After a whole day of sun and almost 30 °C, the rain is now poring outside my window. Which means that I won’t make it to the reception that I was invited to this evening at the Swedish residence. It is too complicated to get there in the rain, especially in the dress code that was announced on the invitation. It is the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings this weekend, so Government representatives from all over the world are in town, and hence the event at the Swedish Residence. And since another invitation to a panel discussion tomorrow announced the presence of Swedish Minister of Finance Andres Borg and Minister of Development Gunilla Carlsson, I guess they both would have been at the reception this evening. Well, another time! Instead, I am preparing a pizza and enjoying not having to make small talk with people I don’t know. Useful as they can be for networking, I have come to realize that these kinds of events are not my thing at all. As almost Moldovan Lars pointed out once: having to make small talk with people you don’t know but need to make an impression on while balancing a drink and a small plate with hors d’oeuvres, and at the same time eating with your hands must be one of the most forced situations one can think of. After becoming a pro at this in Moldova, one lesson learned is to never go to these events on an empty stomach (which is easily done since these events often took place directly after work). In that way, you at least don’t have to bother with the appetizers. Another is to wear comfy shoes since you have to stand up all the time. Hopefully I’ll be in the mood to go to the reception around the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in the fall instead, well trained as I am!

Monika and I in the garden of the Swedish Residence at our National Holiday, 2010.

OK, I realize that this is becoming the most boring blog ever, but my life is not that eventful right now. I hope that will change soon, but right now, work and studies are absorbing every minute of my day. Almost anyway. I did take the time to go singing with the Swedish Song Group yesterday, and even though it set me back several hours and I ended up working past 2 am to finish things before a deadline (I was writing briefing notes for a big government conference that is taking place tomorrow in one of the countries that I work with), it was definitely worth it. Not only is singing one of my favorite activities, it also fills me up with new energy and inspiration for other things. Everyone I know who has ever played in an orchestra or sang in a choir agrees that it doesn’t matter how tired you are or how little you feel like going to practice, you’re always happily bouncing on your way home. Right now, we are practicing for two folk music concerts in May during which I will sing the mezzo soprano part in a quartette piece that is part of the music piece we are singing. So at least there is something more in my life than agriculture and food at the moment. I think it is time for some traveling soon though. It can’t be good for anyone to sit still in one place this long, and especially not for a travelaholic like me. I have some ideas, but more to come on that…

The piece is called I välsignan och fröjd and is actually a folk music mass, with the same structure as classic masses but with very Swedish lyrics, mixing the marvels of nature and the extreme seasons with the divine. The concerts will be filmed so I promise to post.

Tine Flies is the name of one of my best friends’ blog, but also the state of my life right now. The non-posting this past week is a result of this. Work has been extremely busy these past two weeks with several deadlines and lots of reviewing of reports and other products (both my own products being reviewed and I reviewing other people’s work). I am now also trying to catch up on school which has fallen behind in the process (I have an assignment that is due next week). And I had a friend from NYC visiting Thursday – Sunday, which was a welcomed break in all the stress but didn’t leave time for anything else than socializing. We spent the weekend walking, biking, and visiting museums, and went out to new places where I hadn’t been before in the evenings. So a really good weekend! In little over a week I am off to Europe again for work – a least it doesn’t get dull!

Being an economist, I can’t really decide what was most fascinating to see: the first space shuttles and moon landers at the Air and Space Museum or the Rai stone, the enormous money they use on the island of Yap in Micronesia (the Natural History Museum).

But I am not sure where to start…. I have so much work and studies this weekend and I headed towards a good start yesterday, but I am for some reason a lot more inefficient today. The issue is probably that I really don’t want to deal with any of the most urgent to-dos. I ticked off all the easy stuff on the list yesterday, and now all the boring stuff remain along with the things that I have put off for so long that I no longer have a good overview of what needs to be done (read the anxiety triggers). Ironically, I bought The Procrastinator’s Handbook (Rita Emmett) yesterday, and after having read half of it, I realize that I no longer have any excuses but to deal with things. According to the book, I am a hypocritical procrastinator. That is, I am someone who avoids certain things that needs to be done by doing other, less urgent things. It gives an illusion of getting things done, but it doesn’t do away with the bad conscious over those important things that are still there undone. So I have pinpointed the problem, and yet I am so unmotivated to get started! Think I will go out for coffee first…

If anyone missed it, it is St. Valentine’s Day today, and the U.S. is decorated in red and powdered with sugar. It is impossible not avoid the hype around this day. Even our lunch cafeteria at work sold roses and heart shaped sweets, and everyone greeted Happy Valentine’s!! After talking to a few of my colleagues, it was however clear that this day isn’t that celebrated among  non-Americans here in the U.S. I, on the other hand took it as an excuse to treat myself to Godiva chocolate and think I will finish this day with an episode of Pride and Prejudice.  And the proposal? Well, though the intent was declared, let’s just say that in a parallel universe it might have taken place…. Curious??? It was a lot less serious than it might sound! Happy Valentine’s to all of you!!!

As I mentioned yesterday, I decided to dedicate this weekend to getting things done. A few years ago, someone recommended David Allen’s book Getting Things Done to me, and it really changed the way I manage things, both in and outside of work. (In fact, David Allen held a really good presentation at my work place two summers ago.) Basically, the book teaches how to keep things in order so that every task that needs to be done can be crossed off this list with a minimum of preparation and effort. Also, if you know that everything that needs to be done is under control, you can focus on what you are doing at the moment without worrying that something else is slipping. And in order to minimize the to-dos, anything that can be done in less than five minutes should be done immediately.

The problem is of course that you still have to do the actual work – it doesn’t just take care of itself. So this weekend, I have gathered my lists and my piles, and I am trying to cross off as much as possible in order to not have to bother for a while. While going through my pile of administrative mail this evening, I realize however that I lived in fantasy land for so many years before getting more permanently settled here in the U.S. My administrative responsibilities were for years limited to a few bills every month. Here on the other hand, I get SO much mail and information from every single institution that I am in some way connected to. In addition to that, credit card companies try to convince me to get credit with them, and charities from development agencies to animal rights organization try to convince me to donate to their causes. And it takes an awful amount of time to go through. A waste of time, I would say. I can’t even imagine how it must be to have a family and a house in this country. No wonder people end up like in Revolutionary Road!

My very well read copy of GTD