Focus Friday

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Whether your focus is Conga Friday, paper taming, climbing Mt. Washmore or just on planning fun, today's focus will be Focus.

How do you manage to stay on task when tackling something that needs focus?

Do you use high powered music to keep you moving?
Do you use candles and quiet music to create a warm environment that you don't want to leave?
Do you put on a movie or the tv, to keep you in the room with the project?

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Paperwork is my main challenge of the day.

I'll be using movies to keep me in the room while I sort through things. But once I have to concentrate on actual thinking data entry, I'll have to come up with something else to keep me on task.

[Twins' Mom]

I'll be at work today and need to be focused. Deadlines help keep me focused - on Tuesday a.m. I need to do about 20 minutes of our tax training for the year so I really need to get my materials together today, if at all possible.

Hoping to get news about dMacs test yesterday for Cushings disease so will try to stay head down, working, so I don't fret.

When working at home on house duties, I sometimes use an application which I downloaded for free - called Focus Booster. Basically it's a 25 minute simple timer, with a 5 minute scheduled break.

Need to move on - s2s and get ready for work!

[bittersweet]

What I use to help me focus depends on the task. Paperwork, and other tasks that need some actual conscious thought process usually get classical music (anything from Tchaikovsky to Bach to Handel to even sometimes Chinese bamboo flute music - not classical, but still nice). Physical tasks such as vacuuming, making beds, scrubbing floors or bathrooms usually gets pop/rock music - anything from Meatloaf to Billy Joel to ABBA, depending on my mood. Quiet tasks that don't require much thought are usually accompanied by audio books. Sometimes I'll use my timer to help keep me focused.

Today is payroll for me, as is tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, as it's the first time I'll be working at the Pet Expo http://www.petexpo.ca/whats-on Today, however, it'll be regular office stuff. Hopefully, it will be about as quiet as it was yesterday. The weather is finally starting to warm up a bit, and the critters may be out and about.

Eek! It's already almost 7am! I need to get the critter care done, and get myself ready for work!

[Harriet]

Oh, Focus is a good thought - it reminds me of our Focus Cleaning forum and threads. bittersweet, blessedw2 and lucylee have been intent on getting back into Focus Cleaning for the first month of the year - they are inspiring over there. I've been pulling and tugging a Basic Weekly Plan into shape and Focus Cleaning is a big part of that. I've settled on 15 minutes per day in the Focus area - that seems to work best for me. It keeps the area on the "front burner" through the week. As I had posted to lucylee in Cardfile Central, I tend to think of Focus as getting to those things that are not a part of Weeklies, but done less often. We're in bathrooms now and yesterday my task was to wash the outer shower curtain for the front bathroom. Got that hung back last evening.

All best wishes to Macs for good health and easy treatments.

Dd13 has definitely discovered music to keep on task with paperwork (homework for her). I think that is something unique to teen years, of which I reluctantly admit she's a part. There are times I have to tell her to hush that stuff up, because of course now it's not a radio with variety as I might have used - she can play music in a tight cycle and the repetition of a few songs will drive me crazy. I tried yesterday evening to think of the word, "anecdotal" for her for a paper in which she had used "experience" and "opinion" too often, and the words to the song were interfering with my brain frequency! I had to walk around the house for it to come to me. Interesting bittersweet mentions Chinese music since dd13 often listens to Japanese - but not from that genre!! It's a little more raucous!

[Lilac]

It IS so wonderful to be here this morning. Wednesday night I had a stomach bug that attacked me. After 4 bouts of it during the night, I was left feeling like I had stood before a firing squad and instead of shooting me, they took turns beating me with their guns. I ached from head to toe. From 9:30 pm Wednesday night until 5:00 am this morning I was probably out of bed a total of 3 hours. I had to force myself to eat due to the diabetes factor plus take my bs to stay on top of that. What is really weird is, as soon as I hit the bed, I fell asleep. Last night I just knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep after sleeping so much during the day. I fell right to sleep. I woke up around 3 and tossed and turned for a bit and back to sleep. I was absolutely in a newborn baby sleep pattern. I am feeling better but not 100%. Thanks to Aleve, I'm not having body aches. At some point today I need to buy enough groceries to get me through the weekend.

Our furniture was delivered as promised on Wednesday. It was definitely the right choice and with the rug looks great.

