Deliverable

There’s a good article over at Lifehack.org: Create Your Kipuka. Especially relevant given my various home improvement projects, and my stated “zen space” goal for 2006. Archived copy here.

Wanted to give myself a little pat on the back here. I cooked dinner for myself tonight. Nothing fancy… A couple of microwaved grilled fish fillets with some cous-cous and a salad. It’s been ages since I’ve cooked, with all of the home reform going on. It’s something that I’m just going to have to force myself to do. I’ve hit a wall with the whole Chinese food/McD’s/KFC/Thai thing. Thought of it makes me queasy. But then again, maybe that’s just my cooking coming back to haunt me…

I really need a cookbook and some skills super quick.

It’s all about the energy that you put out there. I can’t concern myself with what other people think of me, or what their actions (or reactions) to me might be. If I continue to put forth the positive energy that is associated with positive actions, then things are bound to turn around for me. Clearing my inbox and responding to all of the old emails that had been collecting there is a very positive “good karma” type of action. I’ve literally made space in my life for new correspondence. New connections. New opportunites.

The time: 1:53 p.m., Wednesday March 1st, 2006.
Inbox: Clear!

I finally responded to all of the messages in my inbox that I’ve been meaning to. (The earliest one was from back in September… Ouch!) I’ve added a March goal of “Keep inbox clear”. All those unanswered messages were just psychic baggage that I just can’t afford to have around anymore.

–Update: 2:24 p.m.–
Just did the same thing for my Yahoo inbox. Set up a couple of new filters over there which hopefully will keep that email inbox a little tidier.

–Update: 2:41 p.m.–
Ok, now the inbox is really really clear. There were a couple of personal emails that I forward over from my Yahoo account that needed to be responded to. Those have been taken care of! Having a clear inbox rocks!

I currently have a folder marked “Someday/Maybe”. It’s to the right of my desk in an easily accessible filing cabinet. I just added something to my monthly goals which I think would be a good recurring task: “Review ‘Someday/Maybe’ Folder”.

The idea is that this folder is a repository for things that I might be interested in doing at a later date (re-activate my Urban Organics subscription, for example) and things that I definitely want to do someday but don’t have a definite timetable for yet. I’ve been succesful adding the “maybe” items. The change here is that I’ll now make this a repository for projects that I want to complete at a later date. I’ve had a couple of projects in envelopes on the bulletin board next to my desk for a few months now. Nothing high priority, but things I’d like to get done at some point. Rather than have them in my line of site screaming out to me “you’re a slacker for not having completed me”, I’ve put them into my trusted system.

The reality is that I’m not a slacker for not having done these things. They’re simply not high priorities for me at this time. Getting them out of my line of site and into my trusted system alleviates one more bit of mental baggage. I’ll review this “Someday/Maybe” folder regularly and reassess the contents. What I expect to happen is that each month I’ll come across these projects and put one or more into the queue for that month. Getting things done without the guilt.

—update: 3/17/06—
I’ve tweaked this process abit. I’ve been experimenting with keeping my “someday/maybe” list on a small legal pad. It just wasn’t the best way to capture these items, so I purchased a small flat spiral notebook. This allows me to have multiple pages of “someday/maybe’s” that are easily accessed. I went back and syncronized my “someday/maybe” folder with the “someday/maybe” list. This way I can review my list when I’m out and about and be confident I’m not missing anything.

The workflow:

• Get an idea for something that I might like to do “someday or maybe”? Add it to my list.
• Receive a flyer or find some support material for something that I might like to do “someday or maybe” (e.g.: a brochure for riding lessons)? Add it to my list. File the item in my “Someday/Maybe” folder.

By 3/31/06 I will complete the following:

Finances

• Get a copy of my credit report (completed 3/24/06) I downloaded the report from two of the agencies, and requested the 3rd via the phone. For the record, TransUnion’s ID verification process is absolute and total crap. I had to request that report via the phone because I had too many wrong attempts at their website.
• Accurately track “money in & money out” for this month (updated: see below)
• Set up a “discretionary spending” account (completed 3/17/06) See my post about this idea here. I’ll begin using this system when the account is fully operational.

