Salvaging the day

25 January 2010

My standard poodle, Pip, is out of sorts today. She keeps coming up to me to ask for something. I feed her and she doesn’t eat. I let her out and she doesn’t want to come in (which is unusual, since it’s a very blustery day). It appears she wants something, but doesn’t know what. And she’s having a little trouble getting comfortable.

I’m the same way today. I have a lovely, clear calendar all the way to a phone meeting at 5 p.m. I have a long to-do list. But I have not checked a whole lot of things off on it. Like Pip, I find myself a bit out of sorts and uncomfortable.

It’s 3 p.m. and I have some options here to salvage the day. I can:

Buckle down and try to get as much done as possible before my 5 p.m. meeting and 7 p.m. NSGCD teleclass. That way maybe I’ll feel better about myself and the day’s productivity.
Cut myself some slack and just pick one or two really important things from my list and then do them.
Concentrate on what I have managed to accomplish, since the day hasn’t been a total wash. (Hey, once I post this, I can cross “write blog post” off my list!)
Do something that will make my mind feel more clear, like cleaning out my (physical) in basket which is starting to get full or clearing off my desktop completely, dusting it thoroughly and putting back just the few things that need to be there. That kind of activity might set me back on the course to being productive for the last hour before my meeting.
Set my timer for 15 minutes and do something (anything) from my list for that period of time. Then I could take a break and do it again.
Throw in the towel (so to speak) and soak in a hot tub or take a nap.

Any of those options are good. All of them are better than surfing the web for the fashions worn at this weekend’s SAG Awards (which I admit I did today). I think I’m going to go with the option of clearing off my desk. I might combine it with the use of the timer. Once it’s clear, I’ll prepare for my meeting and if there’s time continue reading the book I’m planning to review here this week. That should make me feel better.

Now if I can only figure out how to get Pip feeling more comfortable!

Tagged with: productivity, time management