Welcome to Friday....

Ok, now that I have your attention... heh

Have you ever had one of those days, when you have a ton of ideas... try to do stuff, end up going with another idea, then another, then etc...

next thing you know you are working on a dozen things, but can not seem to concentrate enough to even finish one.

Add to that you have some custom orders that need to be done (on a deadline) and some custom orders open ended, you try to work on those as well, and end up going off on another tangent...

the ideas keep brewing and the pot starts to overflow....

If the preceeding info describes you....How do you deal with it, how do you manage your time so that you get those projects finished?


I dunno if it is just the meds and side effects, or the fact I am slowly getting well, or just I have too many ideas and want to do them all at once, then get stuck because I dunno what to do next... as I wanna do it all....

I need some help, some tips on how to organize my time better, how to stick with something till it is done...

or do I just go with the flow and wait till I am off the meds and see if that is the problem.

(my hubby said my side effects reminds him of someone who has OCD and ADD (I am a tiny bit OCD, have a set way to do things and drives me nuts if I veer off that track, but NOT this bad)

It is so frustrating... I want to get things done.... but... GRRRR my mind doesn't want to stick with one thing.

(also as you can see, it makes me ramble on badly, another thing that is hard to control, it is like I have a stupid dictionary inside of me that I need to spill out, alll those damn words.)


Has anyone here been on prednisone, (high dose) and if so, would you be willing to chat with me about the side effects, and how it made you feel and how you dealt with it?

Thanks in advance.

Hadn't ever been on prednisone, but I've been in the state of too many ideas and not enough attention span to finish them.

What I do is write/draw down the ideas.. get them on paper with a decent description of what I was trying/wanting to do. Then I go read a book, play games, anything that gets me away from the ideas and kinda forces my brain to shut down for a bit.

A couple of days later, I'll go back to the sketch book and see what the heck I was trying to do. I'll toss a couple of ideas as "WTF was I thinking?!" and select one decent one to work on. Then I'll turn on some of the cheesiest music (80's music) and get to work. For some reason, 80's music drives all thoughts out of my head so I can work in peace.

Well the Prednizone makes me eat more than I want/need which is never a good thing..

I have this problem a good bit. Sometimes when I can't focus I will browse around on SLE, Watch some TV or something to just walk away for a bit. This is normally the case when making boots or something with small prims they seems to make things worse.

Then I get back at it. Normally I just make up a nice play list of upbeat music that I really like and can sing along with, this helps me relax while doing the little details on products. Set yourself in "Busy" mode to avoid any IM's to interupt your progress. Wear headphones to drown out everything but your motivation music.

This is what helps me and for all we know may cause a negative effect on you.. But it's my 2 cents.. I could afford that much since I made that on XStreet today... lol I'm kidding.. no really I'm not that's what I made...

Good luck to you..

maybe that will work, writing it down and then looking back at it later...

it is so hard to concentrate

hehe your post made me laugh out loud, sounded so much like some of the stuff I do, especially the looking back on my ideas and think, WTF was I thinking?!

hehe

I will give this idea (and others that come up) a try, thank you, I appreciate the suggestions and knowing I am not alone!

yes!!! The damn eating, GRRR I feel hungry ALL the time, so have to fight that too. Already seeing the weight gain which I totally do not need, the swelling of the face etc... small price to pay though...

I have been working with tiny prims, jewelry making, wonder if that might be adding to it.

I never go into busy mode, rarely get im's so no worries about being interrupted.
(If I get 1 IM a day, that is a lot) there are days I go without a single IM.


ahh yes, sales... 2cents is more than my sales today
(zero sales today so far)
(xstreet, onrez and in world, 0L sales)

ah well, hopefully something will sell

I am having fun with making jewelry but got soooo many ideas that I start say... a ring, then get an idea for a pendant, start that, ring not finished, etc

I did manage to actually complete one set though... ring, earrings, and pendant....

but... now do I do them in different gemstones... or just the one version.. or make it so they are done via birthstones... GAHHHHH
*runs screaming*

Why not make it a texture change and up the single price just a tad? That's what I would do myself.

Yes the constant eating and prednizone suck.. But like you said the over all is worth it. Maybe try some of the shakes etc on the market to ease the hunger. It seemed to have worked for me. are you on the taper dose's? or reg?

