Productivity, Interrupted.

Today was going to be my Work Day. I had a Diplomatic Solutions meeting in the evening, so it made sense to use the hours beforehand to trundle through the rest of my To Do list. I'd reach 8 o'clock armed with checked off boxes and ready information! And it wouldn't just be business thing I'd get done, no! Laundry! Grocery shopping! Etc!

This is how the day went:

[o] Wake up. Slowly. After a fairly restless night of sleep.
[o] Spend a bit of time lounging in bed, with iPad, checking all my sites and feeds.
[x] Edit one of the articles assigned to me using the iPad and the small notebook in my purse!
[x] Cook myself eggs for breakfast! True, I unwittingly used a burner too small for the pan, so the eggs cooked unevenly, and I had a devil of a time with them...but still! I cooked!
[x] Work out! Weigh in and haven't gained anything!
[x] Shower!
[x] Start two loads of laundry!
[o] Ryan wakes up and agreed to a small, quick grocery trip, as he needs more Tylenol and I'm out of cheese.
[x] Call back Mom, as requested. We discuss money and such and hang up with goals to help me get out of the debt incurred from moving!
[x] Move the two loads from washer to dryer, and start a third load of laundry!
[o] Sameh and BJ both arrive home from work. BJ needs to go back to his Bux to collect his tips, and they decid to come with us.
[o] We wait for the washer to finish so I can move it over before leaving. As I go to move it, I realize that I can't, because I'm taking up the only two dryers. For the next 40 minutes.
[o] We go to Starbucks. BJ chats with co-workers. I buy myself and Ryan a drink and a small snack each. We leave Starbucks.
[o] We arrive at Meijer. BJ realizes he never got his tips.
[o] We shop. We leave Meijer. We go back to Starbucks. We go get lunch at Waka Dog.
[x] I fetch the dry clothes and move the final load into a dryer! This is after the dryer clothes have been finished for two and a half hours, the washer load for three, and I had to scrounge quarters from my car because I hadn't realized we were out of rolls of quarters until after I was halfway to the laundry room with a roll of pennies. But still! LAUNDRY ALMOST DONE!
[o] The four of us chat, flip through channels, end up watching the last half hours of both 17 Again and Mrs. Doubtfire.
[o] I realize it's 10 to 8. I hustle my butt to the computer and ask Ryan to fetch the last, dry load.
[x] DS Meeting!

So...yeah. Almost every single thing I did accomplish today, got lengthened through unavoidable events. There is a huge pile of unfolded laundry on the bed behind me, and Ryan realized a small while ago that we forgot to buy any gorram Tylenol. I did not accomplish a large portion of the things I wanted/needed to get done for DS. Fortunately, it was just a catch-up meeting, so nothing was "due." Still. Oy.

TOMORROW!
[o] Going to the bank to deposit the large pile of rolled coins I forgot we had, and change some of them into quarters so we can continue doing laundry.
[o] Editing the other two articles.
[o] Buying some Tylenol and looking into switching my prescription to a CVS here in Indiana.
[o] Looking into the cost of shipping my iPod Touch to Chris (part of the iPad deal)
[o] Researching credit card transfers to see if any would help me out.
[o] Continuing the creation of a budget. I am thoroughly enjoying this because it involves SPREADSHEETS!
[o] Watching some Avater: The Last Airbender Book 2 with Ryan, as promised.

Overall, the two days off will end up being half work and half play. This is fine. Actually, it's better than fine; it was helpful.

As previously mentioned, I was on a "hiatus" of sorts from Diplomatic Solutions during May and June, while I moved and got settled. About as soon as I "returned," it was suggested that I hand off some of my responsibilities to a new collaborator. I'll admit, I was a little put off by this; I had just come back, and it was already being inferred that I couldn't handle everything I needed to do. Give me some time, guys! And some credit! I appreciate that it was meant to be supportive rather than insulting, but still. Sheesh!

