All in all, Rome wasn't built in a day, eh? kk1k5x accountability thread
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I didn't necessarily set myself a deadline, but I finished the thing today anyways. No there's only the review for tomorrow morning/before noon.
Today has actually ended up being a very productive day of both work and play. And it hasn't even ended yet. Playing a shoot-em-up online (again) soon!
I have to take extra care tomorrow with the review, being that the text was nasty through and through. Weird part was the ending (since it was a mix of different documents), because that text was from a separate entity and an absolute joy to translate compared to the quagmire that came before it lol.
How are you feeling Sao? Better today?
End of Day 230. I did not drink today.
Today has actually ended up being a very productive day of both work and play. And it hasn't even ended yet. Playing a shoot-em-up online (again) soon!
I have to take extra care tomorrow with the review, being that the text was nasty through and through. Weird part was the ending (since it was a mix of different documents), because that text was from a separate entity and an absolute joy to translate compared to the quagmire that came before it lol.
How are you feeling Sao? Better today?
End of Day 230. I did not drink today.
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A good day. Bit of a late start due to a late bedtime, but once I was up, things went well. Finished reviewing the work at around noon and sent it in. Got a thank you with an exclamation point and no feedback/questions, just the amount of pages counted and the green light for sending an invoice. Which means I'll actually have two paydays this week 
I know I complained about this particular one, but I am super glad the effort and review were okay. Each solid translation is a tiny confidence booster and a slightly more open door for future work. The mindset change took hold and has brought success, I think. When the okay works outnumber the poorer ones, I'm content
Not much else to report. I feel good, a heightened sense of 'freedom' after that work it seems. More gameplay planned for later and watching bball.
The year is coming to an end soon. As of today, it's 7 months and three weeks sober. Whoulda thunk! Yesterday I kinda 'just realised' that it's been quite a while. To me, this just proves the effectiveness of the one day at a time approach.
Hope everyone is enjoying their day or evening
End of Day 231. I did not drink today.
I know I complained about this particular one, but I am super glad the effort and review were okay. Each solid translation is a tiny confidence booster and a slightly more open door for future work. The mindset change took hold and has brought success, I think. When the okay works outnumber the poorer ones, I'm content
Not much else to report. I feel good, a heightened sense of 'freedom' after that work it seems. More gameplay planned for later and watching bball.
The year is coming to an end soon. As of today, it's 7 months and three weeks sober. Whoulda thunk! Yesterday I kinda 'just realised' that it's been quite a while. To me, this just proves the effectiveness of the one day at a time approach.
Hope everyone is enjoying their day or evening
End of Day 231. I did not drink today.
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I think it's now good to wish you a Happy New Year, Dee ! Thanks for all the support and advice this year.
And a great big hug and thanks to you Sao, Tatsy and bim. You have been here for me and I hope you know how remarkable I consider that to be.
My eyes are a bit tired - been enjoying my day playing computer games with a friend. Also, I started my day with translating one page from the book.
I now made a solemn vow to translate something from the book every single day next year (guess, unless I suddenly are without my laptop or PC for legitimate reasons, but doubt that's going to happen). Even if it's two sentences at a time.
Listened to more podcasts yesterday and there was some interesting points made in one of them. 'No one cares about your intentions - if you don't want to be a good person, just act like one'. This made a lot of sense to me in many respects. We often reiterate the importance of actions in sobriety, especially in early sobriety (i.e. sober is what sober does). The same principle must now apply to my translating. Not what I think will be difficult, or how there's not enough time, or I'm tired - translator is what translator does. I can never be too tired to translate a couple of sentences, especially if that's all I need to do
I liked this year, which means a lot coming from me. Even though only 7.5 months of it were blessed with continued sobriety, I managed to do enough to remember the year. To me, that's important.