Personal

• Purchase and mail an anniversary card for W.&B. (completed) It went out two days before their anniversary. They may have gotten it late, but they should have gotten it.
• Review my “Someday/Maybe” file. Weed out anything that’s no longer relevant. Bring into current month’s goals any projects that might be good for this month. (complete) I’ll make a habit of doing this at the beginning of each month.
• Respond to emails in a timely fashion (3 to 4 days maximum). Keep inbox “free and clear”. (complete) I did pretty well with this, and it felt terrific. I’ll continue this habit into next month.
• Make G.’s tape and get it to them in CA (completed 3/19/06) It’s amazing what a clear deadline (like having to make a flight) will do. It took about 5 hours or so, but I finished 6 of the best tracks, burned the CD, and took it to them when I visited on 3/20.

-Book-

-Music-
I’ve started to track my practice.

-Acting-

• Purchase Backstage one time this month. Read it and circle parts I might submit myself for. (completed: 3/30/06)
• Submit myself for the parts I circled (completed: 3/30/06)
• Go to the open call on 3/31/06 (completed: 3/31/06)

Website

• Beta test photography sub-domain with Plogger (incomplete: reassess next month)

-Health-

• Purchase a “quick easy healthy meals” cookbook (updated: see below)
• Choose recipes that I like from the recipe books that I currently have on hand (completed) Thanks M.! I now have some recipes in my wok book that I’ll try next month.
• Create a “master incredients” list from these recipes
• Go grocery shopping one time this month (updated: see below)
• Go shopping for the incredients listed in the “master incredients” list from above (complete)
• Keep a box of those tangelo oranges on hand for the whole month. It’ll help keep me from eating other crappy snack food. (mostly complete) I did pretty good with this one… though those little suckers are actually quite difficult to find this time of year. For the most part they did help with the junk food.

-Home-

• Finish painting the burgundy wall (incomplete: forward to next month)
• Make final decision on ledge for burgundy wall & install (complete)
• Decide on a b/w picture for the ledge (complete)
• Purchase a frame for the b/w picture (complete)
• Install the shelf set my folks brought me in the studio (complete)
• Hang the closet doors in the front LR (incomplete: forward to next month)
• Paint the closet doors in the front LR (incomplete: forward to next month)
• Paint the kitchen (incomplete: forward to next month)
• Re-install the blue lights in the kitchen (incomplete: forward to next month)
• Hang any remaining pictures (complete)
• Visit fabric store and decide on color/texture for curtains. Purchase fabric. (incomplete: forward to next month)
• Hang curtains on 3 remaining windows. (incomplete: forward to next month)

I wanted to capture some of my thoughts about this past month. As I reconcile the things I’ve focused on with my stated 2006 Yearly Goals, it’s very clear that I was in “create a nurturing home environment” mode. It wasn’t a conscious decision. Perhaps I’m avoiding moving forward with the real issues I need to be facing. Perhaps somewhere deep in my head I know that I must clear out the detritus in my life before I move forward. Either way I feel pretty good about the progress, though I’m not certain where it’s leading me.

Some Observations

• One thing about home improvement projects is that they provide you with clear cut goals that require clear next actions in order to complete. It’s been valuable to work on things like the building of my hall cabinet, the building of the radiator cover… building the screen. It’s been fulfilling to see the concrete results of my work.
• Clearly the reason I haven’t been submitting myself for acting projects was not the fact that I didn’t have headshots that I liked. My new shots are great, but I’ve not yet submitted myself for anything with them. It’s fear that hold me back, plain and simple. I must find a strategy to consistently overcome this fear if I am to achieve my acting goals for 2006 and beyond.
• I’m incredibly grateful for my parents. They very graciously came up and stayed for 4 days, helping me re-paint the apartment and finish other projects. I won’t say that I never would have finished these things without them, but it sure as hell would have taken me alot longer. I might have been sitting in squalor for months and that would have completely sucked. Mom, Dad… I love you and offer you many many thanks! Something useful that might be taken from this could be that one never knows when or where help my appear once you begin your quest for your goals.
• I must put my financial house in order. It’s been a source of underlying stress in my life that I’ve not been acknowledging. Just as physical detritus in the environment holds me back, so too is the lack of clarity in my financial life. It’s financial detritus and it must be cleared. I somehow must find the courage to do this.