I think the most common phrase I’ve heard over the past few weeks is “I’ve been meaning to do that.” There’s something about deadlines that reminds people of the things they’ve been putting off until a better time comes. Unfortunately, it reminds everybody at the same time, which makes “crunch time” crunch a bit harder when it could have been spread out over a longer period of time if people had acted sooner rather than later.
The truth is that we all do it. There’s only so much time, and once the necessities are taken care of, we have to prioritize how we use the time that’s left. There’s also an issue of resources available: if you don’t have them, you may have to wait to gather them, and that requires you to make a long term decision on whether to meet this goal. Whether it’s a limit of time or resources, some things have to be deferred until later or dismissed – and nobody wants to be a quitter, which means that the deferral list tends to grow. Defer too long, and it takes the demands of time running out to force you to make a decision on whether to act or let it go. That’s not a comfortable position to be in, and yet it happens all too often in our complicated, busy lifestyles.
The trick is how to reign this in, and different things work for different people. I like to take stock once a week to check that “I’ve been meaning to do that” list to determine what things are still feasible, and what needs to be let go. I recently had to let go of a small cross stitch project for somebody when I messed it up so badly that I couldn’t get the gift to them in time. I made the same mistake that we all make of misjudging time. If I had thought of it and started sooner, I would have been able to salvage it, but I put other things ahead of it, and in the end, I failed. On the other hand, I recently realized that I need to clean out my cedar chest, and I want to do that by creating a scrapbook to reign in a lot of the notes, clippings, programs, etc in there. The issue is that I plan to work on my writing in July, so I decided to make that my crafting project for August. It’s going to be a big one, but I hope that I can get it done the next time I shift from writing to promotion. It’s on the schedule, but I’m purposely delaying it until a time when I know I’ll be able to focus on it almost exclusively.
Other people may employ other methods. I’ve tried making a list, and knocking out something when I have time to do it. I’ve also tried designating a certain period of time (like a few days or a week) to knock out the “I’ve Been Meaning To –“ list. This didn’t work well, because it’s hard to block out large periods of time for personal projects with a full time job, a home, exercise, writing, family stuff, etc – maybe it would work for others, but I couldn’t seem to handle it. It seems that most people deal with this with the infamous “Bucket List.” They make a master list of things they want to do before they die, and they knock items off it when opportunity arises. That forces you to focus on the “big picture” which can help with prioritizing what really matters, but I’m not comfortable with making my demise the focus of my achievement or reaching my goals. I want to do things to enjoy life, not to knock them off a list before I die. But I guess others see it in a different light.
I say do what works for you, but please just do it. Don’t wait until time forces your hand. In the end, you’ll do it or you won’t. Better to make the decision sooner when you have more control, rather than later when you’re at the mercy of uncontollable elements.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.
Bye!
The truth is that we all do it. There’s only so much time, and once the necessities are taken care of, we have to prioritize how we use the time that’s left. There’s also an issue of resources available: if you don’t have them, you may have to wait to gather them, and that requires you to make a long term decision on whether to meet this goal. Whether it’s a limit of time or resources, some things have to be deferred until later or dismissed – and nobody wants to be a quitter, which means that the deferral list tends to grow. Defer too long, and it takes the demands of time running out to force you to make a decision on whether to act or let it go. That’s not a comfortable position to be in, and yet it happens all too often in our complicated, busy lifestyles.
The trick is how to reign this in, and different things work for different people. I like to take stock once a week to check that “I’ve been meaning to do that” list to determine what things are still feasible, and what needs to be let go. I recently had to let go of a small cross stitch project for somebody when I messed it up so badly that I couldn’t get the gift to them in time. I made the same mistake that we all make of misjudging time. If I had thought of it and started sooner, I would have been able to salvage it, but I put other things ahead of it, and in the end, I failed. On the other hand, I recently realized that I need to clean out my cedar chest, and I want to do that by creating a scrapbook to reign in a lot of the notes, clippings, programs, etc in there. The issue is that I plan to work on my writing in July, so I decided to make that my crafting project for August. It’s going to be a big one, but I hope that I can get it done the next time I shift from writing to promotion. It’s on the schedule, but I’m purposely delaying it until a time when I know I’ll be able to focus on it almost exclusively.
Other people may employ other methods. I’ve tried making a list, and knocking out something when I have time to do it. I’ve also tried designating a certain period of time (like a few days or a week) to knock out the “I’ve Been Meaning To –“ list. This didn’t work well, because it’s hard to block out large periods of time for personal projects with a full time job, a home, exercise, writing, family stuff, etc – maybe it would work for others, but I couldn’t seem to handle it. It seems that most people deal with this with the infamous “Bucket List.” They make a master list of things they want to do before they die, and they knock items off it when opportunity arises. That forces you to focus on the “big picture” which can help with prioritizing what really matters, but I’m not comfortable with making my demise the focus of my achievement or reaching my goals. I want to do things to enjoy life, not to knock them off a list before I die. But I guess others see it in a different light.
I say do what works for you, but please just do it. Don’t wait until time forces your hand. In the end, you’ll do it or you won’t. Better to make the decision sooner when you have more control, rather than later when you’re at the mercy of uncontollable elements.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great rest of the week.
Bye!
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