Friday 30th September 15:00
Colleague: What are you doing this weekend? More DIY?
Me: I don't know. I can't think of anything specifically I want to do so I'll probably work on my dissertation or something.
Friday 30th September 17:00
Somehow I saw a picture of someone who painted the ceiling of their bedroom black. I reckon that would look really nice in my bedroom. Considering I drive past Dunelm on my way home, why not pop in and buy some black paint. Might find the time some day... £60 is spent on paint and rollers.
Friday 30th September 20:00
I have removed the curtain poles from the windows and started taping off the walls with masking tape so that I am ready to start cutting in the ceiling with the black paint first thing tomorrow morning. I am hungry but I don't have time to cook or eat, now that i have a new project on the go. So I order food to be delivered. £17.50.
Saturday 1st October 09:00
I want to do some work on my dissertation today but since I started on the ceiling last night, it makes a lot more sense for me to put at least the first coat on. That way, I can do some uni work whilst the first coat dries. But first: Breakfast.
Saturday 1st October 11:00
Whilst making breakfast, I notice that the kitchen floor really could do with cleaning, seeing as one of the cats has peed on it. It would make perfect sense to clean and mop the floor after breakfast and then whilst the floor dries, I could paint the first coat onto the bedroom ceiling. So I mop the kitchen floor. I finish the bottle of special cat urine eliminator cleaning fluid so best go onto Amazon and order some more.
Saturday 1st October 12:30
I manage to tear myself away from the crazy cat videos I started watching after looking on Google for the best cat urine remover cleaning fluid. I am by now seriously behind schedule and I am angry with myself. I could have done the first coat on the ceiling already if only I had not been so easily distracted. I finish putting the masking tape all around the bedroom ceiling and cover the bed and floors with plastic.
I go outside to the shed where I keep my paint supplies. It stinks outside. Cats have peed on the concrete and it makes me vomit. Best clean that up right away so the cleaning fluid can soak into the concrete whilst I paint the ceiling.
After cleaning the patio in the back garden, I gather my bucket and roller. I start cutting in on the ceiling. I manage to get the first coat done. I am SO BORED already. My neck aches from looking up whilst painting the ceiling.
Saturday 1st October 15:00
First coat done. Whilst it dries, I realise I have run out of ready meals for the next week. I have ingredients in the freezer so it makes perfect sense to batch cook whilst the ceiling dries. That way, I can get the second coat on whilst the food is in the slow cooker, and be all done in a day. And once that is done, I can do some uni work as planned. I congratulate myself on being so efficient.
Saturday 1st October 16:30
Food is in the slow cooker. I start the second coat on the ceiling. Christ my neck hurts again. I consider leaving the second coat for the next day so I can do some uni work. But that seems inefficient. Surely it would be better to just get it all done today so I have the whole day tomorrow for uni work? I am annoyed that I will not be doing uni work today, but I agree with myself that it is better to get it all done so that I will not be distracted by it tomorrow. No, tomorrow I will concentrate fully on uni work for the day. After all, after this ceiling, there isn't anything else I can think of that needs doing in the house.
Saturday 1st October 20:00
Second coat is on. I have tidied away all the materials and cleaned the brushes. I have portioned out the food in the slow cooker but I have not eaten any of it because I am too busy and so I don't feel relaxed enough to sit down and eat. I notice that the ceiling is patchy and could do with a 3rd coat. No idea how I will ever get it to look perfect. Maybe I need a paint sprayer. Actually, if I am going to get a paint sprayer, I may as well paint the bedroom walls. They would look much better if they were all the same colour. And with a paint sprayer, it really would be done in minutes instead of having to spend a whole day on it. Great. I will add it to my list of DIY projects.
I spend the next hour looking up paint sprayers for emulsion. I am hungry but don't eat because I am engrossed in looking up paint sprayer reviews. A cup of tea and an entire roll of ginger nut biscuits for dinner.
Saturday 1st October 22:30
I am tired but on my way to bed, I realise the food is still in the slow cooker. I still need to portion it up and put it in the freezer. But it is some kind of vegetarian curry. And I have not cooked rice. It makes sense to cook rice and then freeze it in portions of rice and sauce together. Much more efficient. I cook rice, feed the cats and eventually manage to freeze 7 portions of food before going to bed at midnight. I feel sad for having been so inefficient and unproductive today.
Sunday 2nd October 09:30
Best go to Screwfix and buy that paint sprayer before starting my uni work. Otherwise, I will just be distracted all day by think I should go and buy a paint sprayer. Makes sense to get it out of the way so I can concentrate on uni work.
Sunday 2nd October 10:30
Breakfast time. I scroll through pictures of houses with black ceilings. I realise that the huge melamine wardrobe in my bedroom looks really out of place, now that I have this kind of ye Olde Colour Scheme. I look for pictures of upcycled wardrobes and wonder if I could turn mine into something more in keeping with the rest of the room. The wardrobe came free with the house, but it is very ugly.
Having thoroughly researched how to upcycle a wardrobe and what paints to use, I have measured all the pieces of MDF I will need and later this week, I will go to B&Q and get it cut to size. I mean, I am doing the bedroom now so it makes perfect logical sense to do all of it in one go whilst I am at it. Seems more efficient, right. And once that is done, I will be much better able to concentrate on the dissertation. So this is not procrastinating, this is sensible time management.
Sunday 2nd October 14:00
I sit down at my desk and start doing uni work. I work for 4 hours solid. Then I berate myself for not having sat down earlier. I got so much work done, imagine how much work I could have gotten done if I had not allowed myself to get distracted by painting my bedroom. Will I ever learn!
Sunday 2nd October 18:00
I realise that despite having worked for 4 hours and feeling like I got a lot done, I have written only 200 words or so. I got lost in reading about research paradigms, philosophy and many other things I really do not need to spend much time on for the dissertation. I am angry with myself for wasting 4 hours on 200 words. I give up for the day because clearly I am not in the right frame of mind to be productive. I have wasted a weekend and have a little cry. I watch TV for a few hours, telling myself next week will be better and more efficient. I will NOT be distracted by DIY and I will do loads of uni work.
Sunday 2nd October 23:00
Going to bed. I look at the wardrobes and wonder how easy it would be to remove the big mirrors form the doors. Surely it will be OK to just quickly check. That way, I will be able to plan in my head how long such a project would take. Which would give me peace of mind, which would help me sleep quicker. Seems sensible to do that now. I run downstairs and get a saw and proceed to slide the saw behind the mirror so that I can start cutting through the fixing tape that holds the mirrors to the wardrobe doors. After 15 minutes, I realise it is more work than I thought. I am tired. I can't finish the job tonight. I give up and get into bed, feeling upset about leaving a job unfinished. It makes sense tomorrow morning to finish removing the mirrors quickly before starting my uni work. That way, my mind will be free to concentrate on the important things I need to so: My Dissertation. Yes, tomorrow will be better than this weekend.
[End of Part 1]
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