Cleanup today. Weekend slipping away.

[cjsmith]

I have lots and lots to do around the house today.

Every weekend, I start out with loads of energy, excited about how much I can get done in the two short days I have before I have to go back to work. Yesterday was no exception to this. I crossed a lot of things off my list yesterday. Dishes, laundry, sweeping up, a new ISP for my domain, a bottle of wine ordered from the winery on behalf of my mom, a Craigslist "free" post, new license plates finally attached to the car... stuff.

Now it's Sunday morning, and reality is sinking in. The list is too long for the time remaining. It always is. I'm no longer excited. Now I'm just working against a deadline.

I hate that my life is always right on the edge of being completely out of control because a full-time job takes so much time and energy. When I come home in the evening, I read a book, because that's all I'm good for. The weekends are gold. That's when I can really make a difference.

Lots to do before bedtime, and no staying up late either. Wish me luck.

Comments

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

See now that's the problems with lists. They cause stress. If your cats are fed and you are fed and it's mostly clean where someone could stop by and you would be ok with it, then it's clean enough.

Go have a free day! I said so! :)

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

i feel your pain. i cram so much into my weekends, i feel like they're lost to the obligations. and if i have fun stuff planned, well, it's no wonder i've got a mountain of laundry and piles of cat hair all over the house.

my favorite list tactic? write down stuff i've already done, just so i can cross something off! :D

[platypus]

Working full time makes it very difficult to have a life, or a clean house. I don't know how people do it. I know people who work twelve hours a day at their software jobs, and still go to book clubs and stuff. Me, I put in eight little hours and then I have to make dinner? I can't even bother to download a picture from my camera every day. I haven't vacuumed in months. I keep trying to go to the "just do something useful for fifteen mintues" model, but I can't even stick to that. I'm increasingly tempted by the 4/10 schedule that my new supervisor dangled in front of me; how much tireder could two extra hours a day make me? And then I'd have a three-day weekend, and I might actually get something accomplished and still have time for fun things. I may need to restrict my internet time -- I suspect that's where most of my evenings go. There's very little TV, and I don't write all the entries floating around in my mind, but random websurfing? I do a hell of a lot of that.

[canseefour.livejournal.com]

I sympathize - this is our first "free" weekend since Labour Day so I'm plowing through all kinds of odd jobs.

Over the years I've learned one way to seem more successful is to make shorter lists. I focus on the "absolutely must do" items - like paying bills, laundry, etc. Sometimes I can get a small item completed during the week and that seems to help a lot.

Good luck to both of us in being able to tick off those items.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Physical challenges make life much more difficult. Pain makes everything -- even fun stuff -- stressful. Things take longer if you have to get off your feet and rest periodically. That's on top of the time-pressure everyone feels in our time-pressured society, where "keeping up with the Joneses" means not just acquisitions, but also activities.

Shortly after Tom and I got married and moved to Maryland, when I wasn't working yet, we went to a B&B one weekend. At breakfast the woman beside me and I introduced ourselves, and she asked brightly, "What do you do?" "I'm at home with my 2-year-old," I said. "Oh. Uh, that's nice," she said tonelessly, and before I could say another word about what I used to do, or what I planned to do, she turned away to talk the person on her other side.

That's where the idea for my airplane-sales business came from. I needed to have something to be, because, especially in those early years of the women's movement, it simply wasn't acceptable in the power-mad DC area to not "do" anything. (Staying at home with one's kids wasn't considered doing anything, regardless of how much work it entailed, or what else you did with your time.) It's a little more socially acceptable to be a stay-at-home mom now (it even has its own acronym) -- but if you don't have kids you're still expected to "do" something.

For many years now I've been responding to that question with "I'm medically retired," feeling the need to add the adverb because I was too young to be retired any other way, and felt I needed an excuse for not working because society equates productivity and success to paid work. But there are other forms of productivity and success. Raising a child is being productive. Calling square-dances is being productive. The joy and sense of accomplishment from being able to do aerobatics is achieving success in life.

The most intense pressure comes from a full-time job, because you can always skip something else if you need to. Your party guests won't care if the bookcases are a little dusty or you haven't scrubbed the splashback behind the sink -- most of them won't even notice, and the rest will feel relieved because their houses aren't perfect either. You can cancel a flight or skip writing. You can even let LJ go for awhile (though there's a mental-health downside to that since it's an important support system for you). But you have to be at work -- and be productive -- day in and day out, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 49 or 50 weeks a year. So it's the biggest stress-producer in terms of not only quantity, but also quality. Even if you love your job, the unceasing nature of its demands are wearing.

Is there any possibility of cutting back your hours? If you tell them you just can't work full-time because of your physical disabilities, I think they have to let you set a shorter schedule ... and since you're appreciated there, they'd probably prefer to have you working fewer hours than lose you altogether.

Is it possible to work 4 days a week instead of 5 (without increasing the number of hours per day), or 6-7 hours a day instead of 8? I think that would make a big difference in your stress level.

If not, you may have to revisit the idea that you've been wrestling with for a long time: Cutting out one or two of your many activities. I have BTDT on this one, and I well know how terribly painful it is ... but it also reduces stress enormously once you come to acceptance of the loss.

Meanwhile, I hope you get everything done that you planned for this weekend and still get a little time to rest and refresh yourself to start the week tomorrow!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

It sucks when one's down time is stressful. Maybe you can find a way to make that not-so... (maybe the lists DON'T help. Maybe they just highlight how much needs to be done ZOMG right now.)

I'm working hourly now, 9 hour days with every other Friday off. I didn't go for the 4/10 because I was concerned after 14 months of not working that I couldn't do 10 hours.

Turns out 10 hours is pretty easy when there's a lot to do (the types of things I need to do are generally varied enough that one thing provides a 'break' from anohter)...

I LOVE getting odd Fridays off. I would also love every Friday off.

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

Regarding weekends, a few friends of mine (and Dave adopted this) would only do life maintenance crap on weeknights. Bill paying, laundry, vaccuuming, whatever. Why save up all the crap chores for the weekend and ruin 'em?

I agree, after work I am pretty tired, so this doesn't always work for me. But theoretically it makes lots of sense.

[airporter.livejournal.com]

Speaking as one who was folding clothes, importing music and reviewing notes for class at 11:30 last night, I understand.

I got about 1/4 of my list done on the weekend. Actually, given the last few weeks, that's not bad. Hmm.