Note: I didn’t actually finish this update until 2 weeks after the actual week-ending date, but I back-date things here so they keep the correct post order. At least for the Journal…
As anyone who knows me well (or reads these updates!) will be aware, one of my biggest challenges is procrastination. In theory a good task management system/tool can help with that. The problem I’ve long had is that I procrastinate on actually working on my process and improving the configuration of my tools, which just leads to more procrastination of the actual things I’m trying to get done. 
Well, this past week I started testing something I’ve wanted to try for a while, something quite obvious: I looked at the week ahead and rearranged, rescheduled, and generally got a good overview of all my tasks! Doing it wasn’t as bad as I had long-feared, but it also doesn’t seem to have made that big a difference during the week. That may just come down to the strategy I’m using to prioritize and set days for various commitments though. I could probably be both more realistic about it all (i.e. what I can do but also will actually do) and more committed to actually getting the things done that I set myself. But it’s a step in the right direction of optimizing the very foundation I need to make more progress in other areas of my life.
Now, here are some photos from a little walk around SF with a good friend. Just because. 
I had another good session with my therapist, navigating a couple of unrelated but interesting things. As I mentioned previously, I am considering trying out IFS therapy, so of course I needed to talk to my current therapist about that. He made me aware of some potential issues just navigating between two therapists, but overall was open to my goals, and was also interested in reflecting on our work to-date. I didn’t expect a bad reaction at all, but I did find it to be more helpful than I had assumed. I figured I was sort of just keeping him in the loop, but he had a lot to say about it. We also talked more about my relationship with my dad, and a possible competitiveness that he had with me, which may have contributed to some of my current-day challenges navigating certain aspects of intimacy. Finally, he gave me some immediately practical feedback that I used right after my session to connect more openly and empathetically with a friend going through a hard time. This is why I’m in therapy! It can be so helpful.
I finished listening to the audio book version of How Emotions Are Made and once again found it fascinating and rewarding. I highly recommend it, if nothing else than for a very unique and seemingly well-informed and modern perspective on how emotions work, and the massive potential ramifications for law, politics, interpersonal relationships, and more. Next in line is Stephen Frye’s “Mythos”, his personal retelling of many of the Greek myths.
I got my first paycheck from my current consulting gig, and demoed some of my main ideas for improving their feedback management processes. One of my favorite underdog startups Fibery was a key component, along with Discourse, which underpins this very website!
Two more butterflies emerged this week. One sadly had a run-in with my cat before I noticed it, and it didn’t survive. 
But one made it, and I was able to catch some pretty good 4k footage of it inflating its wings!