Yesterday afternoon, I received a phone call from our credit card on a fraud alert. A charge had been made yesterday. I knew I hadn't made it and called dh. I lucked out and he was at his desk. He hadn't made it and by the time I called them back another charge had been made. So they had to cancel that card and are suppose to overnight us new cards. Yesterday our bill was mailed and she told me to be sure and make sure that the charges were ours. If some aren't, to call. She can bet I will. I pay my bill in full each month and I don't intend to pay for anyone elses fraudulent charges.

The second sink was delivered yesterday. Also, the first sink company will accept a return with a 15% fee. We can live with that. I was afraid that we would have to make a planter out of it. So we should be able to get the pictures and the house listed soon.

Harmony, I have to say that my hat is off to you. When I think of all the work and time you put into your last house while trying to sell it and before renting it out. I have only been a 2 home, home owner for less than 2 months and I have had my fill.

I need to work on my checkbook and money matters. This week we have received gas and electric bills for both houses. I am hoping that it is sold before air conditioning season begins.

I lost 5 lbs. being sick. I hope to stay busy enough and eat less, so that they don't find me again. Then I will just have 5 more that I want to lose. I know how that goes, they will probably find me, but I can dream...........

Dm, her 2 sisters, 4 cousins, 1 cousins dw, my dsisilaw and their ministers wife are on their cruise. They drove to Galveston on Saturday and boarded Sunday. They return this Sunday am. This is the trip that I would not go on. At the time, a move and an outage at the plant wasn't on the radar. I just didn't want to go. As it worked out, it would have been horrible timing if I was going. Dm has already informed me that this was their "first annual". If they are taking another cruise they can count me out again. Besides if I go, who will buy dm lottery tickets for her while she is gone? No joke, I have had to buy her tickets. Her and dstepdad started using these numbers 25 years ago, when our state started the lottery. She just KNOWS she will win one of these days and she never, ever misses buying her tickets. She has even told me that if she dies, I need to start using the numbers. Seriously.

Well I better work on a grocery list.

[Lilac]

Harriet, I know what you mean on trying to remember a word. In my last post I struggled to remember the word "lottery". I hate when that happens and I never quit until I come up with it. I am always afraid if I do quit, my brain will turn to mush, much faster.

[OKay]

~~~~waving Hi to all~~~~

I am still in the focus of taking care of sick LO. He is feeling somewhat better but is still running fever and struggling with congestion. Because of the congestion he isn't sleeping soundly, which means......minimum sleep for me. I'm looking forward to this just being a memory and LO being back to his normal healthy self.

I'm continuing to do SHE cards because I don't want to break my streak (215 days). However, I'm not doing them nearly as energetic as normal, but am continuing to make progress one card at a time.

[Elizabeth]

Good morning villagers! Yesterday, I got my haircut and my bangs are no longer obstructing my vision! I did not finish my art class project, but it is nearly done. The next one is planned and the pictures for it are printed out. Today I have to remember to pick up DD9, though usually XDH does this on Friday. He is going to a play, probably a date. DD does not need her father's dates. I have absolutely no desire to date or marry again. XDH was talking about wanting both while we were still married, and mentioned he expected to be married again in two years. Makes me think he already picked out someone. DD does not need this. Not much I can do about it though. I just hate to see DD's life get screwed up even more.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I spent from about 8:55 until 11:00 on the phone. I'm so frustrated.

First it was my music friend. Then I got off with her (actually she hung up because her daughter phoned on the other line) and I started my breakfast when the phone rang again. It was ds. He's supposed to be teaching a course but no-one showed up. We talked until the business line rang and it was the phone company trying to upsell me.

Now I've finally done my devotions (I ate while on the phone with ds) and had a snack. Can't download my audio edition of the Economist so have sent off an email about that (this is the second week in a row.)

I've successfully made a magic cross while on the phone with my friend, so that is done for Sunday School.

I moved all papers from the kitchen to the dining room table and cleaned the kitchen counters and table. Lit a scented candle in here too. The kitchen looks rather good. The dining room.... not so much.

I have my dvd player in the dining room and I'll start sorting the papers now. Some are just scraps like addresses, others are projects, some is filing. I'll do the first blush while watching a brainless movie. (Or at least I expect it will be brainless, the title is the Beauty and the Briefcase!)

Elizabeth I'm slightly sympathetic to your dh. I went almost directly from my first dh to my current dh, just 4 months living alone before dh moved in with me. Objectively I'd say going from one relationship to another without healing time in-between isn't healthy but I did it and it worked out well for me (almost 27 years so far.)