#LifeCircle 7 - The Discomfort Zone

Kate asked the LifeCirclers to step out of their comfort zones this week. Last week I wrote about my list philosophy and the advantages of positive procrastination. The reason last week's list got almost finished was that I was running to do any task other than phone the plumber. Here's a brief history of the situation:

Nine months ago the 20 year old tap on my bathroom sink was leaking at the base where it's fixed to the sink. I called the building insurance people and was told, obviously, that taps weren't covered but they'd send their plumber to make sure there was nothing wrong with the pipes in the wall which are covered by my insurance.

A nice man came and confirmed that the tap was leaking, it wasn't covered by insurance and he could fix it through his private business. He fixed it, along with a couple of other things, and I paid him 850nis (about 140 pounds - sounds incredible but services here are very expensive if you're anything more or less qualified than a teacher with an MA and 25 years experience).

Nine months later the new tap is leaking. Step one was to file months of papers, bills and receipts in order to find the receipt from the plumber. I put this off for a couple of weeks but eventually did it and couldn't find the important receipt anywhere. I probably threw it out. Who would think that a new tap would need fixing after nine months?

So now I didn't have a leg to stand on vis a vis guarantee. I didn't have a number for the plumber, nor did I even remember his name. I don't have another 600nis or so to pay for a new tap and the leak isn't exactly gushing out water. Thus I did what I do best and ignored it, meanwhile doing everything else on my long list of tasks except deal with the tap - positive procrastination at it's best. My life hasn't been so efficiently in order for months. A result of sorts but a leaking tap will only get worse....

After acting out the worst case scenario whereby I explain the situation to the plumber, he laughs at me in a nasty and condescending way and tells me to get lost (slightly humiliating but I've been through worse things), eventually I faced my demons and picked up the phone to the insurance company. They had the original visit on their computer and could give me the name and phone number of the plumber. Plumber remembered me and happened to be in the area so he dropped in to assess the problem. There was a wobbly "I knew it!" moment when he explained that the tap company (for the tap he bought me) was responsible for the guarantee. But as he had bought the tap he said he would go back to the shop (his regular supplier) and see to it all. That was all last Thursday. Today I called him to see what the situation was. He still hasn't done anything about it but it's on his list. It's no longer my problem so I'm not stressed about it anymore. The whole thing last Thursday took maybe one hour after weeks of worrying about it. Why? Why? Why?

Art I Heart

And tomorrow I'm stepping out of my comfort zone again by launching a new linky on my blog. Art I Heart - read about it here and do come back tomorrow, thanks :). Now that wasn't too difficult either.

#LifeCircle 6 - List Philosophy

Kate, our mentor ( @kateab ) saw that time management was an issue for many of us so she advised writing a list (read how the others did on The Five Fs Blog). Simple. She gave suggestions of course. There's the urgent/non-urgent grid, the list website, prioritising and shifting items accordingly. Me, I just like a straightforward list. I've said it before, I am the List Queen. I write an action list every day (almost). I write a list of things to do from the master list (this may be prioritising). I do it in my Filofax. I love it. I don't always do the things on the list. Some items appear daily for several days weeks. This is called procrastination.

A word about procrastination. Procrastination is very good for lists. While you are avoiding the thing that is paralysing you for whatever reason, you zip through the rest of the list with an efficiency fuelled by dread. Anything not to have to face the dreaded thing that's freaking you out. I had one of these dreaded things to do and was avoiding it at all costs. Consequently my list became a great success. It has an official name: Positive Procrastination. (Btw - the dreaded thing required me to step outside my comfort zone and is the subject of the next LifeCirlce post.)

So here is my list philosophy:

1. I write a list of up to 60 things to do and give myself the whole week to complete them. Obviously some things have to be done on a certain day or at a certain time. Other things are as and when I feel like it. I tend to feel like it more if there is the satisfaction of crossing an item off the list to follow.

2. The items are not all equal. Some are merely making a two minute phone-call or paying a bill online. Some items are big projects like grading all the papers from a course taken by 100 students. This takes several days and many hours. Other items can be lumped together and accomplished on one trip to the shops - deposit a cheque, buy a new kettle, weekly food shop, post a letter, get a spare key cut, etc... It doesn't matter. I tend to do a short task; wash dishes, put on a wash, hang out laundry, etc, during 10 minute breaks in the longer projects.

3. During the course of the week some jobs will become obsolete - I found the spare key so no need to cut a new one, the phone-call phoned me first. Thems the breaks, just cross 'em off the list.

4. This is the crucial one. Do not expect to do everything on the list. Once you've done say 50/60 and reached the end of the week, cut your losses and start again. Write up a new list for the next week. Some items from the week before will be rolled over - it doesn't matter. Some things like food shopping are repeated weekly. Somethng that started as a big project may be able to be chunked down now that you're into it. For example, grade all the papers that came in on time and grade the late papers as two separate items. Or grade papers on option A, option B, etc... Spring clean my bedroom might become; sort out my clothes and clean wardrobe, sort and clean bookshelf, sort and clean dressing table, wash bedroom window, etc...

I accomplished my 50/60 last week and I'm itching to write the list for next week. Part of the ease of it is that you don't have to finish anything by the end of the day and you aren't aiming for 100% completion so you never get upset.

And here is the most exciting thing for a certified procrastinator like myself - when you have done about 70% of the list and the things left to do seem very little and totally manageable, when you get to that point, the dreaded item that you've been avoiding doesn't seem so daunting. You've got the time and clarity to tackle it as you've already done so many of the other things that were dragging you down. You are feeling virtuous. It makes you strong. You're willing to take the risk and step out of your comfort zone. But more of this next time - I've got a list to go and write :~).