[anothercliché]

Alright so I've decided to make a list every night of the things that I would like to accomplish for the day. I've been doing this for about a week now and the system is rather simple. Basically I rank things in numerical order by importance and after I accomplish them I put a V next to the item like a check. If at the end of the day I did some of it or something similar I'll put a / for half credit and if I didn't do it I'd put a - next to it. The problem I'm having with such lists is that the things on it are so rudimentary that I really should be doing them anyway and accomplishing these feels like winning a participation award at the annual participation championship, namely not accomplishments.
For example today's list went as follows:
1. Eat breakfast -
I woke up at 11:00 so I by default failed this one.
2. Do some silk road work V
I have a midterm writing assignment due in a week and did the bare minimum of what I asked myself to do today, namely read one of the chapters.
3. Do some late work -
I'm a lazy **** so I didn't do latework today.
4. Write some fanfiction /
Yes I know I'm a loser a nerd and that I am participating in activity that is 90% women but screw you I have to practice the writen word somewhere and I'm too stupid to think of my own ideas. Plus I have 22 silent onlookers passively kind of maybe caring if I ever finish so that is a mild motivator. Anyway I proofread a paragraph and wrote a paragraph so by technicality I did get partial credit even though I failed to finish a chapter or do anything of substance.
5. Get a haircut V
My hair was too long, so I got a haircut. Description over.
6. Do something physical /
I rode my bike tothe library, then to the barber, then back to my residence. Technically that's thirty minutes of biking but really a cop out.
7. Don't eat as much garbage /
I've been eating a lot of bad stuff recently so I'm trying to slow down. Today I had nothing for breakfast or lunch, a single plate of food half composed of cantaloupe and grapes for dinner, and a cupcake for desert. Also a slice of pizza as a midnight snack because I'm weak willed and stupid. Still that's an improvement so partial success.
So the problem I'm having is that I scored a 50% on a list of things I should've gotten a 100% on and them some, making today another failure to add to the mound. How can you lose even when your standards are set so low that you could limbo under them while wearing stilts and just bounce back like its nothing? I'm setting such pathetic goals and still failing to reach them, what can I do to stop being such an incompotent twit? Even if I do reach them how can I be satisfied at accomplishing the bare minimum of what I was supposed to as a functioning person?

[Blue_Bird]

You're doing well Maybe if you feel like you're not reaching enough of your goals cut back on some of them and only work on a few at a time. For the food thing I recommend three good meals a day then 2-3 small healthy snacks to prevent midnight snacking on high calorie foods. Also, you can still have some of your favorite foods just in moderation,

-Take care,

[anothercliché]

Originally Posted by Blue_Bird

You're doing well Maybe if you feel like you're not reaching enough of your goals cut back on some of them and only work on a few at a time. For the food thing I recommend three good meals a day then 2-3 small healthy snacks to prevent midnight snacking on high calorie foods. Also, you can still have some of your favorite foods just in moderation,

-Take care,

The food thing was realy due to habits. I used to never eat breakfast because I don't like breakfast foods in general and early in the morning I have no appetite regardless, however that has cause me to have sizable lunches and dinners which I heard are bad for you, so I'm tryig to force myself into the habit of eating earlier.
Also I cheated with the fruits. Grapes and cantelope are two of maybe six fruits (grapes of any kind, canteloupe, stawberries, those mixed red/green apples that I'm too dumb to know the name of, oranges, and pears) that I will eat a fair amount of as opposed to a few bites and then switching to chips. Also I love the ever loving hell out of olives of all kinds (those are fruit I think) and could eat a small can in a sitting but health wise I think that would actually be worse than the chips so I only top my salads with them now.
Whatever, the problem is that if I lower my standards further I'm going into sub human territory. I'm already achieving below the average threshold of what I should and lowering that feels like I'm patronizing myself, if that's possible. Thoughts?

[Blue_Bird]

This may sound stupid but maybe try writing down your goals on a piece of paper, and when you accomplish some cross them off, then maybe reward yourself

[anothercliché]

Originally Posted by Blue_Bird

This may sound stupid but maybe try writing down your goals on a piece of paper, and when you accomplish some cross them off, then maybe reward yourself

Alright, I'll try that. Currently they're all written on my phone every night. But it's worth a shot. After all my current method isn't doing it for me, might as well make a slight modification and see what it does.
Oh and by the way thank you for your time and effort, it means a lot to me that you're giving me advice to help me better myself. You have my most sincere gratitude.

[Frankbtl]

Hi anothercliche, not so hard on yourself, hey??!!
All these things you "should" be doing, well that's going to completely depend on your starting point. Are you going to be telling someone with a plaster cast on their leg that they "should" be jogging around the block because they need a bit of exercise?? Course you're not, so don't be so hard on yourself, OK??!!
If you're struggling with things and you manage to do something/anything that you wouldn't otherwise have been able to do, then that's an achievement!!!! Whatever that is!!!!
And they're all steps towards being able to do just a little more........and just a little more.......
So even if it takes weeks........of only sticking to doing 1, 2, 3 on your list (sometimes a little of 4 or 5 or 6) for example........if that 1, 2, 3 gets easier/more of a habit that can open the door to pushing those goals a little further, and you might even get to doing more of 4, 5 or 6!!!
So you've ticked of things, that's great, that's an achievement!!!! Well done!!!!!
And your list...........well maybe add in some things that you may not get around to, but you might enjoy if you actually did them. Other things........perhaps make them a bit more specific, so there's more to realistically aim for??? Like you'll do some "late work" around x pm or before y pm, because you know time can slip by can't it?? , for the don't eat as much garbage..........maybe plan what you're going to eat and try to stick to it (do allow yourself a little leaway, if you don't quite stick to it though!!).
And even shorten the list if you think that would be more realistic, achievable..........then any extras you do that aren't on the list...........you know what I'm going to say give yourself real credit for those, those are achievements too!!!!
So kind of make the list work for you...........and reward yourself for your achievements!!!!

And btw I want you to now be changing that / to a V on no. 6!!!
Thirty minutes of biking IS something physical, as far as I'm concerned!!!



Alison

[hvert]

Your list and situation remind me a lot of my own! It truly is discouraging when stuff like washing the dishes and taking a shower makes me feel like I accomplished something. What's even more frustrating is that it didn't used to be like this.

I also find that writing stuff down on paper is somehow more motivating. It also keeps me off the computer, which tends to be a huge time suck for me.