Improving my life during Summer 2010

Mags30

Memorygirls mind-mapping book arrived this morning beautifully autographed with the message "Luck, love and abundance". It's so pretty and colourful and looks like it might really help me too:T

Payday today:T

Feeling stressed because I have loads to do today and as I realised yesterday my bad time management skills don't help. I'm going to turn the computer off, make a cup of:coffee:and write out a schedule for the day.

Mags30

I did the mystery shopping job at the bank :T, the one where I had to pretend I had €50,000 to invest (I wish). It went really well, I don't think the lady I spoke to suspected for a minute that I was lying.

She didn't ask me how much I earn so I avoided having to lie about that, I told her I had money to invest and asked for "recommendations". That's almost my opening line for mystery shopping these days because most of the reports ask what the staff recommended. "Can you recommend a mobile phone for me?" Can you recommend a face cream for me?":rotfl:The thing is I never ever rely on shop staff for recommendations, I choose things for myself doing my own reasearch, online usually.

Decluttering: 10 magazines went in the recycling this morning.

I've read lots of memorygirl's book. I understand mind-mapping much better now:) The MrBig challenges are easy enough to keep up with at the moment. I wonder how long MrBig plans on mentoring us for:huh:

Mags30

Health: For years I took the pill mostly for contraceptive purposes then when relationship ended I decided to give my body a break from it. Roll on 6-7 months and all the hormones in it cleared from my body resulting in the worst period pains imaginable. Decided I didn't need to tolerate that (doctor agreed) so I went back on the pill a month ago. Now on my first 7 day break from it I'm feeling dreadful again, pains and cramps are absolutely minimal but instead I'm feeling exhausted and depressed. Not really anything I can do about it except hope it passes soon but I'm almost certain this is related to hormones in some way.

I couldn't face doing my mystery shopping reports last night, I didn't even feel up to being on here so I left the reports until today. OK because the 24 hour deadline isn't until 4pm. Then I got up this morning, made a cup of tea and went back to bed so now I'm stuck doing the reports even though it's the last thing I feel like doing. One is finished and the other two are half done and I'm procastinating by updating my diary!

What I really want to do just now is go out for a coffee and read the paper but I don't think I'll have time because by the time I'm finished the reports I'll be leaving to go to my mothers'. Sure I can have coffee, cake and read papers there (and watch the X-Factor:)) but I wanted to study. I really must sort out my time management---next week. Hopefully I'll feel better then.

Looking forward to Eat, Pray, Love at the cinema next week:T

vasseur

Hope you feel better soon. Personally I don't take the pill because I get such awful headaches anyway without any pill helping me get one. Could you take the mini-pill where you don't have the 7 day break? It might keep the hormones at a more constant level?

Well done on doing the mystery shopping job at the bank! Your confidence must be growing.

Mags30

polesalot wrote: »

Hope you feel better soon. Personally I don't take the pill because I get such awful headaches anyway without any pill helping me get one. Could you take the mini-pill where you don't have the 7 day break? It might keep the hormones at a more constant level?

Well done on doing the mystery shopping job at the bank! Your confidence must be growing.

Feeling better now, thank you. Re: mini pill-I don't know to be honest, doctor just gave me the one I always took (Yasmin). Must keep a close eye on how I'm feeling, do some online research and go back to doctor if necessary.


I'm working on a vision board. I have a memo board with a few pictures pinned to it and I'm tearing anything that appeals to me out of the magazines I'm recycling so I'll use those to make a pretty vision board later.

55p earned on onepoll today:)

Mags30

8.30pm and it's dark:(

vegetablevn

Mags30 wrote: »

Feeling better now, thank you. Re: mini pill-I don't know to be honest, doctor just gave me the one I always took (Yasmin). Must keep a close eye on how I'm feeling, do some online research and go back to doctor if necessary.


I'm working on a vision board. I have a memo board with a few pictures pinned to it and I'm tearing anything that appeals to me out of the magazines I'm recycling so I'll use those to make a pretty vision board later.

55p earned on onepoll today:)

Hi,

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.


Tks again and pls keep posting.

vasseur

Mags30 wrote: »

8.30pm and it's dark:(

Time to get the PJs on as soon as you get home!

Keep plodding on with the One Poll. I am on £38.45 and have lied viciously just to earn 20p

Love the idea of a vision board. keeps things much clearer rather than just having ideas floating round your head.

Mags30

vegetablevn wrote: »

Hi,

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.


Tks again and pls keep posting.

