Week 14/2022: Life goes on

Week of 4 April 2022

A pre-sunrise sky with an orange glow over the river
The start of the day

Life goes on

The challenges of last week aren’t in any hurry to ease up, so this week was about recognising that and adjusting things as I went. I’m glad I only listed four things to work on this week because I only got to two of them in the end.

What did I want to do this week?

  • TAFE module 4 (two exercises plus this week’s reading)
  • Complete Kramstable’s first year video (a project from 21 for 2021 that I’m still working on)
  • Complete the Urban Geometry photography course
  • Review Mindspot Week 3 (part 2)

Did I do it?

I finished the reading for the TAFE course work (thing 8) and worked on the exercises but I didn’t finish them. They’re due next week.

I finished the video on Saturday, ahead of my self-imposed deadline of next Thursday.

I didn’t look at the Week 3 Mindspot material (thing 1). I didn’t work on the Urban Geometry photo exercises either. There’s one part I’m still not sure how to do.

What worked well this week?

Holding myself to my finish time at work is working well, as is taking myself offline and away from distractions for long periods of time (a day rather than a few hours). I’m going to make sure I keep doing that.

What didn’t work so well?

You know how they say if you get stuck on something, you need to get up and move around and do something different to give your brain a chance to focus on something else, so that your subconscious can process your problem. I actually tried that this week. I went out for a walk when I got stuck on something and it didn’t shift my thinking at all. All I did was keep mulling over the problem in the same way.

I wondered if what I need to do in these situations is do something that uses my brain in a different way. If it’s a problem where I’m using language, go and do an activity that doesn’t involve language, for example.

I think it’s worth testing out next time this happens.

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: 3: (8, 12, 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?

This is a short week at work. I have a lot going on and I don’t have much capacity at the moment.

  1. Finish the exercises for TAFE module 4
  2. Review Mindspot Week 3 (part 2)
  3. Pick up my library holds before they expire

Weekly summary

What did I learn this week?

I learned that when take a family member to an appointment in town, I should allow the entire day to do this. I shouldn’t think, “Oh, this will take a couple of hours and then I can go off and do a few things I need to do, go to the bike shop and look at options for better gear carrying, then come home, work on my blog post and do some TAFE work.”

This will not happen. The physical and emotional energy needed to get through this appointment will wipe me out for the rest of the day. I need to accept that I won’t be able to do anything else that day and take the time I need to recover.

What was the best thing about this week?

My favourite thing this week was seeing Kramstable do something that didn’t work out. Instead of getting the shits, blaming the instructions and saying it was stupid and he wasn’t gong to do this again, like I would have, he went back to the instructions, realised where he’d made a mistake and made plans to try again.

This made me really happy.

What I’m reading this week

  • Find Your Unicorn Space by Eve Rodsky
  • Write it all Down by Cathy Rentzenbrink
  • The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner

Habit tracker

  • Days I went for a walk in the morning (Goal = 7): 7
  • Days I did my morning planning routine at work (Goal = 4): 4
  • Days I did controlled breathing (Goal = 7): 7
  • Days I did jaw stretches (Goal = 7): 3
  • Days I did my post-work pack up routine (Goal = 4): 3
  • Finish work by 5.30 (Goal = 4): 4
  • Days I worked on my art (Goal = 2): 3
  • 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): 5
  • Weekly review at work: Yes
  • Weekly review at home: Yes
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