As for the Tiny Prims on Jewelery, Boots etc. I do feel that is a contributing factor do to the pain of position, size and camera control. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help out.

Keep your head up sales will pick up we just have to wait it out. Do a feel good thing.. Make a holiday Freebie to have picked up in your shop. They always seem to lead to purchases over all..

My 13 year old son and I have exchanged postcards and abbreviations come acronyms on this subject.

I sent him a postcard with "GOWI" (said as spelled) on it which stands for "Get On With It!" and he retaliated with one that says "JBDI" (more difficult to pronounce - juhbuhdee) meaning "Just Bloody Do It".

I always get things done, so I felt miffed at the insult until SWAMBO weighed in with her perception that I left everything until the last minute. I still feel miffed. The things get done. What is the point of putting the garbage out for collection on Monday when the garbage truck doesn't arrive until Friday?

My son is excellent at getting those things done he enjoys, but less so when he considers it boring. He requires positive reinforcement as well as reduction of privileges - carrot and stick anyone?

So how does that help you Rha? You are in a state that old-style computers suffered from called "thrashing" where so much processing time was taken up in prioritising instructions to be run that there was no time left to actually do anything. The answer was to either increase the processing capability (draft in extra people to help, or drink Red Bull and/or get more sleep) or simplify the prioritising algorithm. It doesn't matter how you simplify it - most/least urgent, most/least interesting, shortest/longest etc, the important thing is to get started and keep going until you have either finished the task or got to a point where you can't do any more, for whatever reason.

It is indecisiveness that causes problems with project management (my professional area of expertise) and I have probably said enough elsewhere about the gender differences I have experienced in that area, which is pretty astonishing when you consider how much better females are generally at multi-tasking.

I hope this helps, but I am not sure it will!

Pep (Just a man)

Which is why I recommend jotting things down in a sketchbook. My art profs would have killed me if I didn't have my sketchbook with me 24/7. Not only does it help with keep UP with ideas, it helps me decide which idea should be tossed, which should be used immediately and which can keep for a few days (years).

I also keep a piece of scrap paper on my desk in front of my monitor. Right next to that, I have a pen or pencil. This multipurpose tool keeps me on task or allows me to jot down numbers if need.

Then there are days were I can't flog my concentration into doing ANYTHING. Those days, I find the most mindless game I can and flog away. Or I read a book, because if I try doing anything major on those days, I usually spend more time redoing them than I would have if I waited a day. Now, mind you, this doesn't work so great if you have a deadline... those should always be met before you go and play.

well for me this is not normal... usually I can pick a project and stick with it, but I think it is the meds, makes it hard to concentrate

so picking a project and following it to completion is not an option as it is not something I can control... (I wish)

they have me on a taper dose... started at 60mg a day... on thur (yesterday) it dropped to 50mg a day... next thur will drop to 40mg a day for the week (if the blood tests are good)

they do not want to drop me too quick as it could cause a rebound which is not good, so...slowly we go... and crazy I go....

I think I will try the notecard, draw, jot down ideas, walk away etc

one thing I am doing, that I do not usually do, is I am leaving my unfinished stuff rezzed out, instead of tucking it back in inventory... one it will help me remember what I was doing, and 2 might help me get back to it


as for texture change jewelry... not sure how to do that yet (I can do color change, with the freebie script from the library, but not sure about textures yet)

I will have to look into that, good idea, plus less sales boards at the store hehe

ty all for the imput and I hope that this also helps others out there in the same boat I am in

Sounds a lot like what I do. Incurable list-maker. Get it down on paper and out of my head. Get somewhere else, anywhere will do but it seems a quiet place outdoors is best. Let the "stuff" blow out and settle down. On returning I'm better able to prioritize and organize.

thankfully the deadline is not for a few more days, so I can at least try to recoup some of my brain into something less fluffy heh

I am going to try the notebook, sketch paper idea... heck even if I stick a notecard inside of whatever the heck I was working on, to reference later....

Well a taper dose is much better then a Heavy Regular does. that's a +

I too leave stuff out and never pick it up till it's done... I have stuff everywhere currently in my work space is

2 Tails
Prim Ears
Sculpty Ears
6 Pair of boots

So yea.. That works for me. I keep getting stuck on them it tends to make me want to finish them faster..

