Monday, September 3, 2012

RoW Sunday Update on Monday

Just when a tough week was looking bad on Wednesday, the rest of the week happened.  To explain some of my mental state, I have difficulties staying on task when I get some bumps in the road.  Work through me some major bumps this last week.

My job, at a local Goodwill Corporate Headquarters, involves running a Janitorial contracts division and coordinating all of our environmental, "going green" efforts as an agency.  In the two and a half years I've been with Goodwill, our janitorial division has been struggling, and I've been unable to really get any traction to move forward.

This last week, I took a serious blow by learning that my star contract acquisition, which I picked up in January, is dropping us for quality concerns.  This is the first contract we've lost since before I started with Goodwill for quality reasons.  This has really made me feel like a failure.

This feeling has left me a little (okay, a lot) unfocused.  I didn't really accomplish anything on any of my goals since Wednesday or so.  This further deepens the feelings I have, and puts me in a downward spiral.

Yesterday, though, I had the opportunity to turn things around, emotionally.  I was one of six guys, between my family and my in-laws, who went to the Detroit Tigers game last night.  The game was incredible, and for those of you who follow baseball at all, their win, and sweep of the White Sox, brought Detroit into a tie in the division.

As we were driving home last night in the middle of the night, I thought long and hard about what today (Monday) would be like.  I decided I needed a bounceback day, and bounce back I have, but today's progress falls under next week's updates, so you'll have to wait to hear about it.

So, long story short... I had a rough week, but I'm very hopeful that I will be turning things around in the coming week.  Here's my day by day statistics.  Let me know how you did this week, or how you're doing in the new week!


RoW80 Detailed Goal Progress


Writing - I will write something toward finishing my as yet untitled book from NaNo last year, even if only 50 words, every day.  By the end of Saturday, I want my novel to be at a minimum of 68,000 words, from a starting number of 56,636 words.  I also want my novel outlined through at least 35 scenes, from a current progress of 29 scenes outlined.
8/26/12 - Wrote 381 words, to a total of 57,017 words written.  No scene outlines added.
8/27/12 - Wrote 745 words, to a total of 57,762 words written.  No scene outlines added.
8/28/12 - No writing done.
8/29/12 - No writing done yet.
8/30/12 - No writing done.
8/31/12 - No writing done.
9/1/12 - Wrote 183 words, for a final total of 57,945 - nowhere near my total wordcount goal.  No new scenes outlines this week either.
Next week's goal: Write at least five days, and shoot for a wordcount goal of 65,000 - cutting down the overwhelming goal of last week.

Reading - I will read at least 10 pages of a book each day.  By the end of Saturday, I want to have finished "The Power of Paradox" and read at least 100 pages of "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami.
8/26/12 - Read 11 pages of "The Power of Paradox", on page 56 of 79.
8/27/12 - Read the rest of "The Power of Paradox".
8/28/12 - No reading done.
8/29/12 - Read to page 29 of "Battle Royale".
8/30/12 - No reading done.
8/31/12 - No reading done.
9/1/12 - No reading done.  I did finish "The Power of Paradox", but didn't make 100 pages of "Battle Royale".
Next Week's Goal: Read at least five days, and get to page 120 of Battle Royale.

Blogging - I will write at least three blog posts each week, one of which must not be ROW80-related.  By the end of Saturday, I want to have written my Sunday and Wednesday RoW80 updates, a book review of "The Power of Paradox," and one other miscellaneous post.
8/26/12 - Wrote Weekly Check-In for RoW80 (technically on 8/25, but just before midnight 8/26)
8/27/12 - No progress.
8/28/12 - No progress.
8/29/12 - Wrote RoW80 Wednesday Update.
8/30/12 - Wrote miscellaneous post "A Walk in The Woods".
8/31/12 - No progress.
9/1/12 - No progress.  Wrote my two RoW80 posts and one miscellaneous post, but wasn't able to complete my book review post.  Not too bad.
Next Week's Goal:  Write my two RoW80 post, my book review of "The Power of Paradox", and one other post.

Exercise - I will get "real" exercise for at least 30 minutes, three times a week. As part of a regular exercise routine, I want to get a mix of "prayer walks", which are rapid walks combined with extended prayer time, and running or other aerobic exercise.  I'd like to see at least 3 prayer walks and one aerobic activity by Saturday.
8/26/12 - Went for 30 minute prayer walk.
8/27/12 - Went for 32 minute prayer walk.
8/28/12 - Went for 35 minute walk in Muskegon Community College's nature trail.
8/29/12 - No progress yet.
8/30/12 - No progress.
8/31/12 - No progress.
9/1/12 - No progress.  I got in my three walks, only two of which were prayer walks, and no real aerobic activity.  Not bad, but could be better.
Next Week's Goal: Get at least three prayer walks, and one aerobic exercise routine.

Housework - I will, in some small way, make my house look better each night than it did the previous night.  By Saturday, I'd like to have caught up on all the laundry in the house, and picked up the messy basement area.
8/26/12 - Gathered up some dirty dishes, loaded and ran the dishwasher.  Picked up / cleaned the living room.
8/27/12 - Cleaned up the kitchen after dinner, ran two loads of laundry through the washer and dryer.  Helped the girls pick up their rooms.
8/28/12 - Cleaned up half the basement.
8/29/12 - No progress yet.
8/30/12 - No progress.
8/31/12 - No progress.
9/1/12 - No progress.  Despite not making any progress the last four days, the two goals were accomplished.  All the laundry is caught up (thanks to my wife for helping with this), and I picked up the basement.
Next Week's Goal: Keep up with dishes as best as possible, work on reorganizing entertainment center area in basement, and organize garage.

4 comments:

  1. Sometimes we need a break and then a bounce back. I love baseball, so that's definitely a pick-me-up in my book. (Unfortunately right now, I live in Houston and the Astros...well, you know.)

    It sounds like your reconfigured goals are more realistic and will be good ones for you to knock out. I'm pulling for you! And the prayer walks are a great idea. I should try that.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks. The game was really a refresher, and my Wednesday update will talk all about my bounce-back (more or less).

      I'm feeling much more confident with this week's goals as well, so here's to finishing this week strong!

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  2. Yeah, Tigers!! Woot :D We didn't get to a game this summer and I'm totally bummed. My dad is on orders to make sure we go next year. I made him pretty happy with that order, lol.
    One of the best parts of ROW80 is facing what's going on, it can be pretty eye opening. But the next part is fascinating, little changes here and there and then things start to change. I see it happening for you already. Hope you have a fab week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was an incredible game to go to. I do hope you can make it next year, as the Tigers should be at least as good next year.

      I'm finding that creating more structure will help me to focus on all goals at once and minimize dead time. These little changes should be adding up to big progress this week, I hope!

      Hope you have a great week as well.

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