mind blanks ???

Hi All,

Including @Former-Member @Kurra @BlueBells @Snuchu @Former-Member

I've had memory 'blanks,' for years. My husband calls them like I'm in a daze ....

I can't think. I have always put them down to have had the most extroidinary amountof stress in my life .......but my friend reminded me; that when I was a little girl I was always trying to work out how to jump hoops to keep my parents happy and then, first husband undiagnosed Bipolar ; ( he is now on medication ) second husband Chronic PS.

I wonder @BlueBells if you can plan with little steps. Like plan your day hour by hour

EG;

1. 10 minutes get this done

2. 10 mins get that done

3. Stand next to desk and stretch

4.

Hope this helps ?? PP

Hi @BlueBells and everyone else,

I can so much relate to your post and it is so hard for me to manage myself when not feeling well. I have tried so many different approaches - being the organised, strategically thinking mind at times - writing down everything that needs to be done, even tasks I've been meaning to do for years, writing daily to-do lists, weekly to do lists, writing 15min increment day plans I could follow (and never did, which then frustrated me even more), creating charts where I gave myself little stars for the things I accomplished, trying to combine and enforce good habits at work and home with value statements attached to them, I cannot even recall all I have tried... and that is working in a normally nice working environment and with a supportive husband at home.

Again and again and again I was told by my psychs, GPs etc not to be so hard on myself. That I am trying to do too much. I just looked at them with a blank mind - how do you mean? I've always been able to do all that and more.

Well it's been a while that I burnt the long to-do list. If I did not manage to do it in the last few months/years - does it really matter? I have abandoned some tasks - like ironing, is that really so important? I have stopped having certain goals (I cannot say that I have accepted that yet or that I am at peace with it, but I consciously try to tell myself, this is not a goal, this is on the not to do list). Yes, I have found Not-to-do lists, that is a good thing to find. What are the things I am doing, that are not really making any difference in my life - do I really need to dust the house every month, or is it more important to sit in the sun?

At work I set myself one priority - did you know that the original word did not have a plural? - for the day or I write a list with 3-4 things that are the most important that week, so I can switch tasks, when I get bored. At home I still have a to do list - to remind me to pay bills, or make sure to wash my work clothes... but I don't beat myself up anymore if I wanted to go for a walk or sleep instead.

It sounds easy in this paragraph, but it is a daily struggle. I need to remind myself why I go to work, I need to remind myself of everything to get the energy to do it... It is not easy, but it seems to get a little bit easier everytime I try. I do not set myself time limits if I can, as I then just get overwhelmed and sit there with a blank mind. I do not shy away anymore from having a break if I need to. Perhaps you just need a break, even if it is just 1 day?

Take care.

I have to do a great deal of tedious office work as well, I have tried all sorts of time management strategies, Get Things Done, Todoist, Wunderlist, Evernote and more time/task management apps. Often I make a task bigger, more important and more difficult than it needs to be. This is because I am striving for perfection when it is really not necessary. I am even trying to get the planning and preparation done perfectly.

I think that my striving for perfection has to do with fear of negative evaluation.

In order to make reasonable progress on important tasks, I have actually had to scale back my planning and preparation. If the task is 3 hours I am trying to limit my planning and preparation to 1 hour, to allow 2 hours for implementation.

To get bills paid on time or to meet other deadlines, I am trying to adopt a good enough standard rather than a perfect standard.

This has helped me reduce my anxiety about starting important tasks. I have found that if I can lower my anxiety level there is also less procrastination.

Dear @Connect2uplift

My name is PeppyPatti, it's a pleure to meet you, Ille look these time management strategies up.

The biggest issue I have is that I pay my husbands and my bills, I loke having a little tucked on the side to give $20 to my son and have saved 500 to send my oldest son but would like very much to save to go to East of Australia, I use Chriscos for that once I've paid off my computer

Then, my husband drops his mobile phone and it feels like we are at round one all over again .......

PP