Comments

> It frees me from the "tyranny of choice." I would look at the to-do list and become paralyzed by the sheer volume of everything on it. I wouldn't be able to decide what to tackle first. I would then duck the whole thing and log onto violinist.com.

Oh, LOVE it! : )

This is soooo me, as well. Some days, in an effort to calm myself down and get stuff done instead of panicking about all there is to do, I'll walk around with a timer in my hands and work within the limits I've set by setting the timer.

And you know what? I should have the timer in my hands right this minute, because I'm doing it again, I'm slipping... aaaaaugh!

I just set priorities--and what didn't get done, didn't get done. But those priorities are pretty well grounded:
..did I have healthy food
..are my parents ok
..have I had rest
....did I practice at least 2-3 hours?
....did I check on others I support?
.......have I learned things beyond technique?
.......have I helped in the crisis going on in our region?
.......have I followed through on things for my future?

Same sort of thing for my gardens--they could work me terribly if I didn't just manage things.

I use lists and stuff more as a way to get said priorities into my brain, then keep it simple. (notepad is amazing)

When I was younger I had silly romantic ideals that I could keep record of everything--doesn't work for me.

Al, One of the things about having a day job with a boss and coworkers is that there are a lot of competing priorities to be set. In broad outline I agree very much with the priorities of my workplace: to do great science, to share that science with others.

But lately I've been feeling like music can and should be more of a priority in my life. So I've been thinking about how to bring them together in other ways besides just playing for fun as a side hobby.

I like setting time limits for yourself and especially sticking to them. I sometimes procrastinate and sometimes spend too long on something trying to be a perfectionist. Yes, the perfectionist problem is something I see a lot . . . I don't think it applies to me, though. I'm a little frustrated right now with certain people whose priorities are different from mine. But it's part of my job to try to accomodate their priorities too. I used to work at the lab bench, but now I manage projects, which in practical terms means that I manage people too. Managing smart, creative scientists is, as they say, like herding cats.

I'm still working on how not to get thrown for a loop when other people swoop in and change the schedule and/or priorities at the last minute.

Hmm. I wonder if that's why I don't have a violin/viola teacher. I want some area of my life where I'm the one in control and I don't have to accomodate anybody else.