Both Android and iPhone Versions Updated

Both the Android and iPhone versions of Mood Sentry have been updated.  There's a (hopefully) better support page in the References section.  You now have 3 e-mail options built in to contact us.  The layout should be better on larger format phones, including the iPhone 5.  We improved the android version font selector, and added a new "large" font that people with large format phones may like.  We did a lot of tuning and optimizing to the code that hopefully will not cause any serious issues.  Feel free to let us know what you think.

Regarding me, I've been feeling a bit anxious all day due partly to this release and partly to anticipating conflict in my personal life and work life.  These are mostly driven by forecasts.  I had the presence of mind to recognize the thoughts and will take the time to capture what happened, the thoughts, and the fact that not once did things turn out the way I forecasted.  The thing is, even if they had turned out as forecasted I doubt the situation would have been as uncomfortable as I had imagined.  I'll work on this.  I've got an entry to make.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Getting Ready to Release Next Update

I'm just about ready to release the next update.  It took longer than anticipated because I became a bit distracted by some minutia as well as the iPhone requirement.  I think I'm on track now to release the next update this weekend.  There will be a slightly better layout for the different sized screens, there will be new page for contacting us in place of the bulletin board page, there's been a lot of clean up and some other changes that slip my mind.  I still have some testing to do, but I expect to have the next release sometime this weekend.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

A Lot of Opportunities

I have a lot of opportunities these days to identify distorted thoughts, most of them are related to work, but a couple are related to outside work activities (including this app).  The thoughts are mostly forecasts of conflict, failure, and just being overwhelmed by the workload.  Sometimes I'm good at challenging these thoughts.  When I am, I catch them early and counter them quickly.  The app helps by letting me record things that have happened before and identifying mitigation strategies.  Just reviewing my recurring thought patterns has helped me capture and challenge these thoughts early in their development.  Today I had some challenges due to a long meeting we had.  Meetings like that make it tough to get away and collect my thoughts.  I can say that when I got home and felt overwhelmed by the tasks I had to do, I was able to recognize that just starting on one task can help me feel better.  I have entries related to this on my phone.  I was able to start one task but couldn't finish it because I need a little more information, however, I did feel better.  Using Mood Sentry to capture things like this pays off in the future.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Kind of a Rough Day, but OK

It was hectic today due to an important meeting and another item needing my attention.  I'm not sure I made the correct decisions throughout the day, but I seem to have gotten everything done that I needed to get done.  Looking back on the day, I can see that now.  During this day I had a nagging feeling of anxiety.  Looking back, I think it was driven by should statements such as I should have taken care of this earlier.  I think there were forecasts of not getting the things I needed to get done, done.  I needed to coordinate with others, both in the meeting and outside the meeting.  That was the tough part.  I kept my feelings in check, meaning that they didn't get really bad but didn't disappear either.  One thing I did not do was review Mood Sentry at mid-day.  I was in a meeting and we had a working lunch.  I really didn't get any time to myself until I got home this afternoon.  I think I could have done better in that regard.  Reviewing my entries in Mood Sentry usually helps.  Next time I'll try to get away.  Even if it's just to my car for a few minutes to reflect on my thoughts and counter those that need countering.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Forgot to Take My Phone to Work Today

So what did I do?  I did the best I could and worked my program from memory.  In the morning I thought about the standard distortions and how they might manifest during my day.  At lunch I thought about what had gone well so far, and in the evening I was home so I had my phone.  I've reviewed the app enough that I can remember the pertinent things for me to manage my mood.  It actually worked out pretty well, and I had a pretty good day.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Just Resubmitted the iOS Version to the iTunes

Finally, I corrected everything that needed to be corrected, and for the most part I think I did it the right way as opposed to the fast way.  If you run on an iPhone 5 (or iPod 5) you'll see a better layout, particularly in some of the tools.  I think there are some more optimizations I can do, and if that's true you'll see those in a future release.

