Two Screens

I have been a two monitor computer user for a long time. In addition to the two screens, I run a split screen on one computer that shows my calendar and Mailwasher (green bars at the left) which collects my mail from various accounts and beeps as new mail arrives. The calendar is not just a calendar but a Covey/Outlook planner giving me multiple calendars – (my calendar, community activities and a meal/project calendar) and tasks in addition to project time lines etc. .
The other screen holds what I am working on and occasionally the Internet if I am doing some research or in this case, getting ready to past my daily into the blog.
Over the screen is a copy of my Best Year Yet, my clock, a two pictures - my boyfriend and I in character form and GP walking with me at the finish line of the 2004 Marathon. Behind me is CNN humming in the background should something important happen.
In spite everything I read, I am a compulsive multi-tasker and an addicted gadget person. I do a Sunday week plan, slice a chunk of time for projects, workout, etc and have learned I have to schedule fun or I run out of boxes of time. Also, nothing takes the time you think it will...

Last Friday, I scheduled make cookies.. now that should only take a short time ....right.. wrong. The dog ate a stick of butter and I had no wax paper.. off to the store. I stopped at Wilson farm, OK on butter but no wax paper, the dollar store, no..and finally East Ave Wegman’s... tic tic... I only really had one pan that held the cookies correctly.. so I had to do 30 min bakes for 5 batches... clean up etc.. take the picture for the receipt card, print the cards.. bag the cookies and deliver – just drop them off..right...wrong three folks were home and a chat was added to the list..... poof.. a day.


I usually get everything on the list for the day accomplished but it often requires long evenings and time to regroup is taken out of the mix. Also, the housemate sleeps from 9AM – 4PM.. so no heavy pounding or vacuum. I see progress in my house, but like weight loss, it is a pound off and a pound on..it is a room cleaned and some you hardly notice a dent.
I spent some time over the weekend thinking about what changes I need to make in my scheduling and got a hint from my buddy Candy..I need to change my browsing habits. I can get up at 5:30am and hit Facebook and spend 30 good minutes fertilizing someone virtual farm.. now what is wrong with that picture...especially when I am doing this to a neighbors farm who actually is a neighbor and see me as one of the blights of Greenwood re my garden or lack there in. Then I play a few games of Farkle and since I have 75K points, you know it has been a FEW games, check the mail which often calls me to respond – need to get my point across, read the newsletters... and is it noon yet? Candy’s insight was that there needs to be a limit on the time and my insight is that I can’t do this first thing in the am or I fall down a slippery slope.


In the morning paper someone else was looking at reorganizing habits and suggested a N2do= not to do list.. and the first thing I have done...get un-tethered from the e-mail and refocused on the calendar ...Places to go.. Things to do.. and I am out of here.