I...was wrong. The days off since that first meeting, I have attempted to see as days when I work for Diplomatic Solutions instead of Starbucks. None of these days have worked out as I hoped, especially since my Starbucks hours have skewed toward the late afternoon and evening shifts. I don't have time for chores or errands before work, so those things get pushed to my days off, as do the chances to spend quality time with my friends or boyfriend.

The initial problem I had with getting help with my tasks was that it was worded in such a way that I'd be giving up the jobs I really enjoy. At tonight's meeting, I brought the idea of a Marketing co-worker back up, but asked if she would be willing to do the things I haven't been able to do, but she would most likely be better at, being that she's a marketer and fundraiser for a non-profit. While she didn't attend the meeting, someone who did said he would contact her about it. She'll hopefully be getting back to me early next week.

Long story short: Today was the final straw to realize that the offer of taking some of my duties off my shoulders was an opportunity, and one that I really couldn't pass up because of pride. If this works out as I hope, she and I will be collaborating and getting the Marketing "department" off the ground in no time.

Tomorrow is another day, and I will get things done. What number of things, and which things...that'll be a surprise, I guess. And hey, at least I can spend the whole day on my butt if I want to. That's a win in my book.

Now To Get The Hot Cup...

Ah, a day off. Always nice. Today I:

[o] weighed myself to find I'm down 1.3 lbs since my last check. Woo!
[o] went grocery shopping
[o] watched all but the last disc of Avatar: The Last Air Bender: Book 1
[o] took out recycling (well, the half that was piling up)
[o] got a present from BJ :D (Starbucks Venti Cold Cup. These things are a rare and precious item as NONE of the locations have them...except someone returned about five of them to BJ's store yesterday, and he saved one for me, knowing how much I wanted one. XD Everyone at my store is going to hate me, but I love it!)
[o] possibly solved a Diplomatic Solutions Facebook problem...not sure yet...
[o] will be raiding at 8
[o] will be attempting to begin to hack together a budget between now and when the raid starts

Tomorrow is the beginning of my first actual full-time week*. 8 hours a day, five days total. Yay for earning money! Also yay for only one day of closing! I prefer it to opening, but it's still quite a bit of rushing and pressure. Most nights this week, I'll be home before 10. That might not seem like a big deal, but with my roommates and, more importantly, my boyfriend, all being night owls, I might actually get a chance to spend some time with them! NICE!

Right. Off to my first attempt at a budget, than four hours of hard core World of Warcraft. Woo!

*By the way, if anyone is interested in knowing my schedule, let me know, and I might be willing to post my calendar. Just to make it easier to track me down if need be. :)

Amused Is Better Than Annoyed!

I am probably more amused than I should be at how my "productive" day is going.

My To Do list, and how each task went down:
[/] deposit checks - one was easy-peasy, the other was not valid as People's Bank's online bill pay thing is an idiot and wrote the check out to Ruthie. Not the name provided, but the NICKNAME given the online bill pay account. Because that's obviously who the bill will be made out to, the NICKNAME. >.<

[/] update Diplomatic Solutions teasers to LinkedIn and Facebook - I had already posted many teasers to LinkedIn last week, but had to redo them all today because our Webmaster changed the url to every single editorial I had posted. Then, Facebook yelled at me for posting too many at once (said I was going to annoy people, even though what I was doing didn't hit people's pages...), so I've had to do it in chunks all day, lest my account be banned for who knows how long. Still waiting to finish.

[x] create backprint account so Dad and I can sell pictures - I created the account! Then I went to change the password to something I could remember! And it reset and didn't tell me what the new one was! So now I can't change it again and I'm afraid to log out! Huzzah!

[x] write up summary of last Tuesday's Diplomatic Solutions meeting - took me several hours to write a dozen lines, but it's done!

[x] take out the recycling - left the empty bins in my car!

