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Put on a mask, apply another persona, try out a different way of behaving.
Halloween is the best time of the year to remember how to play make believe. Trick or treat!
Who knows, you might learn something interesting about yourself in the process...
Here they come, the seasonal wave of fat catalogs overflowing your mailbox!
You will almost certainly get some from companies you've never done business with and have no interest in doing business with. Don't just toss these.
Put them by the phone and then when you're doing some task that allows for having a phone by your ear (I do this in the kitchen usually), call them up and ask to be removed from their mailing list.
Yes, it's kind of a pain to make the call, but it really does help reduce the flow of junk mail once you've been doing this for a while. I get far less than I used to.
Yes, as we get older there do seem to be more moments when we can't remember something, but that's hardly surprising when you think about it.
The older you get the more information and experiences you've taken in and it doesn't seem odd to me that it would grow more difficult to pull a particular fact out of a increasing pile of other facts.
Today, take some time to think about that which you do remember now and want to keep remembering later. We humans have an amazing memory tool that you can use to great effect in this area - it's called writing. Plus there's that speech trick too, which is also handy.
- Label your old photos with who is in them.
- Take pictures of things with a story and write the story down to keep with it. Flickr and Vox are particularly handy for this.
- Talk into a tape recorder or an audioblog service like Hipcast or Odeo and tell the stories you remember for which you don't have physical souvenirs.
- Tell your stories in person to family and friends.
Most of all, though, don't give yourself a hard time over not remembering every single thing you've ever done, heard, read or otherwise encountered. It'd be a pretty poor & dull life that was always completely retrievable in every detail by a human brain. So just put the things that really matter to you in some form of "offboard" backup and relax.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor today.
Have some friends over and reacquaint yourself with this pleasant home you have!
And no worrying about the things you want to do that aren't done yet; see the progress and know that your true friends are always less fussy about your performance than you are yourself.
You know what must be done and it won't REALLY take that long. Close the nice clean bedroom's door, grab the broom and/or the vacuum and give the rest of the house a good round of detritus removal.
Listen to some music or a book on headphones (with an iPod or what have you) while you do this and it will go even easier.
When you're done, look around. The place looks pretty decent, huh? Enjoy the weekend!
Tomorrow you'll be sweeping and/or vacuuming, so make your life easier by picking up (or at least neatly stacking) the random things sitting around the place on the floor today.
Gird yourself for battle and head to the bedroom.
Cover the pillows so they don't get dusty & make you sneeze later. Wear a dust mask if it's really bad.
Shake the curtains to get the dust in them heading down to the floor.
Take everything out from under the bed, wipe it off, vacuum up all the dust, and shove what you still want to keep back under there.
While you're at it tackle anything else in the room that isn't flush to the floor & get the dust out from under there too.
Give the whole room a good pass with the duster and after the air settles a bit, vacuum the whole room.
Hooray! Non-itchy bedroom!
Today's quick chore is to take a damp cloth and clean up marks on the walls & around the light switches. (In the latter case, less damp is preferable; electrocution is not all its cracked up to be).
Give the windowsills & frames a wipe too.
Last, look around at the art you have up on the wall and your curtains. Happy with everything? Or are there a couple projects to add to your list to change to something better?
Okay, this will only take a few minutes. Grab your cobweb duster or put a kitchen towel around the head of a broom and clear out the cobwebs around the corners of your rooms & (carefully now) by the light fixtures.
While you're looking up there, see if you need to replace any light bulbs and test your smoke alarm.
Go slow. Be kind, especially to yourself. Unknot your knots.
Recommended possibilities for you today:
- sleeping in
- reading for pleasure
- seeing a movie
- letting someone else cook for you & do the dishes
- taking a nap
- not worrying about what else you could be doing
Relax.
1. Work
What? Work on a weekend? Yes, because this time I want you to do something that doesn't necessarily relate to your present job but to your ability to do jobs in general well and with less stress.
