In Honor of Procrastination

In honor of not doing things in a timely manner, I'm using yesterday's writing prompt for today's post.  Since I didn't post at all yesterday, it's even better.

Friday, January 3, 2014
Do you have a tendency to procrastinate, or do you like checking things off your to-do list?

I go back and forth between sticking to my to-do lists and feeling excellent about getting lots of stuff done AND procrastinating on whole lists of things because I just don't wanna.  Sometimes it's just one thing.  For example, it took me several days to actually start my first knitting project.  I had to force myself to pick up the needles and yarn, turn on the Craftsy video and really try.  I'm glad I did it, but I had to convince myself and boy did I find a ton of things to do to avoid it.

The funny thing about procrastination is that you always know, going into it, that you're just making your life more difficult.  And yet, so many of us keep doing it anyway.

That said, I still have to vacuum.  

Snickelfritz

I got back from Seattle several days ago, but have been settling back in and procrastinating like a son of a...

Last week's visit to Seattle was the easy part - I went to see if it was the city for me and came to the conclusion that it most certainly is.  That's fantastic and I have lots of photos to share, but the moment I arrived back at Dulles International, I realized that I now have to face the hard part.  Finding a job there from across the country is the first step, of course.  And as if that won't be enough of a challenge, the logistics of actually getting there, as I've said before, are not pretty.

That said, I have done it before and, while it is unpleasant and costly, I know I can do it and I will have help.  I really can't sit around wallowing in self-pity when I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity in the first place.  It is scary and I will owe a few people a great debt, but I knew after the first day there (not even a full 24 hours) that it was just the right fit for me.  On the water, near the mountains and lovely forests.  Eating the best tater tots ever (I'm not joking) at Canterbury or Lunchbox Labratory, oh god and Serious Biscuit (damn you, biscuits!).  Getting to try a bunch of local beers (and ciders) at Tippe and Drague and meeting the lovely people who make it such a great place to hang out.

I am also very lucky to already have one of my dearest friends living there (Meg's sister, Jenn), who introduced me to a bunch of amazing people that made my trip that much more interesting.  And Seattle that much more enticing.  Steph, Murph, Michelle, Panda - I can never thank them enough for making me feel at home.  And for giving LostGirls a new sub-blog: Found in Seattle (label-wise).

When I started Lost in DC (the first blog for LostGirls that we came up with).  It was created as a way for me to force myself into local adventures in order to help other people who arrive in the DC Metro Area and are as befuddled as I was at first.  I was under the impression that at some point I would know the area really well and be excited to live here.  Now that I've been here fifteen months, I realize that as amazing as this area can be, it just isn't for me.  DC itself is a pretty awesome place, filled with free museums (and some that are not) that I'm so glad I got to spend time in.  The National Portraiture Gallery and the Botanic Gardens (both visited with my best Jess...and I don't think I ever posted about the latter, so add that to the list of things I need to do before I leave) were wonderful experiences and having a birthday dinner at Fogo de Chao (a Brazilian steakhouse - it's meat-tastic) is something I'll never forget.

This isn't a bad place to live and I know plenty of people who are very happy here.  But while I don't hate it, I know it isn't right, not a good fit, not the place for me.  So the adventure to Seattle begins here...I'm sorry if it ends up being as painful for you to read about, as it is for me to experience, but I'm pretty sure it'll be worth it in the end.  

I have a lot of great Seattle memories and photos to share with you in the coming days, but for now I leave you with my first pictures of Seattle:

These were taken on a friend's balcony in Eastlake, a few blocks from Lake Union.  From there, you can see all of downtown (including the Space Needle, of course) and over to Gasworks Park (just outside the right frame of the bottom photo).  I spent a lot of daytime hours staring at that view during my visit, just dumbfounded by it.

 Coming Soon (more Found in Seattle):

• True definition of the "Seattle Freeze" (what's up with the Snickelfritz?)
• Seattle, the true home of Tater Tots (so says I)
• A few Seattle bar and restaurant reviews (real quick ones, though)

Day 31: And done.

I had so many good ideas rolling around in my head throughout the course of my day...but I didn't write a single one of them down.  Now they're just snippets, like wisps of cloud, floating off into the ether.  Ah well, when you have nothing left to write about, there's always writer's block:

My lord, there are a lot of books on this subject.  My own theory is that if you actually force yourself to write something, anything, you'll eventually get to where you wanted to go.  What gets in the way is that we procrastinate, we insist on writing about only one thing, we insist on sticking with one project instead of letting ourselves drain off the excess so we can get back to where we need to be, and we believe everything has to be absolutely perfect, then freak ourselves out that it isn't just right and therefore shouldn't be in print.

It is all in our heads.  You may say, "Well, duh."  But that's not what I mean.  It's not that you have run out of ideas or have lost your creativity.  You're just being stubborn and/or afraid and, really, a pain in your own arse.