As for the Texture change scripts.. Do a search for HeZ he has a wonderful script that will Color change, Texture change and resize all in one.. it's 999L for it.. I think you will find this great for sales as well as fun to make stuff with..

oh BTW.. Still at 2 cents and Holding.

heh I just had a 1L sale on xstreet woot LOL


as for the script, I do not need one that does it all, and can not justify spending 1k L on a script. so will pass it for now and figure something out.

I am sure there is a texture change script out there somewhere...

I never usually leave unfinished stuff rezzed, but this time I am LOL

I have like 3 or 4 partial rings, earrings, and pendants laying around, plus bits and pieces, and a pair of shoes LOL

(picked up the other stuff)

yeah tapering doses is better than staying at 60mg a day.
but even at the 50mg a day it is still a high dose, so causing some side effects, the worst being the inability to concentrate...

I can handle the weight gain, the appetite, the mood swings, etc, even the aches and pains.... (the jitters feel weird though)

but the inability to concentrate drives me nuts!!

most days of my life... but then I have ADD and OCD (which I developed as a control mechanism for the ADD, fun no?)


could be the prednisone, although I don't remember that being a side-effect. control mechanisms differ per person, for instance, I found smoking improves my mental focus (ADD side effect), but some people it makes antsy... If you're stuck on the meds for a while I'd try some of the natural things that speed you up of slow you down, caffiene (works for some), excercise (tends to calm physical fidgetiness), heavy digestive foods( tend to slow you down, lucky you turkey has tryptophan which slows you down too)...

if the meds are done, wait a day or so... all should (hopefully) go back to normal. prednisone IS a mild steriod, so the effect isn't unlikely, but fortunately wears off pretty fast.

one thing you ought to do, if you haven't already, is write down all these ideas, because with them comming faster than you're used to you'll forget many that may be really good.

After all that you've been through, I would think that wanting to do all the things you haven't been able to or didn't feel well enough to are all bubbling up now.

I wish I could offer some advice, but I need some too...lol. I'm kind of the opposite - I'll think of some things I want to try and create or a class to put together when I go to bed, but then I'll log into SL the next day, sit in my house, fiddle around with things a bit, then get bored and log off.

Other times I have great spurts of energy and do a lot of things in one or two days...then go weeks not doing much. (Exhibit A - I STILL haven't set up my permanent shop.)

I do have a medical issue that's responsible for the above...but I also have HUGE problems with procrastination. *sighs* (ETA: And perfectionism - which I think is directly linked to the procrastination ie. if I can't do something "perfectly" then I don't want to do it at all.)

after researching the side effects of prednisone, yes this tends to be a side effect (mania) now that I know what is called LOL
annoying to say the least... but at least I know it is from the meds.
side effects seem to be hitting hard today.

I am not done with the meds, won't be done for at least a month

they first put me on dexamethasone (sorry spelling sucks) at 40mg per day, then switched me to prednisone at 60mg per day, yesterday the dose dropped to 50mg per day of prednisone, which will run for a week, then drop to 40 mg per day if the blood count is normal... so slowly wean me off of it, as long as the blood tests are good.

today I seem to be having a lot of anxiety, racing thoughts, easily distracted, shaky, aches, pains, blurry vision (more than usual) dry mouth, etc...

not sure why they are jumping out at me today, but there ya have it, they are

the racing thoughts is not normal for me, so yes I must write the stuff down else I will forget it all


I dunno how mild of a steroid prednisone is, I just know it is kicking my ass LOL
here is a link for anyone who wants to read more about it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prednisone

(and from what the dr's and my mother in law (RN) told me, I am on a relatively high dose, so the side effects will definitely be there.
(I am on a higher dose than I was 2 years ago)

Edited to add... the dexamethasone is 10X stronger than prednisone, so they only had me on that for 4 days (for the 40mg per day)

Now THAT is how I was... get great ideas, go to bed, get up try to do them, get a bit bored, etc
I am used to that, THAT is how I function, that is normal for me.