Other than that, I had a good session with my therapist today.  We talked about the stress at work and how that's reduced significantly.  I also talked about managing some thoughts I had today in regard to contacting a person at work today.  I had forecasts of things not going well, but recognized those forecasts early and challenged them by imagining things actually going well.  I helped to do that, but it took a little time and effort for those thoughts to sink in and have an impact.  That's a good thing for me to remember.  Thinking about a good outcome does not have an immediate impact.  I have to keep challenging the thoughts before the impact occurs.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

A Tenuous Day

I still have that nagging feeling that something bad is going to happen, or that I'll discover that all the work I put into the app will be for naught due to some insurmountable technical challenge.  I know these are exaggerations, and I can challenge them and reduce their impact.  Just challenging these thoughts helps, but I'm trying something new.  I'm creating an Observation called Thankfuls, which will be filled with things I'm thankful for in different parts of my life.  I'm not sure this will go anywhere, but I'll give it a try and report back later this week.  Other than that, I only set three goals today and only hit one of them.  I still feel like I accomplished a lot because I basically finished the iPhone version update for Mood Sentry and will now test, test, and test what I have.  I think I'll re-submit it later this week.  It'll go through the process this time.  I also set some goals for myself tomorrow.  I think it's easier to set goals the night before when my mind is fairly clear, because once I get to work things can get fairly hectic and my mind focuses on the immediate problem.  How about you?  Do you set goals the night before?

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Anxious Feelings Today

I planned a hike this morning but ended up sleeping in a bit.  I think it was just the hectic pace of the past couple of weeks catching up with me.  However, I did have this mild, nagging feeling of anxiety throughout the day.  I reviewed Mood Sentry and was able to peg it to thoughts related to the iPhone version update.  My thoughts were overgeneralizations  that I'll never finish the updates for iPhone 5 needs and forecasts of getting bogged down in a quagmire of that I can't get myself out of.  Recognizing this I reviewed some entries I have related to technical tasks and forecasts of doom.  This helped reduce those feelings, but didn't eliminate them.  These entries reminded me of my tendency toward all or nothing thinking and perfectionism, which can magnify the importance of little challenges.  These can also make it difficult for me to tell when "good enough" exists and thus push me to keep tweaking the code until it's perfect.  I really don't know what perfect code is, because there is just about always something I can make better, cleaner, more readable.  I also made use of my prioritization scheme.  That also helped me identify what I need to work on as well as what I don't need to work on.  There are good things to have on hand.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

It Doesn't Take Much to Set Me Off

I ran into an unexpected problem this afternoon while working on the update to the iPhone version of Mood Sentry and found myself quickly in a funk.  I think it was mostly overgeneralizations such as I'll never finish this or there's always something that's going to get in my way.  These thoughts really lowered my mood.  The odd thing was that even though I developed a work around, I still found myself in a funk.  It really wasn't until my evening reminder prompted me to look back on my day and see how things went that I started to feel a little bit better.  I actually had a pretty good day.  I tried some new things, made some major progress on the iPhone update, visited an aquarium with my wife, and more.  I started to feel a bit better, but then looked over my e-mail (that I haven't reviewed in a couple of days) and noticed two things that I "should" have opened earlier.  One is related to a list of invitees for a pot luck on Sunday, the other has to do with hiking tomorrow with a friend.  It's a bit late to respond to either right now, thus the should statements telling me I should have looked over my e-mails sooner.

Let's see if I can handle this real-time.  It might have been better if I had reviewed these e-mail earlier.  I could have acted on each in a more timely manner.  However, I was focused on learning how to use the upgraded iPhone development tool set and really needed a steady, continuous time period to work on that.  There really wasn't time for me to drop what I was doing to look over my personal e-mail.  The progress I made was significant, and more important than either of the activities associated with either e-mail.

