On just doing stuff
Aug. 6th, 2007 06:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI have several ideas on things to just do, but I don't seem to be doing them.
By "things" I mean creations that make learning fun. They range from the "ambitious" (a lovely word that polite people can use when they're thinking something negative) to the easy. Most are not on academic topics. They do not all sound good for any one job. But so what? I should just do some anyway.
Frankly, I am having trouble doing all kinds of things I want to do. And why? I have no good reason. My job takes only 40 hours, I have no dependents (except some plants), I'm both physically and mentally healthy and uninjured, I have a steady income and place to live, and I have good friends.
Nevertheless, I feel stressed and like there are too many things I have to do and not enough time to do what I want to do. I end up relaxing with time sucks that are pleasant but are neither things I have to do nor things on my list of things I want to do.
And so I have decided that I am going to focus some of my free time on doing two things I want to do. One is learning Spanish. See, there's a weekly Spanish paper I like and that I want to be able to read. Not to mention Hispanics I might like to understand. Also Spanish is popping up in movies, crossword puzzles and other cultural settings. Also check out these reasons to visit Spain (mostly pictures).
And the other thing I want to consciously try to do is to create things. I need to create more things. And some will be these learning materials and some won't. In order to make more time, I am going to work fewer sudoku puzzles and stop checking books out of the library that aren't related to one of these goals (unless recommended by friends).
Robin was just told that if you want to get good at guitar, all you have to do is practice for at least an hour every single day. For ten years. And then voila, like magic, you can play guitar. He's also recently been told that some people whose ballroom dancing we admire practice it every single day. I've heard similar things about learning languages, improving your physical condition, and developing better habits. So, I'd like to work on Spanish every day and on a project every day.
I'm going to start right now. Just as soon as I start a load of laundry and figure out supper and drop off these overdue library books and pick up some laundry detergent while it's still on sale.
**
My work colleagues did, indeed see me do a cartwheel and wanted the whole story. It's sad that if you are a grown-up and do a cartwheel and are not a gymnast, this is interesting. Maybe I should do a cartwheel every day too.
By "things" I mean creations that make learning fun. They range from the "ambitious" (a lovely word that polite people can use when they're thinking something negative) to the easy. Most are not on academic topics. They do not all sound good for any one job. But so what? I should just do some anyway.
Frankly, I am having trouble doing all kinds of things I want to do. And why? I have no good reason. My job takes only 40 hours, I have no dependents (except some plants), I'm both physically and mentally healthy and uninjured, I have a steady income and place to live, and I have good friends.
Nevertheless, I feel stressed and like there are too many things I have to do and not enough time to do what I want to do. I end up relaxing with time sucks that are pleasant but are neither things I have to do nor things on my list of things I want to do.
And so I have decided that I am going to focus some of my free time on doing two things I want to do. One is learning Spanish. See, there's a weekly Spanish paper I like and that I want to be able to read. Not to mention Hispanics I might like to understand. Also Spanish is popping up in movies, crossword puzzles and other cultural settings. Also check out these reasons to visit Spain (mostly pictures).
And the other thing I want to consciously try to do is to create things. I need to create more things. And some will be these learning materials and some won't. In order to make more time, I am going to work fewer sudoku puzzles and stop checking books out of the library that aren't related to one of these goals (unless recommended by friends).
Robin was just told that if you want to get good at guitar, all you have to do is practice for at least an hour every single day. For ten years. And then voila, like magic, you can play guitar. He's also recently been told that some people whose ballroom dancing we admire practice it every single day. I've heard similar things about learning languages, improving your physical condition, and developing better habits. So, I'd like to work on Spanish every day and on a project every day.
I'm going to start right now. Just as soon as I start a load of laundry and figure out supper and drop off these overdue library books and pick up some laundry detergent while it's still on sale.
**
My work colleagues did, indeed see me do a cartwheel and wanted the whole story. It's sad that if you are a grown-up and do a cartwheel and are not a gymnast, this is interesting. Maybe I should do a cartwheel every day too.
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no subject
on 2007-08-07 03:39 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-08-08 01:27 am (UTC)Hi deb
on 2007-08-18 04:28 am (UTC)I can really empathize with you and the problem with not Getting Things Done. I've struggled with procrastination for a long time and one thing that has helped me more than anything else is the concept of Just Do It. I don't use that phrase as hype or some cheerleading nonsense, I use it simply at face value. The hardest part of many projects/tasks is starting, so I simply start. I don't care anymore if I'm completely prepared to do it, or if I have time to finish it right now, I just start doing it. And you know what? That has been the single most liberating tactic I've found to overcome procrastination.
Good luck with your Spanish, and if you want help reading that newspaper, just ask me.