This having hundreds of ideas, racing thoughts, shaky hands, trembles, hot/cold flashes, inability to shut up, ideas, ideas, ideas, and distractions from the smallest things, inability to concentrate, fear of saying the wrong thing, to be taken the wrong way, etc etc etc
THAT is NOT me.... (as I am sure a lot of you are aware LOL)

It is a very very weird feeling, to be feeling this way....

Hi Rhaorth

sounds like you are having a rough time there

For personal productivity, I have been reading (and as best as I can, applying) David Allen's "Getting Things Done" system. It has helped me through a tough period of bereavement, and has helped me to see the big picture of where I want to be, whilst keeping on top of the day to day.

Google "GTD" and you'll find lots of practical resource out there,

best
Surty ...

Describes my life pretty well, no meds though in mine

finish the most important thing first then the next..as ideas hit write them down.before you know it you are done.with your commitments and then can expand your horizons on the newer ideas..never let new ideas take over commitments..just make sure you make notes that get you back on track of your idea.

thanks all

I did it again, got totally distracted, but did manage to make a script for changing the textures on the gemstones LOL

ARGH this is so aggravating... If I were normally like this I would not mind... but blech, how do ppl cope with this all their lives...

heads off to play some kind of mind numbing game, or watch TV or something....

*sigh*


trying to prioritize the projects is even hard (except for the obvious limited time ones)

They ALL are top priority in my head, that is what makes it so hard

I think you are going to love having the texture change script in your items...

Keep pluggin away you will get back to normal.. Remember write stuff down and walk away.

All my best to ya!!

GTD:

Get a bunch of paper/post its. Write down the next thing on your mind, then throw it into the (soon to be formed) pile in the middle of your room. Keep doing so until you have had enough and want to sleep.

Sleep.

Tomorrow. Eat something nice, have some juice, say hello to your partner, then work through the pile of "stuff". If it is an action that needs doing now, and it takes less than 2 minutes, do it, if not, put it on the 'schedule' pile, then schedule it. If you think you want to do it, but you can't schedule it and don't have the time now - put it on the someday/maybe pile. if you think it's useful information, put it on the "read/research" pile, if it's none of these things, bin/compost it.

Don't prioritise - just put each of your projects' next actions into a context, and deal with each as you feel - in the context you have created for each action (contexts: at the computer; in sl; at the store; at the doctor's; talking to your s/o, talking to your boss, etc ... )

Do this every week, review your project and actions, and you will feel some sort of control.

I see it as taking slightly OCD tendencies to the next level

best
Surty ...

thanks all

I wish sleep were that easy LOL

ah well

yeah the texture change script works out pretty good, but I am sure I will want to do some changes LOL


right now, it is a simple touch script with the pop up menu thing... pick the month it changes the texture

the only bug up is, I want to use a different prim for the root, other than the one it is in, so need to learn how to do a script that will call to the one in the prim I want to change the texture in (or have a prim on the hud that can do the call to the script in the object)

I am such a scriptard though LOL

I am steroids for medical reasons and sometimes my brain is going faster then
I can handle or my illness gets in way with my creativity.
Right now I have hit very tired, grumpy wall.
Most of time I have tons of ideas, tons of creativity, sometimes too much,
sometimes with little clue how to do half of things I imagine.
I have been notorious for starting project and things happen, situations and
problems or distractions occur and I am not able to finish or get to successful
end of this.
You mention Rha you've been having medical issues that you just had to go to hospital
recently, is this true?
If it is true, speaking from experience when I am not well everything is harder, even being
organized, creating following through.
Even when I found exactly instructions in how to manage projects, be more successful
at finishing I am also go to face more walls and more struggles because of what is going on with my health,etc.
Those how to be more organized books,etc are helpful but they are lot harder on those of us with other things then just being disorganized going on.
For me best I can do is focus on simple things.
I do the best I can, focus on one thing and one thing only, break it up in small pieces depending on your energy level and what is happening, if there is too much going
on it way to distracting, overwhelming.
If you're like me got all these creative ideas and stuff you want to do make a note, draw out the ideas as they come but only work on one at time or one you want to do the most
first.
Some things I have to put in categories of what I can do today, what I want to do, what I like to do someday.
Rha, Be good to yourself, gentle, you got kids, husband and first life stuff going on too that would be enough right there not counting health stuff to distract anyone.