Un-Panic Room

One of the many perks of incorporating simplicity and leading an uncluttered life is that when Chinese New Year comes around the corner, there is no sudden hectic rush to "spring clean". I've also become less compelled to use 'purge' — suggesting a mega overhaul — and instead use 'de-clutter'. So today, I was de-cluttering my room, working on tasks in my Room domain.

Goals:
1. Have a clean and aesthetic place to live, work, & play in
2. Every item in the room has a space where it belongs

For the tasks, I was cleaning, organizing, and updating the room. I "recced" the room to see what needed work done, and today's focus was more on my desk drawers. Another Next-Action was also to schedule a bi-monthly review of the living space, which would be on a Sunday. Maintenance and cleaning will still happen as and when needed.

The thing is the Room domain might be a little large, and I've worked on it for quite a long time prior to our Better Selves project, albeit not as structured as now. I know what the colour scheme of the room is. A lot of systems had also been put in place. I guess for future consideration: short-term wise, I'm thinking of mini-projects to enhance my living space; long-term wise, I want to expand this domain to include the whole house: make it a better space for my family, help paying utilities, etc.

Domain: Grooming - Skin Care / Make-up

Ideal Scenario:

To look photoshopped, every single day

Haha, I wonder if that's possible. But essentially, regarding skin care...

Goal: Improve skin tone. Have check-ups with a dermatologist.

Tasks:

1. Apply appropriate night cream.

2. Apply sunscreen in the morning.

3. Follow rules in Lifestyle / Daily Routine domain on Diet, Exercise, Sleep.

Next-Actions:
4. Find a dermatologist. Explore need for cosmetic procedures.

Regarding make-up, my guiding video is this:

Goal: To have the tools to experiment make-up with.

Next-Actions:

1. Purchase
a. MAC Fix+
b. MAC pen eyeliner
c. MAC 187
c. Bare Escentuals Faux Tan (original)
All from Sephora.
2. Find out from Sis where to get a kabuki brush (I'm assuming Daiso)

Actually there might be other things related to this domain of Skin Care / Make-up such as maintaining the kit, having a routine for putting masks etc. But I have a system for most things in this domain already. Maybe I'll share them next time.

Slow & Steady

Click for The Big Picture: Red means conquered

I'm not blogging about every domain I've worked on but rest assured I've been steadily progressing to capture Ideal Scenario, Aims/Goals, and Next-Actions for each of them. I've also been dedicating time each day to actually work on the items in my Next-Actions list. I'm neither Rabbit, nor Tortoise. I'm Speed Racer.

Domain: Work Admin

I previously had a cold war with Workflowy but just moments ago, I resuscitated it. Erstwhile a To-Do list, I'm breathed new life into my Workflowy to chronicle each LIFE domain I've tackled. My Better Selves jotterbook is fun to trash everything out on but a digital medium documents it more neatly.

Here's what went down in the Work Admin domain:

Ideal Scenario:
Present an image of organization, reliability & timeliness in the office. That Kenny can be trusted with tasks, Kenny has been trusted with tasks, and Kenny delivers when you entrust him a task.  I show ownership for admin tasks assigned; I finish them, like a boss, pwned, WIN.

Goals:
1. Have relevant paperwork or digital material at hand when working on projects.
2. Ensure quality and effort in the product.
3. Complete them on time.
4. Keep track of projects to account for the time spent and to report for appraisals.

Task:
To follow procedures

1. When assigned a new task
__a. Write down in 5-column-task-sheet under "Admin"
__b. Write down expected deadline
__c. Write down expected outcome
__d. Write down Next-Action if task itself is unclear

2. When task involves paperwork or digital documents
__a. Open temporary file / digital folders for materials
__b. Put in all relevant material
__c. Label physical file with post-it and store in Projects magazine folder, when not working on it
__d. Label digital folder with project title and place in Projects folder in d:/drive

3. When task is a multi-step project
__a. Log into "Clinical Mgmt Logging" excel sheet in dropbox, in sheet "Admin Projects"

Then all that's left is to do the task when time allows, noting the deadlines.

Here's the good news:
I hate writing things down, I'd throw up the white flag. Thus, when I'm assigned a task, say, through email (as opposed to a meeting where you'd have to stay put 'til it is adjourned), I'd evaluate if I can do manage it straightaway, and do it if I can and just log it in, instead of writing it down as a task. Past experiences these weeks have shown that when my motivation is high, and my energy level is not DEFCON 1, I complete Next-Actions for tasks immediately. So enforcing this process of writing down has deterred me from procrastinating.