Stroll on down to the library or your local bookstore and get your hands on one of these books or something else that's been recommended to you to help build skills you want:
- Getting Things Done by David Allen (to help with prioritizing your time)
- Don't Sweat The Small Stuff or Don't Sweat The Small Stuff At Work by Richard Carlson (to help with general stress reduction)
- Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug (to help anyone who makes or works on websites do it better)
- Wishcraft by Barbara Sher (to help with identifying what you really want to be doing)
2. Home
Yay! You have time to work on a project if you want, I hope. Or you could go to the movies or take a long bath. Whatever. Enjoy!
1. Work
Carve out at least 30 minutes today to work on something which improves and demonstrates the skills which are required for the position you'd like to be promoted to.
Good candidates are things like being able to succinctly & effectively summarize a lot of information, giving better presentations, writing clearly (particularly valuable for technical folks, but also great for anyone who has to articulate what their organization is doing or hoping to do), and being a mentor.
2. Home
Get rid of or pass along another of those projects you put a dotted line through on your list and cross it off for good. I recommend this be the one that is taking up the most space or the space you most want to be using for other things.
Again, look at the starred projects and think about what you might want to work on this weekend. Is there a project you'd love to work on that's waiting for some supplies or other errand to move it forward? Weekends have opportunities for such things. Mmm, weekends.
1. Work
Time to put in some progress on those projects which your boss cares about and which have been waiting for a while and which can be completed in less than an hour. See if you can knock out two of these without negatively impacting other important things, but even one is good.
Be sure to send an email to your boss reporting on any significant progress.
2. Home
Clean up and/or optimize your project space for a bit this evening. Just vacuuming or sweeping if that area's gotten less pleasant to be in is good progress. Think about if there are things you need to change to make it easier for you to work on things in comfort.
I offered to store a folding table my boyfriend wasn't using and didn't have a good place to store and bought a better chair than the one I'd had. Since then I actually did scan some old photos that had been waiting years to get done and the space is very inviting to sit down and move other paper projects forward at last.
1. Work (or, for the retired & students, Projects You Do For Others)
Yes, yes, indeed, the time has come to slap down that project which nags at you most and which it will relieve you greatly to have completed. Don't let it take over your day if it would cause you other issues, but do put in at least 30 minutes moving that horrid old festering project closer to out of your life.
2. Home
Clean up/get rid of/pass along one of the projects you drew a dotted line through on your list yesterday. Cross it off thoroughly now.
Reward yourself with a little chunk of time working on one of your starred projects. Even if you only have time to look at it and write down a little list of what you want to do next, that's great. Thinking about a fun project as you head off to bed is nice.
1. Work
Today go back to the project(s) you identified as "that which your boss cares most about you having completed".
First, figure out the status and next step for it/them.
Second, if the next step can be completed in less than 30 minutes, do it or identify what needs to happen before you can move it forward.
Third, email a status report to your boss. "Hi, I thought you'd be interested in an update on what's happening with these projects..." Make sure it covers current status, next step, any actions required by others to move it forward, and when you're expecting to be able to do that step or meet with the others to get it rolling. Be concise; bosses really like having a clear picture from a brief message.
2. Home
Find all the open projects that are taking up more than a shoebox or a binder's space. Jot them down on paper. Mull them over a little.
Circle the ones that still matter to you.
Put a star by the ones that you'd also enjoy working on if you suddenly magically had a completely free day tomorrow.
Draw a dotted line through the ones that don't matter to you anymore.
1. Work (or, for the retired & students, Projects You Do For Others)
Carve 20 minutes out of your day somewhere (or stay late or come in early tomorrow if you have to) to think hard about a few things & take a few notes:
- that which your boss cares most about you having completed;
- that which nags at you most and which it will relieve you greatly to have completed;
- that which your boss cares about and which has been waiting for a while and which can be completed in less than an hour;
- that which will most help you be more efficient in the future;
- that which is a demonstration of the skills which are required for the position you'd like to be promoted to.
