Friday, May 20, 2011

Lessons learned this week (Friday Fragments)

In a week of changing gears, in both work and home, there has been a lot of lesson learning going on around here.

Mommy's Idea

  • I'm a creature of habit. My first week freelancing, post layoff, is going well. Surprisingly, though, I'm having trouble breaking the 9-6 routine, which is what I had complained most about with my full-time job after having enjoyed flexible hours for three years before that. I never thought being tied to my desk would be a hard habit to break, but I find myself constantly looking at the clock: This line needs to move faster because I have to start work in ten minutes. I only have five minutes left of my lunch break. Ugh, it's only 3:00? These next three hours are going to be long. While there is nothing wrong with trying to keep "business hours," I know from experience that I am a better writer when I allow myself time to shift gears (say, like write a blog post mid-day) or take a reading break every few hours. Now it's just a matter of getting my internal clock to buy into my process.
  • If, while you think you could be having a medical emergency, your first thought is, G-d, please don't let me die because people will come into my house and see what a mess it is, it might be time to do something about your housekeeping habits. I tend to be a not-do-anything-during-the-week-and-clean-it-all-over-the-weekend kind of girl. Looking around with anxiety at the piles of things building up makes me realize this routine isn't working too well. Perhaps I should spend those breaks I need from writing to tidy up with more regularity.
  • I don't need - or want - half of what I own. Purging Round 2 started off great. I probably let go of about half my wardrobe and still have plenty to wear (and not wear). Then I hit a plateau as I looked around my office/studio thinking, but I WANT everything in here. No, I'll probably never use that paper for anything, but it's just soooo pretty! I went through all the self talk and realized it's simply a matter of not being ready to tackle my favorite room yet. So last night I switched gears and went through my books. I thought this was going to be an impossible task, but I put half of my collection in boxes to go to the library with surprising ease. Whether it was my desire to see progress or a lack of wanting to yet again schlep eight boxes of books across town, the act restored my purging mojo. When I was younger, I equated more stuff with more happiness; now, the opposite is beginning to prove true for me.
  • It pays (literally) to speak up for yourself. I can sometimes be a passive person, often out of sheer laziness. I'm the one who looks at her receipt on the way out the door and decides not to go back for that dollar I shouldn't have been charged. When you start talking hundreds of dollars, both my passivity and laziness tend to subside, but when it comes to insurance claims, I often chalk discrepancies up to my not fully understanding my coverage. Keeping a more watchful eye on our money these days, I decided to investigate a charge from my doctor's office that I felt was too high. Analyzing the insurance claim, the charge looked to be $800 more than what I should have paid! I emailed the insurance company to confirm that my out-of-pocket expense was only $400. Then I made the dreaded call to the doctor's office. Though nice, the woman I spoke to made it sound as though an insurance error had been made and I would be on the hook for the difference, despite the written confirmation I had. One more call to the insurance company righted the entire situation in a matter of hours - and with minimal effort on my part. Win! Now if only I could apply this lesson to negotiating better fees for my writing... baby steps.
What lessons did you learn this week?

5 comments:

Ellen aka Ellie said...

I am having a hard time remembering what I learned this week since I had a field trip today with my fourth graders.

However...I am trying to learn how to sew, and if I don't pick up some new avoidance behaviors this weekend, maybe by Sunday night I will have learned more in that realm.

Then again, maybe not.

Hope you can stop by...
www.ellieisanewthing.blogspot.com

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

I'm laughing at your description of what goes through your mind in a medical emergency! We've moved so many times recently that we don't need to purge, but life gets so hectic that clutter and chaos are the norm.
I love the look of your blog! I'm visiting from Mrs 4444's Friday Fragments.

Doreen McGettigan said...

I am actually trying to empty my house of all the useless stuff I seem to just move from one place to another. Slowly getting there.
Working from home (Writing from Home) is what I love to do but I have such a hard time keeping focused, take too many breaks and end up in my office too late or way to early. I'm working on that too because nothing beats working in Pj's.
I am a new visitor and follower via FF.
Hope your week gets off to a good start.
http://www.doreenmcgettigan.com

Kelly Miller said...

I've found myself more willing to part with books than in the past. I think it's because I know I could have those books again (which tells you that I can't part with out-of-print books or really old ones). More quirky/creative stuff is much harder because who knows if you'll stumble on that exact same thing when you need it.

Mrs4444 said...

Wow-That insurance error is scary. Makes me wonder what I may have missed. Thanks.

Glad you're making good use of your time. It's good to be disciplined. I hope you've gotten into a nice groove now :)

Sorry it took forever for me to get here!! Thanks for your patience :)