Last week I wrote a post called “I Do Nothing”, a recurring lament about my lazy, procrastinating ways. I thought that the post had no effect on me, but something cool happened that changed everything.
I arrived at the bank job Thursday morning to discover that the morning guard had quit. He left notes that looked like suicide notes rather than the work of a disgruntled employee. The cool part was that, before he left, he broke the security wand. The security wand was pretty much the only thing that forced me to actually stay at work, so I was free to do what I want. I went home, took a nap, then woke up and read this blog. I read the I Do Nothing post and realized that I have to do something with this wonderful gift of free time. I can’t spend it jerking off and watching old TV shows like I usually do. But how was I going to get the motivation to actually do something when I’ve been such a procrastinating bum? I decided to go old school… kind of:
To-do lists are age-old, but they work. Thanks to technology, I can take my to-do list everywhere so that I don’t escape it. I got one app called “todoist”, and then a widget called “Notetodo”. I got the widget because I needed something on my cell phone screen that would constantly remind me that I have stuff to do. With these two apps, I’ve been able to complete the following tasks since Friday:
Some may not find this impressive, as most normal people are able to do this. But to a guy like me who spends months at a time doing the same routine over and over again, this was amazing and I was quite proud of myself. I love being so damned productive! I use the widget to write down all the things I want to do for the week, and then use the app to assign days for the tasks. Once each task is completed, I check it off on both programs and keep the pattern going. Oh, and speaking of patterns…
One thing that bothers me is my pattern of behavior when it comes to stuff like this. I find something new that helps me become a better person. After a while, however, I slowly lose interest and then it’s forgotten. I go back to my old ways until I discover the next "new thing", and in between those times I'm even more lazy than before. I’ve done it so many times, so I know the odds are against me actually staying on this new path to productivity. And honestly, I really don’t know how I’m gonna break that pattern.
The good news is that I don’t have to worry about that right now. The wand is still broken, so I have days—or possibly weeks—of spending my time outside of work getting things done. My hope is that this becomes a way of life and that, even if I stop with the lists, I will have already developed a habitual and consistent desire to get things done. I guess we’ll see what happens. Until then, I got work to do:
P.S.: Sam had a theory about my lack of productivity. He said that the jobs sucked the life out of me which is why I only seem to get things done in the morning whenever I’m playing hookie from work. He said that, once I retire, I should be more productive because I won’t have my time tied up with security jobs. I’m skeptical of anything that resembles an excuse, but he does make some decent points. But I’d rather solve my productivity issues now while I’m working jobs than to put my trust into a theory made by a man who sends me daily texts threatening to stuff his dick in my mouth.
I arrived at the bank job Thursday morning to discover that the morning guard had quit. He left notes that looked like suicide notes rather than the work of a disgruntled employee. The cool part was that, before he left, he broke the security wand. The security wand was pretty much the only thing that forced me to actually stay at work, so I was free to do what I want. I went home, took a nap, then woke up and read this blog. I read the I Do Nothing post and realized that I have to do something with this wonderful gift of free time. I can’t spend it jerking off and watching old TV shows like I usually do. But how was I going to get the motivation to actually do something when I’ve been such a procrastinating bum? I decided to go old school… kind of:
 |
| The To-do widget on my main screen. The great thing about being so attached to my phone is that, every time I look at it, I'll always see that I have something to do. That inescapable sense of incompleteness staring me right in the face is a very good motivator to get things done. |
To-do lists are age-old, but they work. Thanks to technology, I can take my to-do list everywhere so that I don’t escape it. I got one app called “todoist”, and then a widget called “Notetodo”. I got the widget because I needed something on my cell phone screen that would constantly remind me that I have stuff to do. With these two apps, I’ve been able to complete the following tasks since Friday:
- Paid Property 4’s tax bill (in person)
- Paid for Property X’s concrete steps (in person)
- Finally restarted DDP Yoga exercises
- Sit through ThinkorSwim seminars
- Write the Food and Property Earnings Posts On Time
- Pick up remaining rents for Property 3
- Install the electronic lock
- Throw out spoiled food in the refrigerator
- Finally restart my Yoruba studies
- Checked the mail and paid all my utilities bills for October
Some may not find this impressive, as most normal people are able to do this. But to a guy like me who spends months at a time doing the same routine over and over again, this was amazing and I was quite proud of myself. I love being so damned productive! I use the widget to write down all the things I want to do for the week, and then use the app to assign days for the tasks. Once each task is completed, I check it off on both programs and keep the pattern going. Oh, and speaking of patterns…
One thing that bothers me is my pattern of behavior when it comes to stuff like this. I find something new that helps me become a better person. After a while, however, I slowly lose interest and then it’s forgotten. I go back to my old ways until I discover the next "new thing", and in between those times I'm even more lazy than before. I’ve done it so many times, so I know the odds are against me actually staying on this new path to productivity. And honestly, I really don’t know how I’m gonna break that pattern.
The good news is that I don’t have to worry about that right now. The wand is still broken, so I have days—or possibly weeks—of spending my time outside of work getting things done. My hope is that this becomes a way of life and that, even if I stop with the lists, I will have already developed a habitual and consistent desire to get things done. I guess we’ll see what happens. Until then, I got work to do:
 |
| I guess I can cross out the first one now |
P.S.: Sam had a theory about my lack of productivity. He said that the jobs sucked the life out of me which is why I only seem to get things done in the morning whenever I’m playing hookie from work. He said that, once I retire, I should be more productive because I won’t have my time tied up with security jobs. I’m skeptical of anything that resembles an excuse, but he does make some decent points. But I’d rather solve my productivity issues now while I’m working jobs than to put my trust into a theory made by a man who sends me daily texts threatening to stuff his dick in my mouth.
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