Saturday, January 25, 2014

Accountability

Remember those resolutions I made earlier this week?  Well, here I am, reporting back on them!

I am trying to settle into a somewhat predictable work routine, despite my freelancin’ lifestyle.  I ended up spending most of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday on campus for my lab job.  I tutored Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and I did some tutoring prep work today.  On top of that, I set up a session with a new tutoring client.

Workwise and incomewise, this week has been my best one since the new year started.  I’m giving myself a pat on the back for that!  Resolution-wise, here’s what happened:

* On Tuesday, I was at work by 9 AM.  Resolutions achieved!

* On Wednesday, I was out of the house by 9 AM and doing the work thing before 10.  Resolutions achieved!

* On Thursday, Paul suggested that we spend the day together, which I’ll tell you about in my next post.  We sat around after breakfast, working on various things on our computers.  Even though I wasn’t showered, I was doing tutoring work by 10:30 AM, so I’ll count that as a win.  I got cleaned up and dressed some time before noon-ish, I think, which is better than some of my other work-at-home days.

* On Friday, I was showering by 10 AM and got to work by 11.  Not too bad!

* And today, I was invited to a brunch, so I was trying to be ready by 10:30-ish.  Despite getting a slow start, I was getting ready by 10.  After brunch, I came home, took a walk around the neighborhood, and did some prep work for a tutoring session I have tomorrow.

I read in this post that for maximum productivity, you should try to get as much done as early as possible.  That makes complete sense to me, and I think that’s what I’m really trying to do by setting time-dependent goals for my otherwise unstructured, work-at-home days.  Personally, I love working in my pajamas, but I’ve also noticed that it can hamper my focus if I haven’t taken care of basic hygiene for the day before I sit down to get started.  Additionally, I love the idea of working in different spots—the library, a coffeeshop—just to keep things feeling fresh and fun.  On those days, I definitely plan to get dressed and summon my professional self so that we can get some items checked off ye olde to-do list.

Thanks for your tips on my last post!  I’m going to keep up the momentum on these resolutions and aim for good starts next week.

2 comments:

Raquelita said...

I am by inclination a morning person, and I always note how much less I get done when I sleep in or don't start working when my mental energies are at their highest. I love to start writing first thing. I've had to learn to write at other times due to my other faculty duties, but it's still my preference. I'm loving that on Mon/Wed this semester I can get up, drink a cup of coffee and read the news/check email, and then dive into working on my book for a couple of hours. I then either go for a run, shower, and start doing class prep, committee work, etc. or if I'm going to the gym in the afternoon with Mark I take a super quick shower first thing or just skip showering until the evening.

Rosiecat24 said...

I love hearing about other people's routines. Your Mon/Wed writing schedule sounds terrific! Having a few hours to write is heavenly, and you sound like you are very focused and productive these days. (Yay!)

Your thoughts on mornings made me realize that I'm okay with being a little sleepy while I shower and eat breakfast. If I can do those things first and get them out of the way, by the time I sit down to start working, I'm wide awake and ready to rock and roll. I'd very much like to take a cue from you and limit the sleeping in unless I had a super-late night.

I also have a bad habit of putting off my shower if I think I'm going to run. It's better for me to take my "real" shower early in the day, and then if I'm sweaty or dirty after running, I can have a quick rinse. I don't like showering twice, but I'm more comfortable if I don't delay getting dressed for the day.