Here's the second piece of good news:
I've already implemented these processes and it looks like we're heading for victory. I had set up the infrastructure and strategized the work processes previously when working on the Clinical Mgmt domain. Nonetheless, I'll evaluate and review this system down the road. If work were really a battlefield, I want to be the cool breeze Colonel I-Made-It-Look-Easy — like a boss, pwned, WIN.

Domain: Digital Life (Part 1)

I have a PC system that is the anchor of my workstation. My monitor is 32", for goodness sake. I have two active thumbdrives, one within home, one I bring for work. I have two external harddisks, a smaller one for personal documents, a bigger one for media storage. I've an active iPhone. I've a defunct iPod I use to lend friends to transfer big files. I have two blogs and one tumblr. I have a facebook account (and 4 extra ones I activate when playing games. I'm not obsessed, who says I am!? WHO?). I have a dropbox account. Which is synced to my computer here, my computer at work place A, and laptop at work place B. This is as exhaustive a list as I can conjure for now.

At some point, even if it's contrary to leading a simplified life, I admit willingly I'm entrenched in a digital world. Right now, I'm streamlining the practical day-to-day use of the tools to engage this world — one of which is the computer. While I'm thinking about the tools, what I've yet to consider is the concept of "online presence". I'm still deciding if it's going to be a separate sub-domain in "Digital Life" or not. Nonetheless, I'll pen down what I have worked on so far.

2012 - A Commitment to Change

Fresh from the discussions we had yesterday (welcome to the club, Yishu!), I decided to ride on this wave on motivation to get started on mapping out my life into the various domains.  

So here it is!!

Domain: Finances (Part 1)

Today, I'm talking about a domain in the "Personal" area of my fabulous life: Finances.

The long-term perfect scenario for this domain is a mise-en-scène of me swimming in cash., 不愁吃不愁穿. And the reason it's a long-term dream is because, short of anything financially dramatic, it requires time and discipline to achieve it when one is in a job without stellar pay. As such, I'm framing this domain instead to focus on slightly shorter term goals.

Domain: Clinical Mgmt (Part 2) Updates

These were initially 6 Next-Actions that I entered into my to-do list last night. I started working on them this morning after my morning push-ups (yay, for discipline!) Here's a review and update:

Prepare an excel sheet database of clients
I created an excel database, titled "Clinical Mgmt Database". I included the columns I said I would, and made it look pretty enough to use. I have yet to update client info yet.

Prepare a physical file to store case formulations
I'm recycling two ring files; yellow for sunrise clinic, blue for hpb clinic. A bane of work is that I commute between two locations and clients can be from all places, so sometimes the admin infrastructure and systems I've set up to help me need to be duplicated.

Block out time in clinic calendar to do thorough case formulations
Not completed.

Prepare photocopies of assessment tools and have them filed properly for easy access
Not completed.

Block out time in clinic calendar to do follow-up Next-Actions
Not completed.

But remembering my need for "simple", I used past experiences to categorize my usual next-actions for case:

4 types of Clinic Next-Actions

1. Call/email someone. Most common form of liaison work, to communicate plans.

2. Write case-sheets. Most common admin I need to do after each session, which I sometimes procrastinate on because sessions can be overwhelming sometimes.

3. Prepare materials. Depending on the homework given to clients, sometimes I might need to do homework myself. It could be as simple as planning what to do next session. Other times, I might wanna prepare toys,  particular games to learn a new skill, or feeling cards etc. Since my resources are not established yet, I need to gather them and be prepared before sessions.

4. Do thorough case-formulation. Sometimes you're just expecting to treat whatever is in front of you but we always forget a clear formulation can go a long way in addressing perpetuating factors and leverage on protective factors.

Brainstorm about how to create system for "Clinical Mgmt" to ensure review
I've brainstormed a bit more and refined this Next-action. I should be brainstorm about processes; now that I have my 4 types of Clinic Next-Actions, I need to figure out, either event-specific or time-specific triggers, when, where, how I will complete them. And when to monitor the database as well.

