Frayed: 5 things 4.11.19

• New house is awesome and all, everybody loves being here, but the move is none the less taking its toll. M is unusually insecure and prone to panic over being left alone, even when he himself thinks it will be okay. C had a minor meltdown about going on a scouts weekend she had been really excited about (and which of course turned out great). And me, I’m just… eish. I’m just really, really run down. Mentally, physically and in every other way. We’re all just a bit frayed.
• We’ve unpacked all the boxes – yay – and still not found my computer keyboard, mouse and diary, along with the Apple TV remote. This is driving us crazy. Not so much because of the actual things (they may be essential, but they’re also replaceable), but because of the ridiculousness of having misplaced things so badly. It’s Symptomatic. It reflects badly (but sadly accurately) on how we managed the whole enterprise. It just sucks. Oh, and my favourite pencil seems to have gotten borked in the move (tip no longer retracts or extends lead), which is enraging and baffling.
• Upside, see above: we’ve unpacked all the boxes. And built up all the Ikea stuff. We’ve solved the biggest, most immediate problems. The house is now functioning, although clearly still not a well-running machine. But I feel more able to Deal With Stuff than I did at the start of the weekend, when the floors were still full of piles of crap. Progress.
• I am also very excited to be using my new standing/sitting desk.* The motivation for this was that I tend to get stuck at my desk when I actually just need to do one or two things – but once I’m sitting down, I am kind of too tired to stand up again, so I end up clicking around online and wasting time, y’know? Yes, this is the most ridiculous excuse for getting sucked into The Internet you’ve ever heard, I realise that. But still. I thought maybe changing the physical situation would help. If my desk is raised by default (but I can still sit when I need to work for a few hours), it’s so much easier to just stop by, do whatever I need to do quickly, and move on, because I’m already standing. It’s basically a CHF700 substitute for self-control. I am pathetic, but I’m very happy about this choice, I feel it’s a move in the right direction.
• Because it’s all about habits, isn’t it? Changing physical cues is pretty powerful for changing habits. I’ve also just discovered that I’m much more attached to certain physical manifestations of work habits than I thought. For more than a dozen years now I’ve been using the same diary. Always black, by default; it’s the only colour available in the format I like (XL, soft cover), but I’ve often wished I could have an actual colour. Red is nice, for instance. So. I’ve just ordered my new one, and was considering getting the student version, which runs from July 2019, since as I mention I’ve misplaced my current diary. You know why I didn’t? Because the student versions aren’t available in black. And red or navy blue just felt so wrong.
  I am hilarious to myself.

* Which can be controlled by app. Hilarious. I get to name my desk in-app, so it is now known as Mr Worky. Armin has sadly chosen not to name his desk. Silly Armin.