Tag Archives: procrastination

Doing Hard Things: What’s in Your Swamp?

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Jennifer Jensen

Some thoughts on doing hard things, compliments of Randy Ingermanson, with interspersed comments from yours truly: Everybody has projects in their life that they don’t want to tackle. Hard things. Maybe there’s a part of your yard that’s overgrown with weeds, and it just gets worse and worse and worse every week. Yup, I can see it through the window right now. Maybe your garage is overloaded with junk you don’t use, don’t want, and don’t even dare look at because it’s too depressing. Nope, that’s Blaik’s.  Except for my gardening cupboard. Maybe there’s a relationship in your life that’s gone south and it seems unfixable. Relationships are largely good here.  But my office?  Even Randy I. has no idea how much of a Hard Thing my office has grown to be.  And my Relief Society table, because there’s no room in my office.  I call things like these “the swamp.” The swamp is any part of your … Continue reading →

Posted in REAL LIFE | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The No Good, Very Bad Dangers of an Electric Blanket

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Jennifer Jensen

I bought an electric blanket for my mother’s visit last week.  The guest room is chilly, she’s 77 years old, and wise daughters do NOT separate their mothers from their electric blankets in the winter.  And I’m a wise daughter, right? She loved it, and when she left, I moved it down to our bed.  We like sleeping in a cool room, but I hate getting into a cold bed.  And while my husband is the world’s best heater, he doesn’t like sharing his heat directly with my frigid feet. So.  Friday night.  I turned the heater down, but stayed up playing a stupid game on my phone.  I couldn’t let the computer trounce me that badly, now, could I?  (If you like to be stupid too, go check out “Farkle.”) Chilly in the living room, shivering in the bedroom.  Turn the blanket on ten.  Teeth, face, prayers.  Climb in … Continue reading →

Posted in Home & Family, Humor | Tagged , , , , , | 28 Comments

Productivity and Cute Baby Animals

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Jennifer Jensen

I didn’t believe it.  You’re not going to believe it.  But I dare you to try! Matt Stopera over on BuzzFeed.com mentioned a study that proves* viewing pictures of baby animals increases productivity.  And then follows it with some of the cutest pictures ever.  And by golly, I actually got up and did the exercise session I had been putting off, and then came back to write this post – absolute, undeniable, irrefutable, incontrovertible proof that it works! So here are your instructions: Go to Baby Animals Scientifically Proven to Increase Productivity. Look at the pictures with a task in mind.  Try not to spend extra time with oohs and ahhs. Come back here and tell us how you felt and if you were more productive, or actually did the thing you’ve been putting off. (Of course, the science only “proves” that viewing baby animal pictures is better than viewing … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Mashups, Misc, ROW80, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Fun with Google Tricks

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Jennifer Jensen

 Sometimes I just like to sit at the computer for fun, as opposed to the multitude of hours I’m putting in on this book project right now.  So in the hope of providing some distraction for you in the midst of your work, here are some tricks from Google’s engineers – who obviously aren’t all humorless programming geeks.  (Some of them have been around for a while, but they’re still fun to re-visit.) First, type these words into a Google search and see what happens: Askew (or Tilt) Do a barrel roll Zerg Rush (and then wait a moment) These work for most people, but for some reason my mother’s computers blocked the fun.  One computer was on Windows XP and the other was Windows 7, so I don’t think that was the problem.  I think her internet provider just blocked it somehow.  So if nothing happens, go to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, ROW80 | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Minesweeper is an Evil Game

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Jennifer Jensen

Why do I do this?  Middle of the day, late at night . . . Minesweeper sucks me in.  It’s not totally mindless, but I play it when I can’t think any more, or just don’t want to think about hard situations any more.  Unfortunately, I also play it when I can’t figure out what to write, when I don’t want to make phone calls or balance my checkbook or clear off my desk.  And after my usual check-email-one-last-time-before-bed routine, do I actually go to bed?  No, I play yet another game or three or ten of Minesweeper. Seriously, I at least should try myself at https://casinoenligne-francais.net/lucky31/, to brake the routine. Oh well, another time. Now, it’s not that I love Minesweeper so much.  It bugs me to have a thinking game that begins with random clicks and getting blown up over and over just to get the board started.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments