white sugar, it was mostly all sweetened with agave.  Everything was sweet, moist, and delicious.  I encourage anyone who can get there to GO.  Totally worth it.  Next time I’ll be taking the subway, though.

During this trial I’ve exercised almost everyday and now I want to do it.  I think being vegan has something to do with it because I feel lighter and better overall.  Plus, forcing myself into action has helped keep me going.  Today might be the first day I take a break from cardio exercise though because my feet are still a little in pain.  That’s okay though, cause its a weight day.

The house got a little messy, which I think shouldn’t have happened if I’m no being lazy.  However, we have company over so that makes it a little more difficult.  Either way, its no excuse and I should have kept things neater.

Overall I think the trial was a success.  I am less lazy than I was before.  I’ve been very busy, so I haven’t been able to get to all my different chores everyday, but I’ve never spent a whole day sitting around doing almost nothing, so its progress.

I quit the other job I got because of the distance it took to travel and the fact that it wasn’t worth what I was being paid.  I have two other opportunities lined up, though, so I’m still okay.  I’m also going ahead with volunteering for the local First Aid and Rescue Squad, because I really want to do that.

Another thing that happened was the separation of a long commitment.  In other words, my significant other and I have decided to be just friends.  I wouldn’t find that appropriate to include that here except for the fact that I feel like it was something we had coming for a while, and now it is finished.  Just another thing that was “done” during this trial.

To keep myself going, I want to continue another trial.  However, but the 6th or 7th day of this trial I sort of forgot I was on one.  I was just on autopilot at that point.  So, I wonder if another trial is even necessary?  Still, just to be on the safe side,  I’m going to initiate another laziness trial.  However, I need to change the rules.

Rule #1:  The house must stay clean.  If something needs cleaning and I have honestly nothing more important to do at that moment, I must do it.  Most things I have on my list to do are more important than cleaning, but then it never gets done.  That must be taken care of.

Rule #2:  I must go outside on every sunny day.  I say this because I don’t get enough sun and because I want to start exercising outside.  Also, I just need to get out of the house.  “Going out” counts as a walk, sitting in the sun, or even driving somewhere like the mall or movies.  Just so long as I get out.

Rule #3:  I need to reconnect with friends, and make new ones.  I’m a really bad friend because I won’t call people usually.  I’ve been “too lazy”, as you know.  So that is something I need to work on for this next trial.

Rule #4:  I need to find a steady, satisfying source of income.  I have at least three options open to me, I just need to follow through.

I think that’s enough for now.  Those are mostly things I’m already working on but haven’t made a point to actually do.  Not too much of a burden too fast.

So the next ten day trial starts tomorrow.  For today I’m going to clean up as best I can.  I won’t give updates this time unless I find another strategy that I need to use and works well.  After the first few days my only strategy has been to write down everything I need to do in a day, and pick which ones are high priority.  I’ve kept with that the whole time.  At the end, I’ll give you an update to see how it went, if I stuck with my goals and if I had to use any strategies to get there (in addition to the list making).

Lia Cross

No Comments yet »

Last night I exercised by lifting weights, only for a minute though. I wanted to use a new treadmill we got, but I didn’t have the key (it was left at the home of the relative who discarded the machine). Hopefully today I can get on that instead.

This morning I didn’t sleep nearly as late as yesterday, although I’m pretty sure that’s because there was a dog barking outside from relatively early (I’m not sure of the time but it was still mostly dark out, so maybe 5AM?) up until recently (its 1:30 PM). I woke at 11 AM. I feel pretty awake, but perhaps not entirely refreshed. I went to bed last night with a lot of digested food in my gut, which made me feel very uncomfortable and caused me to wake at least once. The thing is, although I did eat late, I knew this was food from around 6PM. I guess the timing was right but next time I won’t eat so much around the same time.

