Really? One Year to an Organized Work Life Filled with Hapiness?: March 2009

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The yellow bag is no more!

The day after I emptied the yellow bag at home, I distributed its contents to proper homes and recycled the bag. Although I am behind the recommended timeline, I am still making progress. Woot!

Monday, March 2, 2009

I have had the yellow bag since June of 2005. In it I placed things I had on or in the desk in my area in the librarians' workroom. I placed all sorts of things in this bag and kept them there while in two other offices. The bag has been on my mind for quite some time, so I took it home and attacked it tonight. Here it is:

From One Year to an Organized Work Life?!

But wait until you see what was in it!

From One Year to an Organized Work Life?!

Here is what I found to throw away:

From One Year to an Organized Work Life?!

In the throw away pile, I had broken pins, sunscreen that expired in 2004, ibuprofen from 2005, an inhaler that expired in 2004, some old hard candy, and various flakes of paper and plastic that make their way down to the bottom of any container over the course of nearly four years. Yikes! I also recycled a good pile of paper.

Here is what remains in the bag:

From One Year to an Organized Work Life?!

There are office supplies to put in my newly organized desk drawers, photos to put in my photo album, correspondence to file, YAC mementos to file, and some disks to look at to see if they can just be destroyed. I haven't used them for at least 3 1/2years! It feels good to have the specter of the yellow bag dealt with.

How I said yes to life and no to overworking in February

This month's list is longer than January's. Let's keep going. I feel so much better about the deadlines and the workload when I have done some exercise and read regularly. What a difference it makes for my psyche!

finished The Silver Chair with daughter at bed time 2/28
went to yoga book discussion 2/28
finished my big girl book! 2/27
read a book of my choosing 2/25
walked on the treadmill 2/25
went to daughter's play practice 2/24
left work at 4:45pm! 2/24
walked on the treadmill and read during lunch break 2/24
read a big people book before bed time 2/23
read daughter to sleep 2/23
went snowmobiling with the family 2/21
slept for 14 hours 2/19-20
practiced the flute 2/17
left work at 5:30PM! 2/17
read my daughter to sleep 2/16
read my daughter to sleep 2/15
took a three hour nap 2/15
snuggled on the couch and watched Ghost Whisperer with my daughter 2/13
spent an hour at the book store with my daughter 2/10
took a 90 minute nap 2/8
read another chapter of The Silver Chair with my daughter 2/7
went to MVCC band practice 2/4
watched the Super Bowl as a family 2/1

Habit of the month: February

The month of February started off pretty shaky, and March did as well. There isn't a lot of breathing time built into my schedule. That just means staying on top of things is that much more important. February was ok. I'll start the March habits on March 2, but the other stuff is waiting a week since I'm behind. Once we have a five week month, I'll be caught up.

FEBRUARY

I began tracking on Monday, February 2, a day that will prove pretty stressful given my calendar. I'm already a little nervous because my blue bottle is waiting the be washed. That means I'll have to wash it before I can fill it and take it to work.

Drink 16 ounces of water each work day from a reusable (my addition) container that is easily refilled.

2, 3, 4,(didn't take bottle home on 4, so no filled one on 5), 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, (3 day weekend), 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

Keep the bathroom tidy by putting your towel where it belongs after each shower (hamper or towel bar), wiping off the sink, and emptying the garbage if it needs it.

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

Weight progress

11/10 173.2
11/3/12 174.3
10/27/12 175.2
10/20/12 174/8
10/13/12 172.8
10/6/12 175.0
9/29/12 175.0
9/21/12 174.2
9/14/12 174.8
9/7/12 175.2
8/31/12 175.0
8/24/12 175.2
8/17/12 175.0
8/10/12 174.0
8/3/12 172.4
7/28/12 173.2
7/21/12 173.2
7/14/12 175.4
7/7/12 173.6
6/30/12 172.6
6/23/12 172.0
6/16/12 171.6
6/2/12 171.6
5/26/12 172.0
5/19/12 171.4
5/12/12 171.0
5/5/12 171.6
4/28/12 171.2
4/21/12 173.0
4/15/12 174.4
4/8/12 174.4
4/1/12 174.4
3/25/12 175
3/18/12 174.2
3/11/12 Whoops! I forgot to weigh-in !!
3/4/12 173.8
2/26/12 176.4
2/19/12 174.4
2/12/12 176.0
2/5/12 178.2
1/29/12 178.6
1/22/12 179
1/15/12 179
1/8/12 182
1/1/12 183

How I said yes to life and no to overworking in May:

5/14/12 Went to Fusion class and read before bed
5/13/12 Visited with in-laws, parents, sister's family, then went to daughter's softball game
5/12/12 Went to YMCA interval class
5/11/12 Made potato salad to add to dinner prepped by hubby and went to Rebecca's softball game
5/10/12 Read before bed time
5/9/12 Went to Power Yoga at the YMCA
5/8/12 Didn't run errands on my lunch hour.
5/7/12 Fusion at Just Breathe Yoga Studio
5/6/12 Spent some quality time with hubby
5/5/12 Went to see friends on a last minute invitation and read on the way there.
5/4/12 Had dinner at Sam'z and read before bedtime
5/3/12 Went for a walk with my husband after dinner.
5/2/12 Went to Power Yoga at the YMCA
5/1/12 Went to Rebecca's softball game.

Home Habit of the Month

Month 3: Get rid of and file all mail and incoming paper from school, work, and play as soon as it comes in. (Touch it once!)

Accomplished on: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

This includes reading newspapers and recycling right away and cutting coupons and recycling the remaining paper right away. There are two visual measures to this success in my house.

1. Dining room table free of clutter

2. Kitchen counter free of clutter

On May 1 the dining room table is pristine. The small kitchen counter has a to do pile, which I'll put in a folder so it isn't as noticeable. That way I will have a visual reminder. Is the small counter clear? Yes. Good. No? Take care of it every day!