I believe that what we want to write wants to be written. I believe that as I have an impulse to create, the something I want to create has an impulse to want to be born. My job, then, is to show up on the page and let that something move through me, in a sense, what wants to be written is none of my business. 

- Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way

I have to remind myself when I get in those moods to just sit down and write anything that comes, even if it's the same sentence over and over again.  As long as my fingers are moving on a keyboard or I've put pen to paper, I'll be fine - I just need to keep going and I'll get there.  Regardless of where the current "there" happens to be.

In other news, I feel that I have successfully finished this month's NaBloPoMo and beaten my own writer's block for the past 31 days (with exception of those two days that we won't mention, eh?).  I have really enjoyed being a part of this project and have just decided that I'm going to sign up for February's NaBloPoMo, but since I'll be spending a lot of time thinking about future moving plans, I don't know that it will be daily.  More on that in tomorrow's post!

Unless the dentist drugs me and I end up sleeping all day...

Day 13: Git'r Done

I wanted today to be a lazy day.  I slept in and grabbed my one cat, who thinks he's a human child, to snuggle with and my other cat got under the covers with us and it was real sweet and cute and then...

I suddenly remembered the long list of things I have to get done in the next two days.  I hate that.  I especially hate that my own procrastination is what got me into this mess.  I have so very many things to take care of.  And since it's Sunday, there are certain things I need to get done today because all the other things have to wait until everything is open again tomorrow.  You know, those things I should have done on Friday...

I have always been a fan of making lists.  It helps me get my thoughts in order and prioritize.  The problem is that I make lists all over the place, then don't know where I put them.  Luckily, Mary told me about Evernote (first selling point: it's free).  It is a huge step up from those sticky notes you put on your phone (at least they're in one place, but you always forget to look at them).  When I first checked out Evernote, I thought it might be a good tool.  What made me completely fall in love with it was the addition of Evernote Webclipper (also free).

Evernote allows me to store all my notes, lists, reminders, even screenshots of sites I want to go back to or things I want to add to the blog, in one place.  Then it automatically syncs to any device I want it to.  Since I'm not terribly fancy, I just have my computer and cell phone linked.  But for those of you who have multiple devices, Evernote will sync all of them for you.  So:

• All of the digital data I add to Evernote is organized in one place
• It is easily searchable
• I can attach photos, links, audio and/or external files
• With Webclipper, I can save shots of webpages (the links embedded) that I want to go back to later - which I prefer over a long list of links that don't give me enough information and thus I ignore that I copied them for myself and never look at them again
• I can share all of these with other people from any device

Why, just the other day I made a to-do list for a friend who was stressed out (in much the same way I am today).  Once I was finished typing up her list, I took a photo with my cell phone of myself sticking my tongue out and attached it to the note, then forwarded it to her phone for her absolute enjoyment.

Evernote Webclipper is the only extra that I've used so far, but Evernote offers several more, like Evernote Hello, Skitch and Evernote Food (which I have a feeling Mary and I are going to be using and sharing quite a bit on very soon).  And if you're already using Dropbox and don't see why you should switch, my question is why not use both?  They are both great tools and serve slightly different purposes.  Since they're both free, you can have ALL THE THINGS.

Day 2: Procrastination

I started off the day ready to sink my teeth into this blogging exercise (NaBloPoMo, courtesy of BlogHer and the whole thing started for me right here).  Raring to go, if you will.  It's now evening and I've made Chrismukkah lists, paid bills, searched for work shoes online, re-sorted all of my hair accessories (I chopped more than half my hair off a few nights ago, so all the hair ties are going back into storage until they're useful again), read part of a book and just. didn't. write.  That's how it goes - it's so easy to procrastinate when there are just so many other things to do, so many distractions to get distracted by!

Which is why it is nice to read about other people's issues with procrastination, especially when those people are attempting to complete the same project you are.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Project Marie's first NaBloPoMo post for this month tonight.  I had been reading through some of the posts on NaBloPoMo Soup and hers was the first one that went into the reality a lot of bloggers face, as Marie put it, "blog death by neglect."  I've had a few of those and do not wish to see LostGirls endure the same fate.  As far as followers, it's already suffered quite a bit, so NaBloPoMo makes even more sense to do this month - for myself, if no one else.  And even though I'm not joining the Soup for my first round, it was pretty cool to find something motivating on a stranger's site.  Sort of like unintentional moral support.  Which is one of the benefits of doing this kind of long-term writing exercise.

In any case, BlogHer's theme for December's NaBloPoMo is WORK.  Quite fitting considering that I interrupted my blogging to start a new job.  Now I can tell you all about that and keep on track with both of the things I love to do with my time.  I'm planning on doing the writing prompts from BlogHer for the next week and would love to read what everyone else thinks of the questions asked and my answers.