ROW80 - Round 3 - Check-in 4 (July, 19th 2020): Decluttering my mind

Hi everyone!

We finally had some kind of good news this week: the PET-scan revealed Hubby's disk is not slipped after all, though the first symptoms are there alright.

This means the damage can hopefully be undone, though the physical therapist can't say how fast. Anyway, knowing that surgery is off the table is nice.

***

After a lot of self-preservation thinking and being almost rid of the paperwork concerning the nanny's contract (or rather its termination), I'm refocusing on housework and renovation.

Over the course of the week, I felt I wanted to write but did not really have the bandwidth to do so. I realized there were so many things I wanted to do first in the house.

Thankfully, a few friends offered to help over the summer as they know Hubby is way limited in terms of moving around. So this weekend, we've already made some progress and some more is planned today (which is why I'm posting early this morning ^^).

Just checking some boxes feels quite good, though the biggest ones will have to keep waiting a little. It really feels like I'm decluttering my mind when a one-time thing gets done, or even when a regular job is added to Todoist! 

How about you? How do you clear your mind? Can you write with a lot on it? Let me know in the comments.

Color code:

0-10% in red
11-24% in pink
25-39% in orange
40-59% in yellow
60-99% in green
100% in flashy green
Normally, there's also blue for progress and pause in purple, but right now i'll focus on numbers and only goals where progress has been made.

Now for this week: 

WRITING: I'll focus on one project mainly while following completed ones.

"Hour of the Wolf": If the publisher does not decide to release it as part of the collection, I'll probably make it a freebie (ebook and Wattpad). I'm guessing they'll make a decision soon as their collection is to be released in November, so I'll adjust this goal accordingly once I hear from them. 

Sci-fi erotica series Miss Chief in Wonderland: I started writing again and would like to have a few short stories ready for publication in 2021 or 2022. Not yet

• Plan season 1
• Draft episode 1 (July): 39%
• Expand episode 5
• Draft episode 7 (September)
• Draft episode 8 (August)
• Draft episode 9
• Reorganize episodes

WORK: Lots to do here! I'll try and get as much done as possible, though I expect life to keep getting in the way as it has lately. 

Promotion: Over the summer, Hubby and I will build a communication strategy to get more business our way in September (since the summer is always slow). 12%

Online courses: I'll focus on making online tests as I can use it immediately with current student, then I'll go back to making the lessons. Hubby and I will also take a look at a new theme for my business website and also upgrade the webhost (which means my writer's site will be hosted there too). None this week.

• Website stuff : upgrade host, new theme, LMS stuff... 
• English - Starters: make tests 18%
• English - Elementary: make tests 22%
• English - Pre-intermediate: make tests 17%
• Hanashimashou: resume making contents ASAP

Quality certification: I can take it easy now but I'll keep doing bite-size tasks weekly.

• cross-referencing document: I'll finish it during the Round.
• tutorials: I'll keep making them, aiming at 2-4 a month, depending on how much material and preparation is needed. The online platform I was using for classes made some major changes, including to their pricing plans, without a warning. As a result, I switched to Zoom, and since there are already tons of tutorials out there, it meant quite a leap for this goal, and without doing a thing! =D 20%

Story Time: I'll keep making baby steps weekly, mostly preparatory work.

• Wizard & Cat: signpost at least 1 episode a week. 22%
• Timmy & the Hungry Monster: make a general plan, list the language, list the material. I'm listing the language and I'm somewhere around 70%.

PUBLISHING: I'll mostly market my books, old and new.

Curiouser & Curiouser (my debut novel, in French only for now): I'll keep track of reviews and sales, while marketing the book some more. 

Red Hot Spring (English): I'll make the final preparations to publish in August and market. 64%

We Missed Each Other (English): I'll start making preparations once Red Hot Spring is ready. 34%

PERSONAL: We'll do some damage control and try and get help while Hubby is stuck with pain in his back. 

House renovation: that's the big question mark as most of the things that need to be done require Hubby or help. In the meantime, we'll focus on what contractors are supposed to do.

• parental suite: still aiming at finishing it this year if we can. For this Round, sealing the tiles in the bathroom would be nice. And why not buy the wooden floor for the bedroom and threshold? We're sealing tomorrow
• insulation: we need to get the contractor sent by the insurance company to come and the other ones to give us their estimates.

Housework: I'll mostly try and keep up what's been settled last Round. Maybe add a couple of new rooms (namely the porch entrance & workshop)  if I can get help from family and friends to get rid of the spiders in there (I'm extremely phobic when it comes to those...). I'll also try and get my office in order before September is here. Overall: 62%(which means I've officially met my 50% goal for the round! Yay!!)

• office: finish reorganizing, archiving and so on. 50%
• porch entrance: get rid of spiders and webs, spray with repulsive product, deep clean, add to cleaning routine, set coat pegs. Work in progress.
• workshop: get rid of spiders and webs, spray with repulsive product, deep clean, reorganize. The cleaning is in progress too.

Self-improvement: I'll keep learning as a teacher, writer and parent.

• Teaching early years MOOC: I'll be an active participant through the 6 weeks and implement new ideas at home and in my classes. 67% 
• Choose next course in August: probably something about teaching again.

Physical health: I'll try and be more and more active while making sure to give myself enough time to relax too and avoid burning out as a side effect of Hubby's slipped disk.

• Housework: I'll focus my energy on this to stay active on a daily basis.
• Stretching: I'll stretch every morning to prevent hurting myself while being active (I have a tendency to sprain)
• Yoga: I'll try and have a yoga session with my girls at least once a week. For starters, I'll look for the best time slot for this. 
• Abs/Fitness: if there's time and energy (ie if Hubby gets better and life stops happening so much), I'll get down to working on fixing my diastasis recti for good, then going back to fitness.

Mental health & journalling: I've started a digital journal and will keep using it daily to keep track of my moods, ideas, learning, etc. Later, I'll schedule a lookback time to make sure this is useful. I'll also keep reading about emotional intensity but more on that below.

Reading: I'll try to read daily.

Emotional intensity: I'll try and complete this reading and discuss it with Hubby. 51.5%

Beta-reading a Sci-Fi novel: I'll make notes and send feedback to the writer by mid-August. 46%

Writer's website: I'll start the new website for sure, and hopefully get my hands on the original one to export it rather than rebuild from scratch. Hubby will help since sitting in the office armchair is the one thing he manages to do without feeling too horrible.