This is helping.  I'll work this some more before turning in for the night.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Had an OK Day Today

I made the time to work the app and reviewed my Experiences and a few of my entries related to working on difficult technical tasks.  I really didn't have any serious issues today, because as I pointed out yesterday, things have calmed down a lot at work.  Actually, thinking back on the day, I had some really good news in terms of project funding and other work related items.  I tend to have a feeling that things are only going to get worse, but today's evidence doesn't fit that model.  Not only did things go well at work, but I made some real progress on the iPhone version of the app that I need to update.  Know what?  I had a really good day today.  I have some entries in the app related to this, I think. I'll review those and update them if needed before turning in for the night.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

iPhone version

My app was rejected because it wasn't optimized for the iphone 5.  I'm working on that now and plan to have something good in a week.  I can do it simply, or i can do it right.  I will shoot for right.

Work is settling down, but will pick up again soon.  This is a good time to reflect back, review the thoughts i captured, and look for patterns and mitigations.  This is what the app is for.

Things are Calming Down at Work

I now see that my forecasts of failure and strife did not come true.  Things were hectic, but the team got the project done.  Things typically do go well. My other project is tenuous, but i believe will also be successful.  So why the stress?  The daily goals and prioritization scheme helped me manage myself.  I'll keep working those two tools until things settle down a bit more.

Woke Early, Didn't Get Back to Sleep for While

I work a couple of hours early and didn't get back to sleep until what seemed like a few minutes before the alarm went off.  I had this general feeling of doom.  That something bad was going to happen today.  I tried to figure out the specific thoughts that were driving this feeling, but couldn't put my finger on any.  I tried to fit the feeling to should statements, forecasts, and all or nothing thoughts, but none of them felt like the culprit.  I'm getting better at identifying distorted thoughts and challenging them, but I'm not sure what to do with these general feelings I get at times.  Perhaps I just have too many things on my plate that are tenuous.  I'll need to keep working this item.  So how did things go at work today?  I was well prepared and nailed the major items I had in my daily goals.  Being prepared helped.  I also managed to minimize the procrastination that can get in my way, which really help me rack up a list of accomplishments.  I think I did pretty well today and over all had a good day.  So what's up with the general feeling of doom?  I'll have to work on that.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Delay on Next Release, and Getting Ready for Tomorrow

There will be a delay on the next release.  I need to optimize the app for iPhone 5, which I can't do on my antiquated equipment.  This may delay things by a week or two, but that's all.

It's Sunday night and I'm getting ready for tomorrow.  I have some urgent things to take care of in regards to meeting deadlines.  Actually, I think every project I'm supporting has some sort of crisis going on or at least something that needs to be addressed ASAP.  One of my concerns is getting wrapped up in one crisis to the detriment of the other.  I think I can use my Daily Goals tool to mitigate that risk.  The other tool I'll use is my Prioritization scheme.  I guess I'll actually end up using several other tools as well.  Hectic days go better for me when I make the time to use Mood Sentry.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Took a Hike Today

I like to hike.  On of the things I like about it is the chance to think, and today I was reflecting on the thoughts driving my mood nowadays.  I recognized some should statements and forecasting.  I think a lot of this is driven by my natural tendency toward all or nothing thinking.  This made me reflect back on my childhood and the thoughts I had back then.  I really don't remember the specific thoughts, but I remember the feelings of anxiety, sadness, and that something bad was going to happen.  These were probably driven by the same thought patterns I still have.  But now I'm better able to manage them and I seem to get better as time goes bye.  Mood Sentry is good in that I can capture thoughts at the time of distress, or near to that time.  Reviewing multiple entries at a time helps me identify recurring patterns.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

A Tough Day Today

Things were hectic from the start today.  We were working on getting a document ready for a customer, and things were going OK, but not great.  It was difficult to find time to think about my thoughts and what was driving my mood, however I did manage to sneak a couple of short breaks to do just that. One thing that helped was reflecting back on what was going well.  This is the main reason for my mid-day reminder, to step back and recognize things that are going well.  Just ding this simple thing can help my mood, which it did today.  It's the start of the weekend.  I'll have to do some work over the weekend, but that's OK.  I know this pace won't keep up much longer.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Just Uploaded the Next Update to the iTunes store

The iPhone version takes a bit longer to update than the android version.  It'll take about a week for the good people at Apple to get back to me an let me if it's good to go.  In the meantime I'll put the finishing touches on the android version so I can release both next week.  The big change is the exchange of the Support page in References with a Contact Us page.  I think this will be easier to use.  There will be three e-mail addresses built into the app that you can use to contact us.  One for general information, one for support, and one for blog suggestions.  There are other changes too, but most of those are structural and you probably won't notice.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

A General Feeling of Doom

I had this general feeling of doom all day today.  Things are hectic right now at work and it seems like it won't let up anytime soon.  I have pressures at home too, but nothing too extreme.  I've had feelings like this off and on for all my life, or it seems that way.  I made it a point to get out and power walk at lunch time, and took another power walk when I finally got home this evening, and both of those helped.  I was able to keep this feeling from getting out of hand by catching some of my thoughts that would come up, such all this stuff if never going to end.  I didn't make the time to really use Mood Sentry until late in the day, which helped but not as much as if I had used it earlier in the day.  I try to get a good night's sleep and see how things go tomorrow.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Finalizing Next Release

I have a new build coming out.  No major changes, though I am changing the support page (in References) to a Contact Us page.  I think this makes more sense and will be easier to use.  Another change involves slightly customized hints in several of the tools.  These are  the tools that currently have the same set of hints, such as the Event Log and the Observations.  Other than that, there will be some bug fixes in the android version and some memory leak fixes in the iPhone version.  Expect to see these updates next week.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Had a Pretty Good Day

I prepared last night, and again this morning for my day.  Things are getting hectic because we have a report due this week and are frantically working to finish the data analysis test write up.  Adding to this I have a class tonight and tomorrow after work, which really eats into my free time.  There are lots of opportunities for distortions, but I'm doing a better job than usual keeping my thoughts in check.  I feel a constant level of stress, but it's manageable.  I used the app last night, this morning, and this afternoon.  I'll set some goals for tomorrow and work again to keep my thoughts, and thus my mood, in check.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Loaded Myself Down with Stuff Today

I didn't get it all done.  I checked my Daily Goals list late in the day and got most of it done, but there were a couple of things I didn't get to.  I still feel pretty good because I got a lot of other things that were not on my list done.  Had I reviewed the list earlier in the day I probably would have revised it to reflect these other, important items.  I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed these days, and I know it won't let up for a couple of weeks, but I think I can handle things.  I have plenty of entries related to the thoughts that will pop up, I have my daily goals list, and I have my prioritization scheme.  Those will really help.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Prioritization Scheme is Helping this Weekend

My prioritization scheme, which I've never been too comfortable with, is helping me this weekend.  I have a lot of stuff going on at work.  One project is wrapping up and another is about to start.  Start up usually requires a lot of effort as does wrapping up.  I had to change my plans for the weekend as I need to work.  The prioritization scheme is helping me see my priorities and thus figuring out what needs to be done.  I've never been too comfortable with the scheme because it feels too constricting.  However, whenever I need it, it seems to work.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

I Followed the Evening Reminder

I followed the evening reminder tonight, and boy do I have a lot of stuff packed into that reminder.  I typically don't do it all, but not tonight.  I reviewed My Experiences with my day in mind and noticed that my big mood drivers were all or nothing  thinking, should statements, and forecasting.  I did OK handling them, but didn't always catch them when they popped up.  Tomorrow will most likely be tainted by forecasting.  I have lots of stuff to get done and meetings to attend.  I have entries that should help for tomorrow.  I'd like to behave in a calm and thoughtful manner.  The funny thing is, I usually appear that way to others.  I guess I'd like to feel that way on the inside.  I think reviewing some of my entries at the start of my day will help with that.  I then set some goals for tomorrow.  I then reviewed a couple of entries, Essays in this case, I have in the app.  I'm feeling a bit less stressed, and a bit more ready for tomorrow.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Had an Important Meeting Today

