Got Some Things Done, So Now I've Got Other Things To Get Done

[elisem]

This is reminding me of the fortune cookie that told me "The reward of patience is patience."

My wrangler, with whom I have a weekly meeting which I refer to as "renting some executive function", pointed out recently that I have completed three large finance-related To Do things that have been on my list for a long time. This is excellent. Now I move on to the need-to-do things that were on that list fully as long but were not quite as survival-related in terms of direness.

(My wrangler continues to be one of the most high-return things I pay for someone to do.)

The things that have moved to forefront positions involve (mostly) art and the things around art that make the art possible. It's interesting to have a To Do list that doesn't start with "Work on X, Y, and Z financial things until the screaming point, and then go to the workbench until you're OK again."

(Workbench time improves everything except overuse and inflammation in the hands and arms.)

I guess I should think of a thing that's a relief from workbench, in order to have something to rest my hands during the say.

Huh. I've recently begun listening to podcasts, which is a thing I mostly do while watching the live captions on screen, unless the podcasters are really good at enunciation, very cleanly recorded and produced, and in the range of sounds I can hear better. Stuff I don't need to watch captions for quite so assiduously can be played while I am at the workbench, if it's that kind of workbench day. Maybe I could save the challenging ones for breaktime? Rest my hands, ice what needs icing, watch the words while I listen to the podcast?

Do any of you have favorite podcast episodes? I'm a person that loves documentaries and that loved interviewing people about their passions back when I was a small-time journalist.

Comments

[china_shop]

Podcasts recs: 99% Invisible (bite-sized bits), Classy, Stuff the British Stole.

I also listen to Writing Excuses, and sometimes WTF with Marc Marron (rambling interviews, mostly entertainment industry or adjacent) and The Ezra Klein Show.

Much congratulations on getting those financial things done!!! *\o/*

[azurelunatic]

I like "The Sunday Story" episodes of NPR's Up First; they're about half an hour long on all sorts of miscellaneous current topics.

[radiantfracture]

Have you ever listened to the Longform podcast? Amazing interviews with journalists of all genres.

[ellen_fremedon]

I've enjoyed the Revolutions series, and I'm currently enjoying The Siecle, which covers the history of France 1814-1914 in very granular and nerdy detail.

The Siecle might be a good choice for accessibility--the podcaster, David Montgomery, has a radio background and enunciates very clearly and the episodes have have full transcripts (with bibliography!) on (the series website).

[carbonel]

Would you be willing to talk about (in general terms is fine) what sort of things your wrangler does? I have a major executive function problem (i.e., a number of things I would like to have done that are only kind of sort of happening if at all), and this sounds like a very interesting approach.

[elisem]

Sure!

My wrangler keeps a list of current projects and necessities (some overlap, some are urgent things that get done once, some are on the list permanently) pertaining to both my work and my daily life. Once a week we meet online and go over the list to see where we're at, checking things off and identifying what needs doing next.

I can get myself tangled up in questions of process or order or focus, due to ADHD, fibromyalgia brain fog, grief, and a few other things. My wrangler helps me separate the necessary from the unnecessary, and helps me put the steps in order, breaking down larger goals into much more manageable steps.

She's also really good at asking me questions about whether different approaches can make some things easier. I'm getting good results from "doubling" with friends online, where we've both got tasks and we're hanging out online, usually on FaceTime, and checking in with each other as we get them done. This even works for me doing important financial paperwork, which is a stressy thing here. Sometimes my wrangler asks, "Is X a thing you could do right now?" and waits with me while I do X, which is usually some kind of official email or physically putting something in the mail. It's startling sometimes how small things become such big hurdles for me. This method has gotten me unstuck several times.

My wrangler has an hourly rate. I pay her and what I get is a daily reminder message (it's a summary of the next steps on certain current top things that we choose), a weekly meeting to go over the checklist and check off what I've done, a reexamination of anything I'm stuck on or not having enough time to get to, and (most important to me) a specific order of the next steps on each thing that needs doing, with particular attention to managing what happens in what order, and how much each thing takes out of me. (So, managing stuff to stay within my energy levels and abilities on any given day, too.)

So far, working with my wrangler has enabled me to deal effectively with multiple government agencies and financial institutions and reach the goals there, which were pretty big ones. Wills, medical representatives, POA stuff, and other related paperwork is all completed. It has been invaluable in handling a backlog of work that I was being crushed by. Plus I've been able to manage my work and income in such a way as to reduce credit card debt by two thirds. Also I can find all my socks.

Is that useful? Questions welcome.

Podcast recommendations

[brainwane]

"Looking Sideways", about many aspects of making things. A favorite episode: an interview with engineering educator Deb Chachra.

"How I Built This" from NPR, focusing on how people built new endeavors. A favorite episode: The story of Jane Wurwand, founder of Dermalogica.

The early season(s) of "Say Why to Drugs" with Dr. Suzi Gage and Scroobius Pip, in which they share the current research on the effects of various drugs. (The bit of the intro where Pip says "pro-truth and anti-myth" has extra reverb or something and I adore it.) A favorite episode: caffeine.

This is not a podcast, but rather a free-to-listen show available from the BBC website: Magnitsky: The Musical! 94-minute radio drama, with songs. "Johnny Flynn and Robert Hudson bring us a musical based on the incredible story of an American venture capitalist, a Russian tax advisor, a crazy heist, the Trump Tower meeting and the very rule of law. Blending music and satire, the story explores the truths and fictions surrounding the origins and aftershocks of the Magnitsky Act; global legislation which allows governments to sanction those who they see as offenders of human rights." I found it interesting, funny, and moving -- and, in particular, a feat of exposition.

I don't listen to "99% Invisible" as much as many do, but I particularly enjoyed the one-hour "The Sound of Sports" episode and think you might like to try it also. Similarly sound-centric: "Song Exploder", by Hrishikesh Hirway -- in each episode, musicians talk about how they made a particular song or score, and you get to hear the early components and drafts, and then you hear the finished piece. A few favorite episodes: Garbage ("Felt"), Weezer ("Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori").

Also, sometimes tealin posts about interesting things being broadcast and netcast on CBC and BBC.