Lists

I have a lot of irons in the proverbial fire.  Many tasks to be addressed and responsibilities to fulfill.

I have lists consisting of emails to return, video clips to edit, rooms to clean, “thank you” notes to send, photos to tweak, blogs to write, laundry to wash, events to plan, workouts to complete, web pages to build, phone calls to make…and fires to fight.

My stuff always remains the lowest of priorities.  The personal stuff that doesn’t seem to affect other folks.  I will always blow off something of mine to deal with something of theirs.  That’s a clear choice for me, though it’s not always the right choice.  When I get torn is when something of theirs conflicts with something of his and then something of hers.

I try to get it all done – (though I never seem to win that fight) – leaving the wreckage of my own world for another day.  Then that day comes and goes, and I never notice, as it gets lost in yesterday’s wreckage. 

Just like it did yesterday.  So to get focused, get clear, I’ll make another list. 

Some are written on index cards.  Others are jotted on the back of envelopes previously filled with junk mail.  Sometimes I’ll send myself email from my phone with things that need to be added to the “to-do’s,” and then add those items to the previous email I sent myself…and send it to myself again.

The most significant lists, the ones that should really help me succeed, are the ones written on “legal pads,” as if the word "legal" creates a greater imperative for me to take them seriously.  It doesn’t work that way, probably because I have more than one legal pad working at a time, each filled with whatever blew through my head at the particular moment I found myself with pen in hand.  Notes, rants, incomplete phone numbers, song lyrics, things I wished for that will never happen.  Garbage.

And then there’s the stuff on the envelopes, the index cards, or in my email that never get moved over onto this new “serious” list.

I should get organized.  Work faster, swim harder, and dig out of all this crap.  Make a plan.  Okay.  Time to sit down and make my REAL list…

…If I could just find a pen…

Comments

[Christine]

Jeff,

I understand your thoughts completely and can relate. I'm a list-maker - which keeps me organized. But I've learned to ease up on how I get through that daily list.

Just a thought...take a couple of deep breaths, close your eyes, and stretch your muscles for 5-10 minutes. Then get a cup of coffee, find a pen, and make a new REAL list.

And only ONE list.

Prioritize your list with a limit of 8 tasks to do, and spread them out throughout the day. Then go for your run, swim, and blow off some steam!

When you return, you know that list will be there. But maybe it will be just a little easier to cross off now.

Thank you for all that you do for others. I know that you put them first a lot of times. But don't forget to take care of Jeff. That's a priority.

Peace,

[Angelika Cutino-Neil-Wilson]

Okay, like I said before - you, my friend, are a very busy man, but don't feel like you are the only one; most likely you are Type A personality. People who always want to look after others and put their things on the back burner, make "to do" lists but never get to them.

Try living with someone like my husband, who is a packrat. We have a garage filled to the rafters with boxes from Dad, Mom and Stepmom's houses and not to mention a storage shed in our driveway. Atrium is getting cleaner because I have been pushing to get my house back under control, then we have the indoor patio I made him clean out so my Raiders pool table can be put in there.

He wasn't happy to do it, but hey, I am a woman who get's what she wants. LOL!!

Don't beat yourself up over what don't get done, but focus on the good things that do get done. Anyway, not to mention we are not judged by what we don't do when we leave this earth, it is what we did do!!!

Angelika