On Planning & Entertainment

A more or less typical Sunday...

                 A more or less typical Sunday…

I mentioned a few weeks ago about my detour into planner-land one Sunday night while I was supposed to be writing a post for Monday. And my realization that the best planner in the world wasn’t going to solve my problem, which was simply being too lazy to use a planner.

Long story short, I went ahead and started planning my days in the morning, using a blank sheet from the back of one of my planners. Three main goals to start, any meetings scheduled, a few extra “if I have time” goals, and then a timeline of the day wherein every hour (even just watching TV) was listed, hour to hour.

I was a little chagrined to realize that this only took me 5, *maybe* 10 minutes in the morning. I honestly thought it would take much longer, but really, I know my routines, I know how my days mostly go, and I mixed work and personal on the same timeline just because it’s all part of the bigger daily picture. Five to ten minutes, and I started the day with a *plan* (complete with set and flexible goals) and predictably enough, I was much more calm and far less stressed than I have been in a long time. Even better, I finished all three of my main goals for the day. Prioritizing and focusing really does work.

Naturally, I remembered a planner I’d seen on my foray down the planner-rabbit-hole that night that I’d passed on by because it was boring, had undated pages and an un-timed timeline. I went back through my Amazon browsing history (too, too convenient!), found the Emergent Task Planner (ETP), and ordered one right then and there. It was exactly what I was doing, only slightly more organized than having only my messy script on the page.

I’ve been using it for half a week and even through the weekend (Sunday is pictured above), and I have to say – this is perfect. It’s exactly what I needed. Fully flexible so my day can start and end anytime I want, and just a super-simple outline for each day. Plus a spot to keep track of exercise and menu planning for the day (I’m keeping close track of calories at the moment, so the page pictured has my calorie calculations for the breakfast burritos I made yesterday).

So no, the planner didn’t fix my problem. But it did facilitate my fixing the problem by making it easier to do so, which is just as good. When I have a plan, I have at least the illusion of control, and that eases my personal stress level in a pretty major way – even if the plan has to change along the way. Odd how that works, isn’t it?

Now for something completely different. If I’d shown you Saturday’s page, you’d see several time chunks at night blocked out for “GOT”. Last week, I signed up for a one month free trial of HBO Now, so I could see what all the fuss was over The Game of Thrones. I watched the first episode last Wednesday night, and it was a little confusing (which is odd, considering I’d actually read that particular part of the books), but intriguing enough to watch a second. So Saturday evening when my husband was gone (he’s not interested), I watched several more episodes through the evening (I think I’m on 7 now, if I recall correctly). It’s very intricate, with so many different players and each with different motives and desires. I can see why people are so glued to it – and now that Tyrion shirt I got in last month’s Geek Fuel box makes so much more sense.

The hubby and I also decided to try Six Feet Under while we were there…and I have to say, that is one delightfully wacky show. I just adore the dark humor in it, and we’ve only watched a couple episodes so far. Luckily, hubby says that one’s on Amazon Prime, so we can watch that even if I don’t continue with HBO Now – though I dare say I will have to keep it until GOT is done. Which kind of sucks, because it’s one of the more expensive stand alone subscriptions at $14.99 per month. But I could just catch up now, and then cancel until next season too. Did I mention the HBO Now app sucks?

I also really want to watch Penny Dreadful, which is a Showtime…ah, show. But that’s an $8.99 add on subscription to our Prime membership, so…entertainment is getting a bit expensive here. Then again, we rarely actually go to the movies, and we did watch a couple of movies on HBO Now this weekend (The Intern is so good!). So…we’ll see.

Too bad they don’t have a sci-fi channel add on. I’ve been waiting for the latest season of Defiance to go free for Prime members *forever*. *sigh*

Yes, I watch too much TV. No, I don’t feel bad about it.

Now, however, it’s past light’s out and nearly to should-be-sleeping time, so I bid you a happy(ish) Monday and an organized week.