feeling negative about myself

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I have been so into a new special interest over the past few weeks that I've let my housework and bills go by the wayside. I go through cycles and do this pretty often. The problem is that I feel like crap abt myself but can't seem to stay on task when I get into a special interest. I have a hard time with bills and other executive type stuff anyway. I am overwealmed by executive stuff and can't even figure out where to start. All this makes me fell like crap which has a downward spiral effect. Anyone else fell the same? Any solutions?

Thx, Nelle

Ah yes, I understand what you are talking about. No one ever told me that when I became an adult I'd be inundated with mounds and mounds of paper, though I should have known from the mountains of boxes my parents had of "important papers" which, apparently I wasn't allowed to write on.

If it were just bills and checks that I received, that would be fine. But it's not just bills and checks. It's forests worth of junk mail, unsolicited advertisements and flyers that are stuffed in with every bill, recipes that I never know how long to keep, far too many papers from my health insurance company considering my infrequent utilization of medical services, bank statements, car insurance stuff....and I've come to realize I receive a flatteringly high number of greeting cards.

And the worst part about the junk mail is, I can't stop it. The direct marketing association, which is responsible for sending most of the junk mail requires that you request "do not send" status by name, and the junk mail isn't sent to my name by my residence, as many people have previously lived here. And to do a "do not send" for the residence, I have to give them my name. Why in the hell would I give a mass junk mailer my name?

Anyway, it gets in my way and muddles my thought process.

Heh - Chronos, I do like your avatar!

Having said that, the single best invention I've adopted in household bill management is online bill-pay in its various forms: bank website, automatic deductions from bank account, email reminders/notifications. I despise checkbooks... so 20th century! (and I'm kinda old). I can get hung up for weeks on how many postage stamps to attach to a paper envelope. Blecch

I was going to say that too: ON LINE BANKING.

When I get a bill, I write the due date in red on my calender above my computer and make sure I look at it everyday.

When I have an appointment, I write it down on the calender and program it into my phone with alarm to remind me just incase.

I don't keep cards anymore, they just pile up. If it's a card that I think is worth framing, I get a frame from the thriftstore and on the wall it goes otherwise I think "How nice, they remembered me", and into the recyling bin it goes.

The special interest takeover.... I don't have any tips, unfortunately, I need help with that, too. The ONLY thing that works for me, and this is the long view approach, is when I'm eating well and exercising.

I'm serious. That's the only time that I have the energy and ability to concentrate enough to stop myself from escaping into my current special interest.

Like right now. I've been eating like crap and I haven't been exercising regularly and I can't focus. (and I'm cranky and have low self-esteem right now) I'm on WP instead of doing my work.

good luck!

Regarding the junk mail: get a paper shredder, and use it.

What everyone else said already makes perfect sense, too. In addition to that, make daily lists of what you have to do, along with allotted time for doing it, then stick to the schedule you make.

In between your assigned tasks, take the time for your special interest ("schedule" that in too )

Remember: organization is your friend.

Thanks everyone, good ideas.

Welcome, welcome to the club. Currently I have a form I print off once a month - listing standard bills with space for others. When a bill comes in, I note it has arrived and when it is due. At least once a week I review the form and write antything that will be due before the next review.

It has now been 6 months, I think, since I lost a bill or missed a due date [shades of AA, but it works].

Inb the 3 years I was [for my sins, and I do NOT expect to put in MORE time in Purgatory] head of department, I kept a set of cards, one for each possible appointment hour. If Joe or Mary asked for an appointnment, I would give them the card - no double booking. Also worked.