We're going to come back to these each day for the rest of the week, so keep these high-level categories in mind as you work through the days.
2. Home
Find that uncompleted project which is taking up the most space. Put in 45 minutes on it OR pack it up with a note to remind yourself of the next steps to do OR officially abandon it & get it out of the way.
As you move forward on your own path of making your life less the one you don't want and more the one you do, work in a little time and/or money to help someone else on the same route. We all do better when we all do better.
As we're all learning from discardian acts and small habit changes, the little stuff adds up, so notice that the same can apply to huge efforts like eliminating poverty and debilitating health conditions.
There are some great inspirations in this area - I'm a long-time fan and donator to Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter's Carter Center, for example - and the latest one in the news is Bangladeshi microloan pioneer, Muhammad Yunus, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. I really like microcredit a lot as a concept and am active in it through Kiva, where I am an investor to a man named George Bomboko in Uganda. I put in $25 of the $450 he needed to start his business and he's already paid back about a third of that 4 months in on his 12-14 month loan period. I feel great about helping him out and about having this direct connection to someone else in another part of the world and am glad to know that even when I can only spare a few dollars, I can be doing something valuable.
On a local scale there are often good programs to provide emergency housing, showers, assistance with resume writing, etc. which can offer the kind of small help that allows someone having a hard time to get or keep a job. Just volunteering for them for a day or making a little donation of small things that will be handy for people who are homeless - disposable safety razors & travel packets of shaving cream, for instance - can give enough of a boost to help make someone feel things are getting better instead of worse.
Where do you like to make a difference? Are there organizations you donate to or volunteer with that you'd like to recommend? Chime in in the comments - and go make a little difference today somewhere!
There's a project you have that's in a partially-completed state. You know, that one you keep looking at all the time and thinking "oh jeez, I really need to get rolling on that".
Today is the day to work on it for 90 minutes straight. A good solid chunk of effort, that's what it needs.
You can go longer if you get inspired. ;)
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
--Brendan Gill
Yes, it's time again. Get rid of a bunch of that kipple that's invaded your home.
Today, every time you are in a room in your house, you must eliminate 3 things from a stack that has piled up.
(Hiding in one room all day is not only cheating, it's ridiculous. You can do this!)
This Discardian tip is a great one to pull out whenever it occurs to you. Lollygagging around the house? Before you leave a room find something that doesn't belong there and take it to where it goes - put that dirty glass in the sink, toss that tissue in the trash, hang that coat in the closet, file those papers away. If you make a habit of leaving a place nicer than when you found it, your home will be getting more pleasant all the time.
I know, I know, easier said than done, but watch yourself and see if you can catch yourself in the act of not listening as soon as you know that the person speaking (or writing) is a [insert belief system here].
This is particularly common across the boundary of belief and non-belief in God (or gods). Secular humanists are very quick to tune out the religious, missing out on deep insights and traditions of charity, and, as a most disheartening survey in the United States revealed, atheists are less trusted than any of the other groups listed (e.g. women, blacks, homosexuals, Jews, etc. etc.) despite their significant numbers and contributions even in a highly religious country like the U.S.
Try reading something across the boundaries of your beliefs. C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity have something to offer even a diehard atheist. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins or just about anything by Carl Sagan can help theists & deists understand the love & passion that the irreligious can bring to the world around them
If those are too big a jump, go read the humorous Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by atheist Douglas Adams or enjoy Sister Wendy's books and videos on great art of the world.
A college degree that is just about training for a particular career in a particular field is a gigantic gamble. It leaves you vulnerable to changes large and small.
I want a college education to give you something better.
What is valuable about a college education is not something a lousy economic cycle can take away.
Read more of Janet D. Stemwedel's thoughts on why to go to college. Like travel the big benefit is what it does to the way you think.