The difference from new year's eve of 2018 and the one that will come to an end in 15 minutes is important for me personally. Last year (although I can't remember anything specific from that night, but I'm going by 'tradition') I was most likely nostalgic. Maybe also somewhat drunk although I didn't have a dime to my name at the time. I was feeling down about things gone by. This year, I am reflecting but not deeply nostalgic. Instead of being sad about things gone by, I am Excited for all the things to come! The difference is subtle externally, but an entire universe internally.
I am very grateful for all the support I got this year, all the advice and, of course, for all the banter and discussions. I wish everyone a calm end to 2019 and a hopeful start to 2020.
Catch you in 2020. Happy New Year wherever you are!!
End of Day 232. I did not drink today.
! Thanks for all the support and advice this year.And a great big hug and thanks to you Sao, Tatsy and bim. You have been here for me and I hope you know how remarkable I consider that to be.
My eyes are a bit tired - been enjoying my day playing computer games with a friend. Also, I started my day with translating one page from the book.
I now made a solemn vow to translate something from the book every single day next year (guess, unless I suddenly are without my laptop or PC for legitimate reasons, but doubt that's going to happen). Even if it's two sentences at a time.
Listened to more podcasts yesterday and there was some interesting points made in one of them. 'No one cares about your intentions - if you don't want to be a good person, just act like one'. This made a lot of sense to me in many respects. We often reiterate the importance of actions in sobriety, especially in early sobriety (i.e. sober is what sober does). The same principle must now apply to my translating. Not what I think will be difficult, or how there's not enough time, or I'm tired - translator is what translator does. I can never be too tired to translate a couple of sentences, especially if that's all I need to do
I liked this year, which means a lot coming from me. Even though only 7.5 months of it were blessed with continued sobriety, I managed to do enough to remember the year. To me, that's important.
The difference from new year's eve of 2018 and the one that will come to an end in 15 minutes is important for me personally. Last year (although I can't remember anything specific from that night, but I'm going by 'tradition') I was most likely nostalgic. Maybe also somewhat drunk although I didn't have a dime to my name at the time. I was feeling down about things gone by. This year, I am reflecting but not deeply nostalgic. Instead of being sad about things gone by, I am Excited for all the things to come! The difference is subtle externally, but an entire universe internally.
I am very grateful for all the support I got this year, all the advice and, of course, for all the banter and discussions. I wish everyone a calm end to 2019 and a hopeful start to 2020.
Catch you in 2020. Happy New Year wherever you are!!
End of Day 232. I did not drink today.
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Thanks everyone!
Today started a bit late, because I finally got a deep enough sleep to carry me through almost the entire night. The 'night' began around 2.30 am.
Before I went to bed, I thought some more about the promise to translate the book every day, i.e. how to make it more concrete. I tried out the solution today and I liked it. Instead of going for a certain amount of text/pages per day, I set aside 90 minutes to engage in the book translation. I managed a page more or less, but I did other things there as well, e.g. fixing phrases in earlier sections etc. The reasons I liked this approach were:
a) It's specific. 90 minutes every 24 hours, regardless of whether I take that time in the morning or evening.
b) Whilst translating, when the 90 minutes were almost over, I got this urge to try and outperform myself tomorrow. Good sign.
c) Teaches me how to 'something' within a given timeframe.
d) The allotted time seems to have been enough to tick the mental 'box' of 'Have I done enough to let it go from my mind for the day?', because it didn't come up for the rest of the night, i.e. it felt like I had done what I was supposed to.
e) Seems more conducive to creating a habit of 'doing', as opposed to strict quantity based approaches which cause more stress if I don't hit a mark. That's because pages and sections aren't all brothers, there are difficult spots as well as those that go quicker. A specific time slot would account for both without the added 'oh my god, I didn't get anything done today', because I did/will be doing 90 minutes rain or shine.
Tomorrow I will do the same. Today it seemed to work better at the beginning of my day. Perhaps it could develop into a sort of keycode for opening the rest of my day. Paying my dues before getting to do other things. Then it'd be my choice whether I actively translate, or just stare at the text for 90 minutes, but I can't do other stuff.
