Honestly…

It’s been a rough week and I really hadn’t thought about what to put on paper. I’ve been trying to take things day by day, because sometimes, that’s all you can do.

Last week, on my way to work, the muffler pipe on my truck snapped. Someone at my work was kind enough to rig something so the pipe wouldn’t move while I made my way home. Now, my truck is very loud and it isn’t running as well as I’m used too. My brother rigged a beer can to it to try and keep the pipe together, but it’s only a temporary fix. When it comes to it, my old man (truck) is getting to the point where he’s is calling it quits. So, I’ve been searching for a new car.

At the start of the week, my mom and I went out to a dealership to test drive a few cars. I determined I like the Chevy Spark and I thought I was going to purchase one that day, but the one I wanted was sold the morning I went in to look at it. So, the search for the kind of Spark I want continues.

Not only has my truck been an issue, but things are popping up at work. 401k stuff has to be redone since we’re moving to a new company and to me, all that is like trying reading Klingon. Then there’s changes in my workplace. A new cleaning crew started and messed up everyone’s routine and the crew still hasn’t gotten the flow of things yet. My coworkers and I end up having to finish the job when they leave for the day. Plus, we have to find all the places they hid our food bowls so we can clean them. There’s drama amongst my coworkers and with the new cleaning crew, things are tense. Then, literally yesterday we got two new people on the team and I was asked to train them. I don’t think I’m very good at teaching people, but no one has complained so far.

It’s safe to say that I’ve been quite drained and tired at the end of the day that I can’t even get myself to write anything: my stories, a writing prompt, a more clever and funner idea for this post. But that’s okay. Everyone has days where things just get away from you. You have to shift your priorities to get important stuff done, then when the 401k is translated, the new people know what they’re doing, and the drama dies down you can get back to what you love. It just takes patience, perseverance, and discipline and I’ve certainly been learning about all three lately.

It’s too easy to want to get frustrated or overwhelmed or even wrapped up in the drama. There’s too much to do, too much going on that sometimes you don’t want to deal with any of it. When this happens. I find it best to make a list. Make a list of everything you need to do: 401k stuff, car search, training plan, webposts, grocery store, writing, call your brother, watch that new episode, etc. etc. etc. Get a definite list of everything you want to accomplish: good things and tedious things. So, when you get a few of the tedious things done, you can reward yourself by watching that new episode and then that’s another thing you can cross off your list! (I’m the type of person who is very satisfied with crossing things off lists.) You can actually see yourself making progress, feel accomplished, and all those good things that come with it. You may not get to everything in one weekend/day/night/etc. but make priorities. Get stuff done that needs it now and rollover other things for the next weekend/day/night/etc. You just have to make sure you get past the hardest part:

“But I really don’t feel like doing anything.”

That’s the trap, isn’t it? You don’t feel like doing anything, so nothing gets done. I get it, you could have a hard day at work mentally, physically, and/or emotionally that “feeling” like doing something typically wins over. This is where discipline comes in. You have to be an accountability for yourself. When you don’t feel like doing something, you do something anyway. Start with the easiest thing on your list and go from there. You might get a second wind and accomplish more things, you might just stop at one, but at least you got something done!

Getting stuff accomplished this week has been hard for me, but I still manage to write a post, get 401k jumbo started, determine what kind of car I want (even though I haven’t found one yet), I even met up with a friend to discuss edits and improvements for my novel. When it comes to work, things are still getting done, our routine is all out of whack, but everything that needs to get done gets accomplished and we can move onto the fun stuff like enrichment for the dogs. Tomorrow, after work, I plan on accomplishing more things on my list and rewarding myself by watching the new episode of a show I like. I know it’s hard to push through the “I don’t feel like doing anything,” but that’ll only lead to you feeling bad about not getting anything done–trust me, I’ve been there.

So, I’m going to work on my list and I encourage you to write one up for yourself. If you think of more things, add them and keep crossing them off. I believe in you.