May I suggest you try exposing yourself to chance and new discoveries by not buying any new music that costs over $3 an album unless you buy it directly from the band?
Find the clearance shelf at your local indie record store (Streetlight on Market's is in the upstairs back right corner & prices are $1 or $1.95). Check out yard sales & thrift stores.
Sign up for LaLa and turn the stuff that didn't work out into what you know you want.
Dress up for something today.
High tea, anyone?
Yes, that day that you've spent all week thinking "On Saturday I'll..." about.
So, what's on your list? Do it!
If you've packed too much in, pare it down to what you'll most enjoy and be most relieved by being done with.
Me, I'm visiting Grandma Susie, dumping a bunch of old crap at the Goodwill, doing a bit of shopping for obscure cocktail ingredients (who would have thought that orange bitters would be so elusive?) & fresh fruit & veg, and watching DVDs & reading.
Today read about another country you know nothing about and then spend at least 20 minutes writing steadily. Journal, letters, fiction, a Wikipedia subject you do know about, whatever. Just open your mind and then write.
What you write need have nothing to do with what you read, just read and think and start writing.
I just saw a great documentary called Paper Dolls about Filipino caregivers for the elderly in Israel. They face intolerance, not only for their foreigness but because they're transvestites. Somehow they endure this to give the most astoundingly sweet care to old men and women. The film paints a portrait of their dreams and obstacles, their friendship and fun times putting on shows.
A wide ranging picture for less than two hours, but the images that stay with me are their fey silhouettes mostly woman but not quite and their hands soothing people who are scared and sore and who might otherwise be alone.
Where do you find the strength to be there for someone 24 hours a day and deal with their physical and mental failings with a calm, steady, gentle hand and voice? It takes a special kind of person to get this good at it, but it comes from love.
Go give some.
This is a choose your own adventure tip:
If you're a bit frazzled, go to #1 below.
If you're feeling energetic, go to #2 below.
1. What really, no, really, absolutely must get done tonight? Maybe those dishes from Monday? Maybe mail that bill? But how long will that take? Not so long. So, do that which must be done and only that. Then be a big lazy slug and enjoy the hell out of it. Read a trashy novel in the bath, play video games, go watch cartoons, whatever is unproductive. Let it wind you down and get a good night's rest. Thursday & Friday will go better.
2. Whirlwind cleaning dervish! What can you do fastest that will make the place look best and stress you out less when you get home from work tomorrow? Put on some perky music and round up the stuff that's where it doesn't belong. Get the piles put away or at least made more neat. Then find one icky chore that ya don't wanna do but you'll wanna do even less on the weekend and knock that sucker down. Take a shower before bed and go to sleep with the pride of a job well done.
Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams.
--Mary Ellen Kelly
This very funny "free if you come get it" offer came through on my company's community email list and reminded me to remind everyone that even the special item sometimes reaches the end of its life with you:
15 years ago, my wife came home with this giant earth-mover tire on top of our Toyota. It's about 3 feet across (maybe a little more), and weighs a whole lot. We stood it up next to our kids' play structure, buried it about one-quarter of the way into the dirt, and it provided years of climbing and sliding fun. Now, the kids are teenagers, and seem to have lost interest in it. Fickle!
Even the good stuff can move on to make room for the life you're living now (or want to be living!)
Sunday is often an ideal day to do a few things to make the rest of the week go easier.
Here's a few ideas:
- pick out your clothes for tomorrow and make sure you have enough clean things to get you through the work week
- if you had to get up early or aren't feeling 100%, take a little nap before sundown, just a catnap to give you a little extra rest
- make sure you have all the groceries you need to eat well and healthy throughout the week ahead
- pack a good lunch for tomorrow
- set out the breakfast things before you go to bed so it's easy to fuel up at the start of the day
- do something fun and silly - laughter is great medicine!
- take a little time to be still, do nothing at all, and let you mind lose its busy buzzing.
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