There were probably other parts of the activity that I liked. This also includes the fact that, 90 minutes ends when 90 minutes are up. And after that it's 'freedom'. Since I mostly seem to struggle not with effort, but with consistency and spreading out the work more or less evenly, this approach could help with that.
It might also be of broader benefit. Who knows, maybe the specific time allocation system - when arrived at organically - can ... translate... into other areas of my life, such as academic writing and research. I know for a fact that I have, in addition to the currently underway data analysis, more similar things coming up, most likely, in the summer.
It was a simple day, but also good in a productive sense. Perhaps a foundation for something positive moving forward
Take care everyone. Great to hear from you Sao and Tatsy. How are you Bim?
End of Day 233. I did not drink today.
Today started a bit late, because I finally got a deep enough sleep to carry me through almost the entire night. The 'night' began around 2.30 am.
Before I went to bed, I thought some more about the promise to translate the book every day, i.e. how to make it more concrete. I tried out the solution today and I liked it. Instead of going for a certain amount of text/pages per day, I set aside 90 minutes to engage in the book translation. I managed a page more or less, but I did other things there as well, e.g. fixing phrases in earlier sections etc. The reasons I liked this approach were:
a) It's specific. 90 minutes every 24 hours, regardless of whether I take that time in the morning or evening.
b) Whilst translating, when the 90 minutes were almost over, I got this urge to try and outperform myself tomorrow. Good sign.
c) Teaches me how to 'something' within a given timeframe.
d) The allotted time seems to have been enough to tick the mental 'box' of 'Have I done enough to let it go from my mind for the day?', because it didn't come up for the rest of the night, i.e. it felt like I had done what I was supposed to.
e) Seems more conducive to creating a habit of 'doing', as opposed to strict quantity based approaches which cause more stress if I don't hit a mark. That's because pages and sections aren't all brothers, there are difficult spots as well as those that go quicker. A specific time slot would account for both without the added 'oh my god, I didn't get anything done today', because I did/will be doing 90 minutes rain or shine.
Tomorrow I will do the same. Today it seemed to work better at the beginning of my day. Perhaps it could develop into a sort of keycode for opening the rest of my day. Paying my dues before getting to do other things. Then it'd be my choice whether I actively translate, or just stare at the text for 90 minutes, but I can't do other stuff.
There were probably other parts of the activity that I liked. This also includes the fact that, 90 minutes ends when 90 minutes are up. And after that it's 'freedom'. Since I mostly seem to struggle not with effort, but with consistency and spreading out the work more or less evenly, this approach could help with that.
It might also be of broader benefit. Who knows, maybe the specific time allocation system - when arrived at organically - can ... translate... into other areas of my life, such as academic writing and research. I know for a fact that I have, in addition to the currently underway data analysis, more similar things coming up, most likely, in the summer.
It was a simple day, but also good in a productive sense. Perhaps a foundation for something positive moving forward
Take care everyone. Great to hear from you Sao and Tatsy. How are you Bim?
End of Day 233. I did not drink today.
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Wasn't sure how to begin tonight's post because the contents of my day were roughly the same as yesterday.
Choppy sleep, slow to get up. Groggy. Once I did get up, I had my late breakfast, made and drank some coffee. After that the 90 minutes kicked in. Today I managed 1.5 pages in that timeframe, so at least I'm thankful for that.
Following the translation is where the tiredness really kicked in. I took an hour nap, but since apparently my neck-and-pillow position was awkward, I woke up with a headache. When it rains, it pours. I'm getting kinda sick of these days where at no point during my awake-time I feel 100% or close to that. Just half-zombieing it through to the evening with various ailments nagging at my nerves for good measure.
In the evening I did the same 90 minutes block for my research and made a bit of progress with that as well.
Currently there's some anxiety present for me. Mostly because I am still not completely sure that the financial support for the book won't be taxed come income tax declaration time. Which would totally screw me, but hey - what else haven't I already dealt with in my years of boozing, right? I try to keep my focus on the actual work and deal with other issues when they actually arrive. Everything is survivable as long as I stay sober and stay on point.