[o] get groceries - waited for BJ to get home, as Sameh said they also needed things. I heard BJ tell Sameh they didn't have enough money to go shopping, then they both went in their room without relaying any decision, and I think they're taking a nap (no, that's not a euphemism; they both worked full shifts today). I have no idea if they still want to come with us or not.

[o] download Chris's articles to edit - not done yet

[o] work on promo & ad copy - not done yet

So, of the eight things I wanted to do today, half have had some problems that interfered with their execution, and three are not done yet for various reasons (other people, distraction, laziness, etc).

Productive day. And yet I feel like a clown. Close enough!

Of Course, Sometimes It IS Exciting. Or At Least Busy.

Today was a busy, productive day. Yesterday was productive, too, but in a more laid-back way.

Let's see...
[o] FINALLY washed two blankets that we didn't even mean to bring along with us. They got used as impromptu packing material in the trailer, and have been sitting in a corner since we moved in. Now they are folded and tucked into the hall closet. Or, one is, and the other will be when we get around to pulling it off the drying rack.
[o] Did some research into websites that allow users to upload pictures for the purpose of printing and selling them. I looked into three of them--Imagekind, SmugMug, and backprint--and sent links and thoughts off to Dad. He replied saying he liked the look of backprint back, and I've been tasked with getting us set up on it. The plan is to make some spare money from our pretty, pretty pictures, since we both enjoy taking them, enjoy sharing them, and enjoy paying bills.
[o] Entertained and fed Dan and his girlfriend, Kathleen, for the half hour they were able to stop by on their way from Chicago to Pittsburgh. It was a little bittersweet, but mostly just really nice to see an old friend, and meet his girlfriend. And to feed them sandwiches and soda, as they hadn't had lunch yet and were looking at another six hours of driving...
[o] Finished up research and small errands for my return back to Diplomatic Solutions. Explanation!:

Diplomatic Solutions is an online academic journal for graduate students of international studies. I helped found it back in February with my friend, Chris Smith, whose baby this really is. His friend and classmate Patrick Hall is also heavily involved, with business-side contributions from others as well.

At first, Chris told me I was going to edit for it. That's right, told me, knowing full well that I love to edit and needed something to do with my brain. I then got bored one day and decided I would make a logo for it. Next thing I know, I'm the Creative Editor, with some business stuff thrown in.

Now, as we get close to the official launching date, our legal and technical shtuff has gotten more or less settled, and I am the Business Manager. My duties include keeping the minutes of our online meetings, keeping track of the finances, maintaining our networking presence, creating external advertising, and working on website advertising. I'm Graphic Design, Accounting, Secretary, Marketing, and Sales all rolled into one!

There's obviously a lot more to it than what I've written up here, but it's too complicated to try and make into an entertaining read at 11:30 at night. The gist of it is, I'll be in charge of money when we have some, I'll be handling all advertising both for and on our site, I've made and will continue to make our graphics (such as the logo at the top of our website), and I maintain our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter pages. Those last two are really the fun things XD

Set-up was burbling along fairly well the first two months or so. Then, from the end of April until last week, I was basically on hiatus, what with moving and settling in and all. I had a meeting with Chris on Sunday to get caught up with what they've been doing in my absence, and did my best to reacquaint myself with my part of things in the two days before tonight's meeting. I feel pretty confident in my ability to keep up with the tasks, and I'm excited about them, too!

Anyway...that's been my productive day! I think I did other stuff, too, but those are the things that stand out. Seeing a dear friend, getting caught up with the business I'm helping to start, researching other creative and professional venues, and...laundry.

Tomorrow I go back to work, four in the afternoon to ten at night. I'm curious to see what the "late shift" will be like, and hoping that I don't feel that horrid combination of waiting/rushed I sometimes felt in the hours before working only-evenings at Curves.

Now, I've prattled on long enough, and I've been sitting at the computer for four hours straight. Back to the living room, to socialize and maybe art a bit!