Living the Lifestyle - Wednesday, June 5th

gadgetgirlIL

We meet here to explore, share, celebrate and (sometimes) agonize over how we do (or don't) incorporate weight loss guidelines into our daily lives. "It's a lifestyle, not a diet" is easily and often said, but sometimes not so simply put into practice.

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Thread starters for June are below:

Monday -imastar2 (Derrick)
Tuesday - GavinFlynn1 (Gavin)
Wednesday - GadgetGirlIL (Regina)
Thursday - misterhub (Greg)
Friday - Al_Howard (Al)

Today's Topic: Making time for what is most important

I'm having a week where I feel like I'm being nibbled to death by ducks (I picked that saying up from somewhere). Basically, there are a ton of smaller administrative items that are consuming my time and keeping me from tackling some of the bigger projects that I really would rather be working on.

So how do you go about setting priorities and carving out the time necessary for the bigger projects in your life whether they are work-related or personal?

steve0mania

This is such a challenging area! I often have big projects, but then get nibbled to death by the ducks (great saying!).

I guess sometimes I actually schedule some time in to get the big work done, and then simply try to stuff the smaller stuff into smaller time-slots. Once in a blue moon I decide to work from home, or leave my office for another quiet place somewhere where I can focus.

That's all work stuff.

For personal stuff, I find that I have more "down-time" than I actually appreciate. Thus, I try to do the stuff that's important to me, personally, during times where I would otherwise be vegging out in front of the TV.

gadgetgirlIL

Ugh. I've spent most of the morning following up on things that should have been taken care of with the initial emails sent earlier this week. The ducks are winning.

I do find that it is easier to work on big projects when I'm in a quiet place as I do have issues staying focused if there is a lot of activity going on. During the winter this meant coming in to my office on campus on weekends. But during the summer, I'm resistant to coming into work on weekends as the weekends are my time to get in long bike rides. I might make an exception this Sunday.

I do plan to hide in my lab on campus this afternoon as I have to get things organized as there will be a class in there tonight at 6pm.

misterhub

"nibbled to death by ducks"

Never heard that one before, but I love it. I imagine this will become part of my vocabulary. :-)

I try to schedule things on my calendar, plus add things to my task list. Then, I TRY to follow through on those things. Some days I am better at it than others.

I use the Stephen Covey prioritization method, as outlined in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I am not a huge fan of self-help books; but, I found that one of value - and the prioritization method was one of the biggest things I took away from it. I have used it for twenty years. Of everything I've tried, I have had the greatest success with that approach. It was a game changer for me.

gadgetgirlIL

I did fend off the ducks for a couple hours yesterday and got my lab cleaned up. I also connected with the vendor for my new piece of equipment and feel like I have a plan on how to move forward to get it fully implemented. Since I was by myself, I turned on some calming instrumental music. It was good to be aware from others and some of the chaos that is going on this summer on campus.

podkey

Was nibbled all week but still got in activity at least.