:wave: Thanks, I'm honoured that you registered to post on my diary, feel free to join in anytime.

polesalot wrote: »

Time to get the PJs on as soon as you get home!

Keep plodding on with the One Poll. I am on £38.45 and have lied viciously just to earn 20p

Love the idea of a vision board. keeps things much clearer rather than just having ideas floating round your head.

£38.45 That's so annoying. I'd be logging on 20 times a day if I was that close to £40. Hope you get there soon. I'm hoping to get to €100 with the surveys then transfer it all to the loan account. Try Crowdology too, they pay out at £4 (paypal) and the surveys are short.

I'm not sure what to do with the vision board. It's very random. I have posters for gigs and events, pictures of clothes I like, ads for wishlist cosmetics, a picture of an iphone, a hotel I'd like to stay at, pictures of healthy food and yoga postures. I need to add ideal job pictures, money pictures, home improvement pictures. It's a work in progress.

Actually everything feels like a work in progress at the moment, the vision board, the envelope system, decluttering, exercise, Mr Big challenges, debt-busting. I'm so glad I'm doing all this now, rather than the usual Jan 1st resolutions date. I'll be making the same resolutions then of course but hopefully I'll be starting from a way better place .

Memorygirl commented on her diary today that everyone who makes life changes seems to start with decluttering so that thought is helping me along.


I haven't been achieving anything this week, all I seem to be doing is asking for my deadlines to be extended:o (lucky I'm not self employed-it wouldn't work)

A rather successful self employed friend told me today that his target for a (long) day spent doing a farmers market type job is €300 to make it worth his while. I think €300 could be a good monthly target for mystery shopping from 1st January onwards but I think I'd need to be working for 12-15 companies to achieve this. So far I've got 5. Again I've registered for more than this but these are the ones that have given me jobs so far.

• GFK
• Catalyst
• Retail Eyes
• Retail Maxim
• Bare International

I've just found hypno's downloads website, I'm going to have a proper look and choose something to buy soon.

Mags30

Yesterdays’ assignment involved visiting a trade only salon supplies store in yet another industrial estate. Now I do love my beauty products so no problem there but a few months ago I would have automatically rejected this job because it was in a completely unfamiliar area and I'd have assumed I wouldn't be able to drive there.

All the positivity around here lately has clearly rubbed off on me because I decided to push out my comfort zone and go there anyway. Especially after the bank jobs going so well (I got 9/10 for my reports:T)

I did find it of course and with very little difficulty. Yes I got a bit lost but nothing too stressful.

I did the child in a sweet shop thing and felt thankful that I’m not allowed to keep the trade card I was sent for the job. It wouldn’t be compatible with the “no toiletries challenge” especially now that I know how to get there:p (but I might reapply for the job in a while to get access again)


I bought a bottle of Orifluido oil from my wishlist costing €14.50. The fee for the job is £12 so no profit plus I spent time and petrol on the job. This won’t work if I am to earn a decent part time wage from mystery shopping but I still think it was a very worthwhile exercise because:

• Finding the place was a good confidence improving driving lesson
• It was my first job for Retail Maxim. I did my report properly so I assume they’ll trust me to offer me more work
• I learned a little more about the beauty business from a different angle to the consumer one I’m so familiar with
• Making the effort to go somewhere unfamiliar pushed my comfort zones out a bit further. If I hadn’t done it I’d just have spent the morning on here or at the local shopping centre

I’m actually starting to enjoy driving around industrial estates and finding places. Thinking a job as a rep could suit me. But that’s not compatible with my long term goal of becoming a solicitor. The things I enjoy seem to contradict one another a lot......no idea if having such varied interests is a good or bad thing--must keep working on the MrBig challenges:D


Actually this job made me think about the MrBig money challenges. The RRP of the product I bought is €20 so the salons/shops that sell it make a profit of €5.50 per bottle. Ok it's more profit than I made on the job but as an enterprise would you be bothered? Expensive hair products don’t sell in the same quantities as bottles of milk (unless you own L’oreal) With a profit margin like that and all the usual rent, staff and security costs it sounds almost impossible to make minimum wage, never mind the sort of hourly rates MrBig envisages for us.

Men: Just had a reminder of why he's an ex. We were texting and being all friendly last night. This evening I sent a text asking him how much I should pay to fix a scratch on my car because someone said the quote I got was a rip-off. He hasn't replied. Some of the people he is working with are boy racer/petrolhead types. All I wanted him to do was ask them for an opinion, I wasn't even asking for practical help but he couldn't even do that for me.:(

Decluttering: Only 5 magazines in the recycling this week. Must try harder.