I've lost… that motivation…..oh that motivation…

[ph0t0bug]

Ok… I know corny topic… but its true. So far over the past 2 weeks I have been right on track with my training / recovery. I got myself on medication that is really helping me. I found somthing that helps me to keep a list that works on my iPad and iPhone with reminders and all sorts of good stuff. I have kept on track in that list and have actually completed TASKS that I never would have!! Its been a productive two weeks…. but… yesterday something happened that I did not expect. It threw me compleatly off. So I figured I would ask you lovely people how you deal with things like this.

On my list yesterday was to get out and mow the grass. This includes weedeating. I got up and got started. Now I knew going into this that my weedeater has in the past given me troubles of all sorts. I got the thing started and was a 1/4 way through that part of the job and it stopped. I tried all sorts of things to get it back up and running to no avail. I was loosing time. It got to the point where I was sooo focused on getting the stupid thing running that II was getting frustrated and runnning out of time to do any more of my tasks on my list. Anger got the best of me and that old feeling of “Nothing is going right and it never will, so why try.” came back. I sat there and staired at the list and gave up for the day. I actually took my shower and spent the rest of my mornning looking at weedeaters even though right now I know I dont have the money to purchase another one which is a waste of the time I had.

This morning I have gotten up. Had my meds and 1 cup of coffee and have looked at my list again. I now relize how much of my time was wasted yesterday and how now I am behind on my list. Not only do I have todays stuff to do… I have all of yesterdays and cant complete that until I have a solution to the weedeater problem. So needless to say its still kinda getting to me. I know I can catch up but I guess the question I really have is: How do you stop focusing on one small problem that presents its self so you can still get the feeling of acomplishment even though another problem has caused a big ruckus in your day? How do I in the future “let go” of the problem and carry on with the day?

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[allan wallace]

First of all congratulations for getting things done for a couple of weeks! I still silently think back to my most productive week ever which was a few weeks ago, and it feels good! To be able to actually start, see through, and then finish something feels terrific! Just plod on! Don’t dwell on yesterday’s ‘casualties’, and maybe absorb all of them over a week, rather in one day! Hmm, speaking of such, my ‘list’ is ‘mocking’ me just by being reminded of it’s pathetic existence so I’d better toddle off and confront my first challenge for the day! 😆

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[kc5jck]

Don’t let my list read what follows or it will be laughing hilariously at me the next time I pick it up, saying to me “I can’t believe you actually hit enter on that post. I’ve gotten so fat you hardly ever look at me.” 🙄

Since I have a weed eater and know that it (and the chain saw) can be a problem, don’t put that at the first of your list. You might even start the thing the night before to make sure it is going to work. Sort of like getting things in order for the next day’s work. Lawn mowers are more reliable than weed eaters so cut the grass first rather than weed eat. That way something will get done.

Break up the tasks. e.g. Mow front yard, mow back yard. Then you may be able to check off at least part of the task. As someone mentioned elsewhere, instead of having clean house on the list, break you list up by room or by time spent. Keep a list of things you have done successfully. That way, you can build on successes throughout the week, rather than tripping over the one thing that is problematic. This may give you a better frame of mind when you “fail” at an item. So rather than seeing a big failure on a major part of that day’s list, it will look like one item out of twenty for the week that didn’t get done. 😉

As for weeds, this is how we do it. Basically put mulch around all the plants out to the drip line and spray it with roundup when weeds start to come through. Last year when the tree trimmers came through trimming all the powerline right of ways, we told them to dump all the ground up shredded trimmings over next to our garage. We got maybe 30 truck loads plus firewood for several years. It saved them maybe a 30 mile drive to the dump and we ran out with cookies and Cokes when they came. They even sorted the firewood out for us. All the grindings make good mulch which composts down as food for the plants. With the stuff out to the drip line, it is easy to mow around and the roundup works well for keeping down the weeds so we don’t have to tend weeds every week as would be required with a weed eater. In the past, during the fall, everyone in town has their lawn raked and their leaves bagged nicely on the curb for us to pick up and carry home to use as mulch. Spraying is quieter and more satisfying than weed eating. (DIE WEEDS!!! DIE!!! 😈 )

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[nellie]

photobug,

I can relate to your dilemma of getting so caught up in one thing you forget everything else. But in answer to your question of “how do you stop focusing on one small problem that presents its self so you can get the feeling of acomplishment even though another problem has caused a big ruckus in your day? “

You just do. Stuff happens and we have just accept that. we can’t control everything.

I have a feeling this may tie in a bit to the ADD trait of trouble with shifting focus. We are one track and everything is going great then something comes along and throws a monkey wrench into the works. Instead of just looking at this as a detour to the destination we get all freaked out because we have to change our course. Easier said than done but I think life is much easier if we go with the flow. Be happy the [past two weeks were great. ADD also has an all or nothing thinking component to it and we have to remember to recognize this when it happens and not get caught up in unrealistic expectations.

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[nellie]

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[doctormikayla]

Thanks for the earworm. :-/ Hahaha

I know this situation all too well. Getting focused and getting stuff done only to get set back from some problem that totally prevents progress and getting angry at my stupid self and barely stopping myself from breaking something…. This is a core issue with me that was one of the sorts of things that prompted me to get evaluated. It still happens sometimes so I can’t say I have it beat. But I think the most effective thing for me when I can maintain the proper level of calm and self-awareness (thank you meds) is to just stop and take a few deep breaths and do a mindfulness exercise like repeating “breathing in…breathing out…relaxing…calm…” for a minute or so just to calm down the racing thoughts and self-talk. And then try resolving the problem again or seeing if there is a way around it. And, in a lot of cases, just put it aside for a while (with a reminder) and tackle something else on my list.

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[blackdog]

This is a HUGE problem for me. The first incident that came to mind was one time when I stayed up all night decorating a birthday cake. And it wasn’t even a complicated one. It started with the icing being the wrong consistency. I was so frustrated because I couldn’t get it the way I wanted it and I just ended up having a complete meltdown, scraping the icing off and redoing it, then scraping again, over, and over and over.

The best solution is to walk away. Unless it is something that absolutely must be fixed, leave it and move on. That night I should have put the cake and the icing in the fridge and gone to bed, then tried again in the morning. If I had done that I probably would not have spent all those wasted hours on it before I finally figured out that I just needed to add more milk. And I wouldn’t have felt nearly as stupid for not seeing that incredibly simple solution

As for how to deal with weeds, my solution is don’t.

And now I have to ask, what the heck is a “drip line”?

Welcome @doctormikayla. Love your profile pic. 🙂

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