Anyway, after waking I got some things done, but I wasted too much time on the computer. By “wasting time” I mean that I was reading the news, which really isn’t a waste, but it still wasn’t getting done many things I need to do.

For today…

Must do:

-Interview after 4pm.

-Clean in pet room (this I more or less promised to do today, with or without help).

-Blog (I’m even doing 2 today!)

-Research.

-Write a resume.

Might do:

-Clean around house.

-Exercise.

-E-mail

-Make something for someone.

Extra:

-Shower.

I know a shower shouldn’t really be “extra”, but I have so much other stuff to do that I just tacked it on there. Chances are I’ll get that done, but… just noting that at this point its secondary.

So far I’ve:

-Checked email.

-Made the resume.

-Cleaned up a bit in the kitchen.

-Blogged once.

-Cleaned the cat litter.

-Researched.

I want to wait until after my interview to clean in the pet room, and to exercise, so I’m not gross beforehand. Well, I could shower of course, but then I’d have to do my hair which makes more work in the long run. Besides, there’s plenty of time after the interview to get that all done.

So far with the research I’ve actually done very little. Only a few pages. I just can’t get myself into the groove. I would like to exercise to wake up more, perhaps to help become more focused, but as I said already I don’t want to get sweaty. I wasn’t anticipating waking so early, so I have more time than I estimated. This is good, of course, except for the fact that my interview is so late and a lot of the things I have to do are best saved until after.

Or, I could just be making excuses. That’s more likely. Still, short of pushing myself to do stuff I don’t want to, I think my best bet is to wait to exercise and clean after the interview when I’ll be sort of hyper from the whole experience and wanting to work off adrenaline. So, it seems energy saving to wait. I’ll save my energy now for the interview and use the momentum from after to do more work.

In saving energy I’ve ventured to do more research, but I still only get done paragraphs at a time. Its a little sad. I’m considering napping for a little bit, but I think that would be counter productive. Also, the dog is barking again. I could make that something that I need to for a family member. In fact, that’s a good idea. The question is, will I do it now? Who knows.

It seems laziness is creeping back in on me. Perhaps this morning will be a lazy one. But I still anticipate this evening to be energetic and worthwhile. For now, though, I’m going to work on visualizing success at my interview, and how exactly I’m going to make my offer on rate of pay.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

From the last post to about 3pm I took a nap. I felt good after but, honestly, it wasn’t necessary. I would have rather had exercised and then showered, but I’ve already outlined why I didn’t do that.

The interview went well, and as promised when I got back I cleaned the pet room with the help of my house-mate. It really needed it. I also did something else that I was planning on saving for tomorrow.

What I didn’t do was exercise or shower, but I will probably exercise before this night is up. I may even do more research as I sort of skimped on that today out of tiredness.

Overall, truth be told, it was a pretty lazy day. I think my nervousness for my interview sort of kicked me down a few notches. Still, I got done the one thing that REALLY did need to be done, so I am satisfied. I feel ready for tomorrow and getting all my chores done and maintaining the cleanliness of my home.

Lia Cross

No Comments yet »

Last night I took a late walk and then went to bed.  So I did even more exercise than I had originally intended.  Because of this, I had a long night and a very sore body.  The result was sleeping in WAY too late and not waking until 1 PM.  If I had awoken earlier I would not have felt refreshed, however sleeping so late really compromised my time for chores.  Tomorrow I would prefer to wake earlier, however I’m still not going to push myself just yet.  I want to allow myself to be fully rested.  It is really telling to see how long it takes my body to recuperate each night, and to figure out what may be the culprit.  So far I blame eating too late, too much sugar, and exercising too hard too soon.

As for today, here is the list of things to do:

Must do:

-Early dinner at mom’s, at which I needed to 1) prepare a fax, 2) finish an item I had sold for a customer, and 3) return a container.

-Scrub my carpet.

-Clean in the pet room.

-Shower.

-Wash (although my significant other says he will do this).

-Blog.

