2008 #45 - Doing Stuff I Like

I like doing stuff. Nothing is more depressing than having nothing to do. It's not so much being bored. There are a hundred things I have at one time or another thought I would do when I had time. Making sure I have a copy of every CD in my car, for example. Right now I don't. I'm never stuck for activity, but having stuff to do that isn't just a chore puts me in a much better mood than sitting around.

Last night I visited my family. This weekend I went out in another city on Friday and Saturday, the latter involving seeing my favourite band at my favourite mid-sized gig venue. I went to the Cinema on Tuesday and Wednesday. In a week of far less sitting around, I feel good.

This is no big revelation, but it bears remembering.

Note - i'm going back to not recapping the text of the goals each time. Waste of space. If you want to see them see the last few weeks.

1. I finally made up for my bad behaviour a few weeks ago by staying away from the corn chips and the real chips last week. Other than that I continued to eat moderately. I steered clear of any snack food at work, although there was some celebratory food on Friday of which I did eat some. I'm overindulging in coffee at the moment and my skin is reacting as I know very well it does. This is useful actually because at 28 I refuse to have constant acne problems, which will help me to cut back. So, not perfect but better than recently.

2. I think my opening paragraphs pretty much indicate I'm fine here this week. If anything I've had far less time for the normal entertainment activities.

3. I am doing my very best on this point. I reached out to about 10 people last night to try to arrange some kind of a birthday night out. I normally find this kind of thing hard to co-ordinate, much like when I try to organise a meeting at work, but I seem to have succeeded here, so I should get a chance to see most of my friends in the next week or so and catch up with those I don't see as much any more. At work I am now surrounded by hundreds of people, and I love it. I don't want to overstate this because this is only day three, but there's an atmosphere in this office which I haven't felt in almost three years. I am doing my best not to ignore people in the hope that I may get to know some of them in time. Great to be back with the people rather than sitting around a quiet office in the West Midlands finding it hard to get motivated because it feels like there is nobody else working in the entire place. In a bustling administrative office everybody is working, and I feel much more inclined to join them. This office move is great for so many reasons, but I didn't even expect this one!

4. I am working hard. I haven't had one of those days in which I felt ineffective in the last week or so. I have a major project with a tightening deadline. In the new location It's easier to get on, as I already mentioned, plus time flies. Days dragged on in the old place even when I was supposedly busy. Now the clock races to lunch and then through the afternoon. I put in an extra hour to buy myself some time to get something small fixed on my car later in the week, without a second thought. I do still need to make some progress on my goals, which means giving just a little less focus to this big project, but that may need to wait until after next week. Beyond that I think I need to specifically book time for certain activities. The whole GTD thing after a fair amount of reading got annoying but there are plenty of basic principles in there that can work and this seems like one.

5. Last week I saw a job that I thought I could do. I might not have been able to do it in reality, as it might have had an engineering background as a sticking point - this wasn't clear. I decided not to apply in the end, as I think I like where I am. The things that made my job a drag are mostly gone and I have the opportunity finally to see if I really enjoy this job without all those drains on my energy and cash, plus in a more agreeable environment. I'm not saying that this is the end of rethinking my career, and I will continue to do so, but as of this week, be aware that the current thinking is making the most of what I have, not out of compromise in any major way, mostly out of the good vibe i'm getting.

6. Still the only thing I haven't managed to progress on. Or is it? I actually got an intense work out in my annual trip to a punk gig on Saturday night. If you choose to join in, and I do, it's incredibly hard work. Yes, you do get elbowed in the face, sweated on by many other people, and crushed in ways you'd expect to hurt more, but in trying to stay upright in all that and show enthusiasm for what is an awesome performance, exercise happens. This was coincidental exercise however. It doesn't speak to my progress in this area, which is essentially still poor.

All things considered, my attitude has improved greatly in the last week. I like where this is going.

Other note - if you are like me a late twenties type person that has never had a dentist that thought you needed a cleaning before, be prepared for an incredibly unpleasant experience. They will tell you it's not as bad as a drilling, and of course the net result isn't as bad, but all the worst things about drilling are present in a cleaning, and anticipation of pain runs through the entire experience. On top of that, it takes about four times as long. I do however like the results.