To sum up, they had productive parts. For those I largely give credit to what I'm now beginning to think of as my personal little 'system' of 'activity blocks'. What is sort of ...annoying and confusing, is that if on average I'm awake for 15 hours a day, then that makes for 10 90min blocks. I'm guessing up to 7-8 of them could be productive. I managed two today, so there's definitely room for growth (although, once again, that's not what I'm focussing on at the moment).
Baby steps, one day at a time.
Perhaps some of my on-and-off frustrations have to do with the fact that my ongoing projects are both long-term, i.e. no pit-stop achievement endorphines. Just the grind towards the end-goal. However, both end-goals are totally worth it. Not to mention that the lack of previous progress (because of a lack of 'doing') is giving me anxiety up the wazoo when I think about it.
That's why I need my activity blocks now. Takes me out of the general malaise of my tired days and gives me something to do with focus.
I hope everyone is feeling okay today and being productive. And fully awake :P
End of Day 234. I did not drink today.
Choppy sleep, slow to get up. Groggy. Once I did get up, I had my late breakfast, made and drank some coffee. After that the 90 minutes kicked in. Today I managed 1.5 pages in that timeframe, so at least I'm thankful for that.
Following the translation is where the tiredness really kicked in. I took an hour nap, but since apparently my neck-and-pillow position was awkward, I woke up with a headache. When it rains, it pours. I'm getting kinda sick of these days where at no point during my awake-time I feel 100% or close to that. Just half-zombieing it through to the evening with various ailments nagging at my nerves for good measure.
In the evening I did the same 90 minutes block for my research and made a bit of progress with that as well.
Currently there's some anxiety present for me. Mostly because I am still not completely sure that the financial support for the book won't be taxed come income tax declaration time. Which would totally screw me, but hey - what else haven't I already dealt with in my years of boozing, right? I try to keep my focus on the actual work and deal with other issues when they actually arrive. Everything is survivable as long as I stay sober and stay on point.
To sum up, they had productive parts. For those I largely give credit to what I'm now beginning to think of as my personal little 'system' of 'activity blocks'. What is sort of ...annoying and confusing, is that if on average I'm awake for 15 hours a day, then that makes for 10 90min blocks. I'm guessing up to 7-8 of them could be productive. I managed two today, so there's definitely room for growth (although, once again, that's not what I'm focussing on at the moment).
Baby steps, one day at a time.
Perhaps some of my on-and-off frustrations have to do with the fact that my ongoing projects are both long-term, i.e. no pit-stop achievement endorphines. Just the grind towards the end-goal. However, both end-goals are totally worth it. Not to mention that the lack of previous progress (because of a lack of 'doing') is giving me anxiety up the wazoo when I think about it.
That's why I need my activity blocks now. Takes me out of the general malaise of my tired days and gives me something to do with focus.
I hope everyone is feeling okay today and being productive. And fully awake :P
End of Day 234. I did not drink today.
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Thanks Sao.
I know those amounts are pushing. Guess if I were to go by blocks, then in the recent past there were consecutive days of 8 and 9.5. That wasn't probably pushing it, that was defo pushing it. You can only sustain that for a very brief period of time, which for me was two days.
Since I see positive results from just 1-2 blocks in terms of 'not regular work', then I am content with that.
I just got some regular work this evening. To be completed by Monday late afternoon. So I get to test how this thing operates when there's regular work, too. It will be interesting to see if and how it functions.
Tonight I will still do one block (by the way, please say if it's now super weird that I sometimes refer to activities in 'blocks') of research. Tomorrow, again, will begin with the book and then regular work and evening I will add research, because that is the most routine thing to do, so it's reasonable to leave it last, I think.