Maybe do:

-Exercise

-Clean main room and kitchen (mostly just tidying up).

-Check email.

Extra:

-Research for book.

The research should probably be a required field, but since its Sunday I decided I could put stuff like cleaning on the top of the list and let my book take a side-seat.  Unfortunately, due to waking late, I never got around to cleaning.  I may do so later, but as of right now it looks like it will have to wait until tomorrow.

So far I’ve:

-Went to mom’s and did all three chores.

-Cleaned the cat litter.

-Showered.

-Blogging now…

-Checked Email.

-Confirmed that my S.O. will be taking care of the wash.

By the end of the night, I anticipate doing:

-Exercise

-Research (even if just a little)

-Possibly clean up in pet room.

As you can see, I still left a lot to be done.  I was still active most of the day, though.  Not on the list was gardening, some of which I did today.  I also went shopping (in the time I spent with my mother) and applied at a few jobs (online).  Still, I have tons of stuff leftover that I need to do tomorrow.  I will hopefully be able to wake sooner.  If for some reason I wake late, then I am going to set my alarm for Tuesday so I do not sleep in too much.  I’m not good at waking with my alarm, unfortunately, but this trial should force me to get up with it.  Either way, I only have one pressing thing I must do tomorrow and its not until late afternoon.  This should leave plenty of time for chores.

During this trial I actually have not had a day where I can honestly say I have no commitments.  While this should be a good thing for a non-lazy trial, I have to admit it hasn’t allowed me to truly test my resolve.  I’ve been expected to make appearances by several people, and this has obviously been a huge motivator for me.  A true test will be a day I have off and nothing to do, and yet still have many chores to complete.  I’m not sure I’ll get a day like that, though, since I do plan to finish the majority of the chores tomorrow and stay on top of keeping things clean until I do have my first day “off” (appears that it will be Wednesday), and at that time I won’t have anything huge to do except maybe spend the day working on WorldSave and my book.

Today, it is evident that winning strategies to not being lazy are:

-Have other people count on you for something.

-Make every commitment enjoyable.  I say this because I had a commitment with my mother, and we did something enjoyable.  I also have a commitment to clean, which can become fun with some music, dancing, breaking it up with exercise, playing with the animals as I go, etc.

-Make promises, primarily to people you know you won’t break it with.  We’ll actually see how well this one works tomorrow.  I told the other WorldSave Admin that I would clean the pet room tomorrow, no matter if we did nothing tonight or if I didn’t have their help.  I anticipate not wanting to break my word will keep me on target.

-Make lists.   I would not have done so well this far without my handy dandy notebook.  Seriously.  I write down everything I need to do and check it off as I go.  I also keep a date book for appointments.  Otherwise I would forget too much.  Before I go to bed each night I make my list for the next day, and when I wake up I turn the list into things I must do, things I might do, and extra things.  Then I make a schedule with each thing, giving myself ample time to complete it.  If I run out of time its not a big deal, as I don’t usually follow the schedule verbatim.  I’ll switch things around and break up the monotony of one task with another, which actually allows me to get more done in less time since I don’t dilly-dally with one chore that may become too tiresome.

In addition to these things is the list from yesterday.  Also, I have not yet had to do the “cannot sit” challenge to get myself moving.

So far so good, although I would have liked not to have woken up so late.  If this continues I will set an alarm and force myself to get going even if I am not fully rested.  I hope that my body will adjust regardless.

Lia Cross 

No Comments yet »

So far the day has been successful. I did wake about an hour later than I wanted to (I pretty much laid in bed trying to sleep but not really fully dozing off). However, I didn’t set an alarm so I didn’t really know what time it was. Either way, I got done exactly what I needed to for the AM.

So far today, I have 4 things I must do, 4 I might do, and 2 extra things.

Must do: Family member’s birthday party, clean up after my dog’s mess (yuck…), blog, shower.

