Recon Work: Not So Bad

 So, yesterday I finally took about 15 - 20 minutes and did my recon work.  It may not have been as in-depth as I had originally intended, but it got a lot!!  It wasn't as bad or painful as I honestly thought it would be.  It is actually more painful to sit and have the messy house staring at me as I try to accomplish something, than it was to sit and itemize what really needed to be done.  Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to do!!  The list was just not as long as I expected it to be, what a Relief!!  

Now comes the hard part!! Waging war on my enemy!! :-).  I will have to be sneaky and pick one agent (mess) off at a time.   I won't be able to get every agent taken care of in one day, and intellectually I understand that, but emotionally it is a different story!!  For some unknown, illogical reason, when I go to start, I somehow think that I will be able to quickly get through it.  That the agent won't put up any defenses or fight back. In a perfect world I am sure that that would be true, but as I don't live in a perfect world (shocking I know), things rarely go as I plan, and that is when the emotional battle begins. 

The hardest part if the up-coming war is going to be PATIENCE.  Patience with myself, with my enemy, and with the delays that always seem to come.  I am going to have to fight hard to keep the discouragement (one of my enemies strongest defenses) at bay.  

Wish me luck!! (I have a feeling I am going to need it.) 

New strategy

Well, as it has been about 6 weeks, and I still have yet to complete any surveillance or gain any valuable info on my enemy.  Meanwhile my enemy (in this case my house) has been employing its own "dirty and messy" tactics to distract and keep me from my recon work.  You remember those jr. agents I was to train?  I am beginning to think that they are actually double agents or moles sent to disrupt and destroy my mission from the inside.    

I've tried leaving for a full 5 days, I've tried getting help from my Jr. Agents, and still, I am making no progress!!  None, absolutely none!!  As I said, I am beginning to wonder if they are Jr. Agents or enemy spies.  It is very frustrating.  Some days all I want to do is run and hide, but unfortunately I seem to be stuck in enemy territory, with no chance/route for escape.  I may get a day or two reprieve here or there, but then I am right back, unable to truly escape it. 

I am not quite yet ready to wave my white flag, but I do need a new strategy.  This one doesn't seem to be getting the job done.  I just don't know what to do.  Nothing I try to do seems to help at all.  I'll just have to sleep on it for a little while.  Or maybe go take a long,  nice, hot shower.  I seem do my best thinking there. 

Battle: Motivation (or rather Lack-of)

Today is a fight!!  I am fighting with Lack-of-Motivation.  I do not want to do my work.  I do not want to work on any fun projects.  I do not want to cook, get dressed, or even do my hair.  It just all seems so pointless today.

Now, it is a beautiful, sunny day.  It is the last day of school for my kids before the summer begins.  It should be a day of fun, rejoicing, and laughter.  For me, all I want to do us hide under my covers until it is all over.  Instead of inspiring me to get up and get going, the sun is merely shining more brightly to better illuminate all if the monstrosities that are awaiting my attention.  Every time I look at one, it is like they are little children waiting to get your attention and as soon as they have it, Wham!! They are jumping and yelling and doing everything in their power to keep that attention.  Of course, with these monstrosities, it is only I who can see them.  Others can feel and see their effects on me, but no one else can see them like I do. This makes me feel feel a lot like Harry Potter when he was seeing the Festrals. 

Instead of attacking the monstrosities head-on, or even just ignoring them (as I usually do), I feel a great desire to retreat!!!  I can't explain why, just that all I want to do is run as far away as fast as I can.  Unfortunately for me, I have several young'uns at home and am also watching my niece; thus, my desire to crawl into bed and hide under my covers.  I realize that while this might work at first, only larger messes and lots of screaming will ensue, effectively ending my retreat and quickly calling me back to the battle-front. 

So, with dogged resignation, and complete lack of motivation, I decide to stay at the battle-front and try to wage whatever poor, pitiful defense I can.  Only time will tell if it is effective or not, and if I will live to fight another day. 