Anyways, the point of it all was to get me to do things and sustain a small but regular tempo of progress. Even though I want to avoid these at all costs, I 'could' do all-nighters with regular translations. I cannot do that with the book. Since I am a procrastinator (as has been discussed earlier), that's the funk I need to resolve.
In essence, I like the challenge that comes with each of these activities, but something in my brain regularly blocks me from 'just doing it'. That cannot be the case moving forward, hence the 90 minutes' stuff
End of Day 235. I did not drink today.
I know those amounts are pushing. Guess if I were to go by blocks, then in the recent past there were consecutive days of 8 and 9.5. That wasn't probably pushing it, that was defo pushing it. You can only sustain that for a very brief period of time, which for me was two days.
Since I see positive results from just 1-2 blocks in terms of 'not regular work', then I am content with that.
I just got some regular work this evening. To be completed by Monday late afternoon. So I get to test how this thing operates when there's regular work, too. It will be interesting to see if and how it functions.
Tonight I will still do one block (by the way, please say if it's now super weird that I sometimes refer to activities in 'blocks') of research. Tomorrow, again, will begin with the book and then regular work and evening I will add research, because that is the most routine thing to do, so it's reasonable to leave it last, I think.
Anyways, the point of it all was to get me to do things and sustain a small but regular tempo of progress. Even though I want to avoid these at all costs, I 'could' do all-nighters with regular translations. I cannot do that with the book. Since I am a procrastinator (as has been discussed earlier), that's the funk I need to resolve.
In essence, I like the challenge that comes with each of these activities, but something in my brain regularly blocks me from 'just doing it'. That cannot be the case moving forward, hence the 90 minutes' stuff
End of Day 235. I did not drink today.
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Kk, I really like the term 'blocks' for activities, you could select another term for relaxation time! One block, earns x minutes relaxation...that's how I wrestled with and combatted my procrastination, and almost negated my having to resort to all-nighters!
Of course, you may receive an influx of paid work, with a deadline that requires an all-nighter. But I'd hope that ordinarily, continuance of your block system would ensure you keep normal hours for work, relaxation and sleep.
Of course, you may receive an influx of paid work, with a deadline that requires an all-nighter. But I'd hope that ordinarily, continuance of your block system would ensure you keep normal hours for work, relaxation and sleep.
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Yeah, perhaps you're right on that Sao. And Tatsy, it seems to work for the most part. At least it has better potential than whatever random-y stuff I was doing before.
I have been annoyed for most of today. I started out with a lot of energy after a long sleep. But I wasted most of it on pointless non-activities because the necessary work file hadn't arrived by early morning. When I finally got it at lunch time, a lot of the spark had gone and I was quite angry because of it.
Anyways, I just finished the work and submitted it, so I'll wait and see what comes of that, or what its quality will be. I did all my usual checks and reviews.
Tonight will not see me do a book block. For the life of me, I cannot understand why I just didn't do the 90 minutes in the morning. I have no explanation for it, but I just wanted to vent. Stupid ******* procrastination.
Since I did finish my regular work tonight (and if everything is okay with that, then it's a lot earlier than my Monday afternoon deadline - that's partly because certain parts of the 9 pages had been pre-translated), tomorrow will be 'free', which means that tomorrow will have 2 blocks for the book and 1 or 2 for research, as that wasn't on the schedule either.
I also bought tickets to Venice for next September, I will be going for a week. Similar time as I did with Florence and Rome.
End of Day 236. I did not drink today.
I have been annoyed for most of today. I started out with a lot of energy after a long sleep. But I wasted most of it on pointless non-activities because the necessary work file hadn't arrived by early morning. When I finally got it at lunch time, a lot of the spark had gone and I was quite angry because of it.
Anyways, I just finished the work and submitted it, so I'll wait and see what comes of that, or what its quality will be. I did all my usual checks and reviews.
Tonight will not see me do a book block. For the life of me, I cannot understand why I just didn't do the 90 minutes in the morning. I have no explanation for it, but I just wanted to vent. Stupid ******* procrastination.