Might do: Pick up a couch from craigslist (only if its still available), go to a in-home sale with a friend (only if we can coordinate it), clean up around the house (pet room, litter, main room), and research for my book.

Extra: Check e-mail, exercise.

So far I’ve: Cleaned up after the dog, exercised, showered, started the blog.

It is about 12 pm, so I feel like I’m doing pretty good. I’m actually slightly ahead of schedule. When I woke up, I made the above list and then set up a schedule of when I should get things done. I’ve done everything and then some that I set out to do in the AM.

Having to clean after the dog was a big motivator. I absolutely had to do that and could not wait. I think it helped mostly because it got me out of bed and moving, and once I was already up I did a little bit of exercise. Not much, mind you.

Exercise in AM: 20 bicep curls, 20 tricep curls, 20 shoulder lifts, 20 calf raises (ten together, ten seperate), and 10 squats, all with 5 lb weights. It probably only took me 5 minutes, but it got my blood flowing and (since I’m so out of shape) got me to even sweat a little.

After that was the shower and, although I’m feeling a little hungry, I’m very energized. I have noticed that sitting down makes me want to become lazy again, so tomorrow I may save all of the blogging until the end of the day. I think that coming in at different times and updating that way will be more accurate, but I’ll stop if it sacrifices my results.

Update: I will not be going to the sale with my friend. She couldn’t get out of work before I had to leave for the party, and the sale is over before I get home, which is a shame because its in her old house and I really wanted to see what the new owners did to the place.

I’ll add more later.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Its 5 PM and I’m starting to feel very tired. I think it has something to do with the sushi I ate (all vegan!). Maybe the huge amount of effort it takes to digest it tired me out. I also had some mochi after, which I know is tough to digest. Its quite sticky and has given me stomach problems before. I was too tired to clean so I sat down to do some research. I’m working on it now but I’m finding it difficult to focus. I took a break to blog.

On any other day, at this point I would either take a nap or watch TV (to at least stay awake). Since I’m trying to both fix my sleeping schedule and not do nothing, I’m staying away from both those options. Forced to be resourceful, I’m going to try and split up my activities so I am active when I feel mentally tired and sitting down and doing research when I’m more refreshed. I’d prefer to sit down and go straight through my work but for now I just don’t have the focus necessary. That’s what I get for watching too much TV.

More tonight.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

8:00 PM

I exercised again:  aerobics for 30 minutes.  Also, I didn’t go to get the couch.  I’m simply not really keen on driving so far for something I’ve never seen and something I can barely lift, even if it is free.  Oh, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t have a means of bringing it back.  It seems all the trucks are being used today.

The exercise energized me again.  Also, taking the break in-between my research to do a chore (cat litter) really gave me the energy I needed to finish it.

At this point, the only thing I need to do now is clean in the pet room and main room.  This is a pretty big undertaking and its getting late, so I may let that be the “must do” for tomorrow.

Overall I feel really good about today.  I got a lot more done than I usually would on any other day, and I also set up some dates and appointments when normally I wouldn’t have bothered.  I’m very satisfied and, although I didn’t finish one of the main things I really need to do, I still feel like I’ve got enough done.  I have time tomorrow to do more, but I also have other arrangements so I’ll have to schedule it carefully.

The strategies that were most helpful were:

-Not watching TV.

-Not napping.

-Exercising when I felt tired, just enough to energize myself (a few light weights, a little aerobics, even just moving to do a chore instead of sitting and working on mental work).

-Scheduling things even if I didn’t feel like it (aka things that I want to do but would otherwise have been too lazy).

-Doing things “now”.  I employed this somewhat today… not totally but I did things I normally wouldn’t have by thinking:  There’s no reason not to do this now.

Tomorrow I’ll try and wake up earlier to get more done.  I’m a little worried about losing energy but right now, despite my afternoon fatigue, I feel good.

Lia Cross 

No Comments yet »