Additionally, I created a new database, titled "Clinical Mgmt Logging". In it, I log the liaison work I do, such as phone-calls, writing long emails, and case conferences. This is to fit the last goal of "document all plans, sessions, and liaison work properly to ensure accountability and communication." There is also another spreadsheet in that file, which logs my supervision hours with each supervisor. Because you can never rely on your workplace to do it for you.

***

So with round-2 of reviewing and updating the Clinical Mgmt domain. These are the new Next-Actions to enter in my to-do list.

• Update "Clinical Mgmt Database" with client info and corresponding Next-Actions (from previous to-do list)
• Update "Clinical Mgmt Logging" with recent liaison work (previous to-do list)
• Gather past records of supervision hours (from shared drive at work)
• which later should be recorded in "Clinical Mgmt Logging"
• Photocopy assessment tools (lying in my sunrise clinic magazine folder) and file them properly for easy access
• Brainstorm on processes
• When to block out time for follow-up on 4 types of Clinic Next-Actions
• When to monitor and update "Clinical Mgmt Database" 
• When to monitor and update "Clinical Mgmt Logging"

Domain: Clinical Mgmt (Part 1)

I'm starting to tackle my domains one by one as I continue to trudge along daily next-actions. While multi-tasking may not be advisable as our to-do list continues to grow, we nevertheless need to look at the big picture for perspective. So today, I'm looking at one section of ladders, under the domain of "Clinical Mgmt". To work on improving in domains, I'm gonna 1) sketch out what my perfect ideal scenario for the domain is, 2) what are the specific goals I need to meet to reach that ideal scenario, then 3) what are the next-action steps, which are doable and concrete, that I can start to work on now.

So here we go!

"Clinical Mgmt", for me, is the domain regarding the clinical work I do. This means the specific cases referred to me for intervention. 

Perfect Scenario

Ideally, I have a clear grasp of all my clients under my charge. I know how to help them. I become a go-to person regarding that case. My sessions can happen as they are planned and I can flow if they don't. And in this stance, I am prepared for breakthroughs, and ad-hoc incidents (such as clients suddenly making suicide threats!) and take them in my stride. My clients look forward to my sessions because they benefit from it. Parents, schools, other professionals working with people involved in the child's care find me professional, knowledge, and most importantly, reliable. My supervisor is impressed and confident about the work I do independently.

Sounds great. So what goals would I have?

Concept: Domains

In the process of developing a better self, an increased awareness and understanding of the self is engendered. So two things. The first is I realized, I like thinking in terms of "domains".

Domains are helpful for me because they categorize. The best domains are those with clear, defined boundaries. Domains also help me think about horizontal segmentation. A lot of times we hear the same rhetoric that when we're planning a big project, we need to break it down to smaller steps; this is so that the goal does not seem too daunting, and it's more manageable to achieve small goals, gain mastery and confidence, before moving to the next rung of the ladder. And that is helpful when you're looking at one ladder.

Life is not one big ridiculous long ladder, panning all the way to the sky, towering over us, insurmountable. It's a crazy criss-cross of odd shaped ladders and paths for us to manoeuvre. We can, however, focus on one ladder. We can also be aware that we have many ladders we need to manage and traverse at the same time.

And that's how I see domains being helpful for me as a concept: Vertically, the different steps of ladder, break up a big goal into manageable steps; Horizontally, the different domains, break up my seemingly boundless life, into manageable groups. That's "domains". Me likey them.

The second thing I like: visuals.

So, to combine my fondness of domains and visuals.

Click to enlarge!

Wow. How does it feel? Is this... my life? All on a powerpoint slide?

I think it's both scary and relieving to see my life sketched out into these domains.
There was the initial feeling of being overwhelmed, almost drowning in my own affairs, as I swam through my head to fish for what was important, and what groups were helpful for me to think about. But right now, with these domains in place, I feel like I've arrived ashore: it becomes more apparent to me, what I've committed myself to and what I want to commit myself to.

I've collected my ladders and arranged them nicely. Now I find them more manageable. The overall feeling is, "looks ok what! this is possible!"

And because I can see my ladders more clearly, I know what I can work on, and if I zoom in one domain (smaller rectangles) or a sub-domain (a bullet point), I can start to think about what is my ideal outcome for that domain, and thus set a goal, and work towards that. I see this as the way to improve and develop into a better version of myself; to improve in all the domains of my life that I love and care about.

Domains -> plan -> goals -> next-actions.

Simple.
Possibly disciplined.
Definitely happy.