Slow Monday with boredom and questions

January 22, 2024

I couldn't do almost any of my work tasks I had planned for today in the weekly review I did Friday!

I looked at the Nirvana Focus list today and my brain was like:

“Nah, too many things! And look! They are all boring. Can I have my snack now? Let’s grab some tea! ” 🙄

So today was a day I drowned in boredom. I did some quick and easy tasks that showed up on my email inbox. But I couldn't start any of the projects related tasks I had on my Focus list. And I couldn’t revise the list either. I just wanted to wander a little bit. I journaled. I organized some stuff. I read some RSS feeds. I asked myself questions:

Did my to-do app (Nirvana) seem overwhelming? => Maybe, I looked at it and I thought “Oh, how boring! And…I don’t know where to start”.
Did I have too many tasks on my focus list? => I had 6 tasks listed there, with an estimated duration of 5 hours total.
Were the tasks too daunting? => One of them required a lot of focus and energy. And it would probably take me 1-2 hours to complete (maybe more).
Were any of the tasks in a tight deadline? => Not really, there were no hard deadlines to complete them today.

So, what's going on?

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure.

But I think it's a combination of the Monday effect with me feeling tired and no pressure from deadlines.

Although I did my work weekly review on Friday, I failed to do my personal weekly review on Sunday. I had a conference call with my family on Saturday night that finished later than I wanted, so I woke up later on the Sunday and that derailed my Sunday routine a little bit. I felt like I was playing catch-up and when I got to work this morning, I still had unfinished thoughts about my personal stuff.

I got a little bit off track. So I woke up already feeling exhausted this morning.

But this whole day of boredom got me thinking about my tasks system:

What do I wish my system to do to support me?
Where and when do I want to see my system?
Do I want my system to remind me of things? How?
Do I feel like there's friction in using my system?
Does looking at my lists repel me?
When is the best time to do my personal weekly review?

I don't have all the answers to those questions, but I feel like today’s experience has brought some things to my attention that I will reflect more on this week and see what happens.

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Post 72/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge!

#100DaysToOffload #100Days #GTD #Productivity #journal #work

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By Noisy Deadlines
Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.