Priorities

[morsla]

For the first time in years, I've been able to sit down and do a specific job without trying to wander off and work on ten others. It's a nice feeling to start the studying year with. Of course, it took outside help (thankyou aeliel) to shift my headspace somewhere that I could start getting things done.

(dis)organisation
I got snowed under with work during Honours, and then lost any chance that I had of getting back on top of things when I got sick at the end of the year. That was a while ago... late 2004, in fact. Unfortunately, I never really found my way back out from under the pile of work - after the thesis I went straight back to CSIRO, and after finishing work there were jobs I'd been neglecting to do at home.

Did I get everything finished in some kind of caffeine-fueled workathon? Hell no. In fact, much of it will never be finished. I think I've done the things that mattered, though. Last Friday I cut my ties to the things that should have been dropped months (or years) ago, on some advice from aeliel.

Important: Things that are important to me.
Urgent: Things that I need to do by a particular time, for someone else.

Urgent and Important: At the moment, my new uni course fits in here. I can learn a set of skills that I know will be valuable to all the different directions that I'd like to take my life over the next few years. It's likely to dominate my time for the next few months, but (unlike Honours) it's something that I am doing because I know that it's what I want.

Important but not Urgent: The things that matter to me, which up until now I've found myself trying to fit in after everything else is done... or more commonly, not doing at all. They deserve to have a higher place on the list. Things in this group at the moment include spending more time with you lot... Learning to use my design and layout software more effectively. Setting up a website for my painting and sculpting (something to do in the mid-year break). Practicing my forms, and learning the rest of the Wudan tai chi.

Urgent but not Important: Things that need to be done, but don't matter to me personally. I do them when I can find the time, within the timeframe I'm allowed... but they aren't allowed to intrude on time or space that belongs to something higher up the list. Paying bills, running errands. Assignments that I don't see the relevance to (fortunately, I haven't seen any of these yet). Many of my paid jobs fall here. I'll get them done by the deadlines set, but I'm not interested in seeing them take over my life again.

Not Important, not Urgent either: I don't have time for these any more. Half-forgotten projects that I've tried to finish out of a sense of completeness. Jobs that have been passed on to me because their owners can't be bothered doing them. Half of the things on my "to paint" list have fallen into this group - they might become urgent mid-year, when I'll need to sell more figures to pay the bills. Until that time, they've been moved outof sight... there just isn't enough time to waste it worrying about things that I don't have the time to do.

Comments

[z3nmaster.livejournal.com]

Good to see that you're sorting things out. Sad that so much painting has had to be put aside, but thats life i guess...