Jenny in Florida Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) Today is the first day of my weekend (because I work Sunday through Thursday). My husband is at work, and my son is here but still asleep. My husband may or may not (probably not) be having his gaming buddies over tonight, but has explicitly asked me not to spend my day cleaning or getting the house ready for company, which is what I often end up doing on Fridays. I'm not sure whether it's just life catching up with me or whether it might be related to the fact that my endocrinologist recently reduced my meds again, but I've been having a really emotionally yucky couple of weeks, dragging myself through the work week, then feeling bored and listless during the weekends. It would be nice to break the cycle. Anyway, I basically have three things I could/should do today: Study for the certification exam I have scheduled for September. In theory, I am excited about this opportunity, but in practice the materials make for tedious reading and mostly cover ground I already know well. Still, I need to prep for the test, and I don't want to be in panic mode come the end of the summer or to risk flunking the exam. I made a study schedule a couple of weeks ago, and I am already a little behind. Pros: The house is quiet. It would be something I do need to do. I would probably feel good about making progress once I actually made some. I just refilled the bird feeders at the front of the house, and I could sit here at my desk watching the cardinals while I take notes. Cons: I concentrate best earlier in the day. If I try to do this now, I will struggle with focusing and make a lot less progress than I would if I had started earlier (before I did laundry and pet chore and paid bills and such). Work on a craft project. My husband is headed up to NY to visit with our daughter in less than two weeks, and I am making a small gift for him to take along. It's probably 1/3 done. Once I get into working on it, I enjoy the process, but it's at that in-between stage when it's no longer the fun-brainstorming-getting started part and not yet the I-can-almost-see-the-finished-product part. It's the part where all I can see are the flaws and the things that aren't working out the way I envisioned, and I really just want to throw it out and forget the whole thing. Plus, although it does have the earlier deadline, I always kind of feel guilty working on that when I "should" be studying. Pros: The house is quiet. It's something I need to finish in a fairly short period of time. I would feel good about making progress (probably, unless I end up even unhappier with my work). Once I finish this item, I can devote my crafting time to the next project on my agenda, which I'm really excited about starting. See note about bird feeders and cardinals above. Cons: I've spent most of the last few weekends working on craft projects when not doing anything else, and I'm starting to feel a bit of cabin fever. I'm afraid I'll wind up at the end of the day feeling antsy about not having done things I "should" have done and that, given my mood, I won't be happy with what I get done today, anyway. Go shopping and then bake. I went gluten free a few months ago to see if it would help with some issues I had been dealing with for the last few years. It does seem to make a big difference. Mostly, I'm just so happy to feel better than I don't miss the foods I can no longer eat. However, every now and then -- especially when I'm baking for the rest of the family as I did a few days ago -- I really miss bread. I did some research and checked out a couple of cookbooks with gluten-free recipes, but I will need a trip to the market or possibly health food store to get supplies, since the recipes call for ingredients I don't have on hand. Pros: It might be fun. It would get me out of the house for a little while. I could listen to my current audiobook, which I'm enjoying, while I drive and while I bake. I might end up with something edible when I finish. I like bread. Cons: I kind of feel like it would be "wasting" the quiet house. This project has no deadline, unlike the other two. If the bread turns out to be any good, I will eat it, and the last thing I actually need is to spend the afternoon gorging on bread and butter. I could, in theory, work on more than one of these things. However, given that it's already nearing noon and my energy tends to take a big dip in the late afternoon, I realistically will likely make appreciable progress on only one of these projects today. So, what would you do? Edited July 7, 2017 by Jenny in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I voted shop then bake because it gets you out of the house and baking is fun. But I'd probably also spend an hour or two studying while your husband is gaming. If it's too noisy then you could head out to a coffee shop. I really enjoy crafting but it sounds like you need a change of pace rather than another task to do because there's a deadline. Sometimes being responsible and doing needed tasks is great. But sometimes you need to just take some time for yourself. Also, I love bread. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I wouldn't do any of them all day. I would spend some time studying and then reward myself with shop/bake. Time permitting I would study a bit more and then clean or craft. It sounds like you need to revisit your study schedule before it gets out of hand and tie some rewards in with the studying. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Option D: drive directly to a west coast beach :-). Of your 3, I would bake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Shop and bake, and work a bit on the craft project. It sounds as if neither takes up the entire day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) I voted shop then bake because it gets you out of the house and baking is fun. But I'd probably also spend an hour or two studying while your husband is gaming. If it's too noisy then you could head out to a coffee shop. I really, really struggle with focusing on this material later in the day/evening. My most productive study time is early in the day, right after I've done the necessary morning chores. With each hour that passes after that, I see diminishing returns on the time and effort I invest in studying. Option D: drive directly to a west coast beach :-). Sigh. Unfortunately (and this goes for shopping later and for heading to a coffee shop to study), it's not practical for me to be out of the house while the gamers are here. My dog is extremely anxious, and I'm her security blanket. She makes life miserable for everyone if there are non-family members in the house and I am not here. She's okay as long as everyone is sitting at the table, but heaven forbid someone has to stand up and walk to the bathroom. So, it's better for everyone if I take care of any errands or outings early enough in the day to be home before the gamers begin arriving in the late afternoon. Once folks get here, Puppy and I retire to my "office" and hang out behind a closed door. I think the baking ship has sailed, anyway, however, because my husband just confirmed that they will be meeting here tonight and that people may be arriving as early as 4:00. They set up shop in the kitchen/dining area, and while I "could" be in there puttering around the kitchen and baking concurrently, it would not be relaxing or fun at that point, especially since I would have to supervise the dog, who would insist on following me around. Edited July 7, 2017 by Jenny in Florida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 For the record, with the encouragement of those who have voted/commented so far, I am now attempting to study. Once I either run out of steam for real or the gamers arrive, I'll probably switch to crafting with whatever energy I have left. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I vote for #2. Two weeks will fly by and you have time NOW to get it done. Being in the creative process may also help you figure it a study schedule or other pertinent issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 I just saw you're studying. That was my vote. I enjoyed my very detailed study schedule, upon which I could cross off lots and lots of things as I went. I also coloured in half a block in my bullet journal for every half hour spent studying. It helped me see if my schedule/class load was reasonable and achievable. I would feel guilty doing anything else until I was at least caught up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Crafting gets my vote -- too hot and humid to bake. Well unless you enjoy baking -- I don't. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 I would do 2 and 3 - either make yourself put in a couple hours on the craft then bake, or bake something first that gives you a chunk of time (while it bakes, while it cools) to be crafty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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