Since I did finish my regular work tonight (and if everything is okay with that, then it's a lot earlier than my Monday afternoon deadline - that's partly because certain parts of the 9 pages had been pre-translated), tomorrow will be 'free', which means that tomorrow will have 2 blocks for the book and 1 or 2 for research, as that wasn't on the schedule either.
I also bought tickets to Venice for next September, I will be going for a week. Similar time as I did with Florence and Rome.
End of Day 236. I did not drink today.
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Not much to report today. Did two book translation 'blocks' and managed a bit more than 3 pages in that time span, so that's good. Also, the regular work turned out fine, I'll probably get the final quantity info for the invoice tomorrow. Maybe there'll also be some more regular work tomorrow. Or it could be that it's still the so-called holiday break.
Otherwise I cooked two meals and watched my bball team tune up the opposition. The day also included an episode of Vikings and Ray Donovan, with Shameless still to watch.
Right now I'm probably going to 'gear up' to play some computer games. I will need to do research tomorrow in addition to other things. Should hit the 10% mark soon with the data. Have to see after that if it's possible to start writing something up, as the deadline is at the start of Feb.
Otherwise, things seem to be on schedule for the most part. Of course, I'm not worrying about the book schedule anymore and will stick to the very simple (but effective) 'just do something every day and make progress, however small'.
End of Day 237. I did not drink today.
Otherwise I cooked two meals and watched my bball team tune up the opposition. The day also included an episode of Vikings and Ray Donovan, with Shameless still to watch.
Right now I'm probably going to 'gear up' to play some computer games. I will need to do research tomorrow in addition to other things. Should hit the 10% mark soon with the data. Have to see after that if it's possible to start writing something up, as the deadline is at the start of Feb.
Otherwise, things seem to be on schedule for the most part. Of course, I'm not worrying about the book schedule anymore and will stick to the very simple (but effective) 'just do something every day and make progress, however small'.
End of Day 237. I did not drink today.
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Venice, now that's a destination to look forward to, that perhaps I'll visit on day. One week is probably wise, after your experience of two weeks last year, and I have the impression Venice has less places to visit than Rome, could be wrong, but you seem a adept planner and should fit everything you're interested into your schedule.
Your last few days sound productive, blocks of work, rest (Tv) and play (games). I've been considering downloading a game on my Mac, I used to play 'escape the room' type puzzle games on my tablet, but they're not supported for the Mac. I'll do another search, I'd be glad of any recommendations, particularly free ones!
Your last few days sound productive, blocks of work, rest (Tv) and play (games). I've been considering downloading a game on my Mac, I used to play 'escape the room' type puzzle games on my tablet, but they're not supported for the Mac. I'll do another search, I'd be glad of any recommendations, particularly free ones!
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Thanks Dee and Hi Tatsy
You know, one of my suggestions would be to install and make a user on Steam. Usually, if there's 'a game for it', you can find it there and lots of them are compatible with Macs.
When I did a broad search for the 'escape the room' genre, I came up with a site called (hopefully I'm not breaking any rules here and I won't paste the exact link) 365escape. There seemed to be lots of free online 'escape the room' options there, if you want to check that out. One could hope they are functional and at least some of them are good
Let me know what you can find, Tatsy!
You know, one of my suggestions would be to install and make a user on Steam. Usually, if there's 'a game for it', you can find it there and lots of them are compatible with Macs.
When I did a broad search for the 'escape the room' genre, I came up with a site called (hopefully I'm not breaking any rules here and I won't paste the exact link) 365escape. There seemed to be lots of free online 'escape the room' options there, if you want to check that out. One could hope they are functional and at least some of them are good
Let me know what you can find, Tatsy!
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You will have to save your pennies for Venice. It's beautiful but painful on the pocket.
I went there on an Interrail ticked in 1984, we camped on the Lido but it was pricey even back then. Worth it though.
I went there on an Interrail ticked in 1984, we camped on the Lido but it was pricey even back then. Worth it though.
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