I was forecasting conflict and failure and a generally negative outcome for this meeting, starting last night and lasting through the start of the meeting late this morning.  I kept challenging those thoughts the whole time.  I wasn't able to neutralize the thoughts, they kept coming back.  But I kept recognizing my forecasting, and looking for other distortions such as all or nothing thinking and should statements.  Looking at my thoughts through the lens of guilt helped identify some should statements and some magnifications in the mix of distorted thoughts.  I even pulled up some entries I have in Mood Sentry related to this stuff and reviewed them.  This all helped lessen the impact of these thoughts.  So how did the meeting go?  It went well.  There were no blow ups, no confrontations, just cordial and professional attitudes all around.  This is something to remember.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Why the Dark Background?

When I use Mood Sentry, I tend to take a while to collect and compose my thoughts.  When I was designing this app, I was concerned about the amount of time it takes me to develop my entries and the battery life of the phone.  Because of this concern, I decided to go with a dark background.  I know it's a bit gloomy, but I figure it's better to save battery life.  The blue to yellow border should be interpreted as blue to sunny.  Kind of hokey, I know, but I like it.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Getting Started

I recently posted about having some trouble getting started on tasks.  I mentioned that one thing I did was review an observation I created related to this issue.  Well, I"m lazy today so I figure I'll post the observation so you can see one way I use Mood Sentry.

Title: Getting Started

Getting started can be tough for me.
It's not just the initiation of a project or task, but even getting started on a continuing task on a given day is a challenge.
I forecast a quagmire, bogging me down to the point that I not only don't finish the task in question, but the rest of my day is shot too.
If I don't finish all planned tasks, then I failed.
If I start i'll get mired in a problem that I will need to finish on that day.

These are exaggerations, all or nothing thinking.
Quagmires are rare.  Most times things get done.
Getting started helps.  Just set a small goal and shoot for that.  If that goal is reached, set a new goal.
Not finishing does not equal failure.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

Set Some Goals Today

I took a hint from yesterday and set some goals for today to help overcome that inertia I've been experiencing.  I made the goals simple and achievable, or so I thought.  While working to get to my end point, which was an initial scrub of the upcoming update to the iPhone version of Mood Sentry, I learned that I had several minor bugs as well as some incomplete changes to the software.  I spent a big portion of my afternoon and evening correcting the software.  I was never too worried about getting stuck in an extended debug session, probably because I had written goals that seemed achievable.  Had I not documented realistic goals for the day there's a chance that any goal that popped into my head would have become a goal for the day.  There's no way I can complete all the things I can think of completing, and thus I'd feel anxious and probably depressed.  Looking back on my day, I did get done what needed to be done.  I also made time for some recreational activities and a nice lunch with my wife.  It was a pretty good day, and I feel pretty good about it.  I'll set some goals for tomorrow and turn in now.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.

My Saturday

I got a short hike in this morning, but when I got home I had a tough time motivating myself to work on the next update to the app.  I was sitting around the house, and caught myself trying to motivate myself with "should" statements.  If you're reading this you probably know that's not the best way to do things.  So I set one short goal relating to documenting what I've done and a general test plan.  That helped me get working, and I was able to achieve that goal.  I did some other things too, and looking back on my day I think it went pretty well.  Using the Daily Goals can help me on days like today.

If you'd like to contribute one of your experiences, reminders, any tool entry or just your thoughts to possibly help others make better use of Mood Sentry, please consider e-mailing the item (or your thoughts) to 4theblog@moodappsllc.com. I'll protect your privacy and keep the source anonymous.

If your therapist would like to contact me with questions or suggestions, have him/her contact me at info@moodappsllc.com.