Mission: Reconnossaince

Mission Recon: Identify & Record

Step 1: Gather Supplies 

Grab your camera, notebook and pen (as Q is un-reachable, no fancy gadgets can be used here) and any other items you can use to collect your intel. (iPod, smartphone, blackberry, whatever organizer you use, etc.)

Step 2:  Select the Target

This is probably one of the hardest things to do as there are so many and they keep moving/changing.  If you can't make a decision, write down known locations, draw one out of a hat, and go there.  The first target you spot, is the first one you recon.  Then stay there until everyone is done.  Then, get your next locale and move on.  It doesn't really make sense to keep moving about all over the country (my house --though it is starting to feel like a small country).  It gets too hard keeping track of what's already been scoped out if you just pick a job here and there, so just start with 1 area at a time.  

Step 3: Recon & Record

Recon: This is where all the dirty work happens!! There are going to be all kinds of skeletons in closets drug out in the open.  Dirty Little Secrets are going to be discovered, and some of them will be horrifying.  Through all if this discouraging mayhem, there will be a few Gems to be unearthed to help alleviate the pain and suffering that the truth can cause.  Yes, the truth of things can and will be brutal.  That is why they call it being brutally honest.  But, if you don't know what you are facing, you can bring it to it's demise.  Each target you bring down gets you closer to catching the evil villain. You need to search every nook and cranny, every crevice, and leave no rock unturned.  Details are what are important here.

Record: As you unearth your findings,  you need to record them.  Write and/or take pics.  Get the important things down: location, size, priority, related targets, etc.  Take time to write details needed to take down the target.  No detail is unimportant or insignificant.  The more you know, the better prepared you will be for the twists and turns that will come as you are working.  You never know what moles in your organization (family) will be working against you!

Remember: This mission is for Reconnaissance only!!  Don't get discouraged by the shear numbers of villains!!  We will make a plan and take them down, one by one.  But, until we know who we are dealing with we can't plan our crippling blows.  Make sure to keep your notes handy and usable.  They vital to our endgame.  

Secret Weapon

Well, as with all times, there have been a lot of things going on and I still have made NO progress :-(.   Sad but true.  I decided that what I really needed was my secret weapon, my Mother.  Yes, that is right, I said M-O-T-H-E-R.  Somehow when she is with me I get 4 X's as much done, yet she is usually just helping out with the kids, talking to me, and occasionally doing a little here and there.  Unfortunately for me, she is un-reachable as she is in Chile  (the one in South America) until the end of the year.  Lucky her!! 

Since that option in not available, I am going to have to come up with another alternative.  Q had no ideas for any nifty gadgety replacements, so I guess it is up to me to buckle down and get to it.

I think that my first order of business is going to have to be Reconnaissance.  I need to know all the gritty details of each player (pile/mess) so that I can manipulate each one to the fullest to complete my mission.  This task can be a bit overwhelming as there are so many players and just one operative (me), but if I take good notes and take my time, I think that I can get it all figured out.  And, maybe I can recruit and start training some new Jr. Agents for the summer (my kids aged 8, 5).  

  

Enough is Enough!

This is my first blog post ever!!  Yeah!!

I am setting up this blog to help me through a hard time I am having.  My house is a bit full of piles to put it mildly.  They are not dirty, there are just lots of them, and not enough places to put them.  There are a lot of  "reasons" as to why they are there, and they are all valid, but I have had enough!!  I am trying to put those piles to bed for good.  I was raised to take care of things now and not later, and yet, I have pile upon pile of  "things I'm going to get to later".   I have always had good intentions to get to them and take care of them, but I just never seem to get there.  I have tried lists, goal sheets, and other methods.  Mostly, I just have piles of items, lists, etc. of things to "help me get organized".  And those original piles are still there.  Sad, I know, but true.  So, now I am hoping that this blog will help me move along in my overwhelming task ahead: organizing my house.  As I feel that this task is Impossible all too often, I named it Organization Impossible.  I thought about Mission Impossible: Organization Edition, but then I realized that this name is too long, and that the task ahead is so large, it is going take A LOT more than just 1 amazing mission.  So, hopefully, as with the movies, we will find that through all the adventures (mini-missions) and mis-adventures ahead, I can do the Impossible and finally get my house organized.