Take
a look at your to-do list for today (or the next few days). Give
it a bit of consideration.
What’s
there that has to get done (and perhaps even get done now)?
I
know professional efforts… your job… might take up some priorities
when it comes to using your time. And maybe there’s something
personal with a high importance, like visiting your parents or
a special event.
I’m
wondering about things of perhaps a more general standing. Those
assorted tasks that take up your time, have moments when they
need to be addressed, and likely involve efforts you really don’t
enjoy.
Maybe
you need to mow the lawn. Weather forecast has rain heading in
for the next five days, plus after today your daylight hours are
packed. So, you really want to get the lawn mowed today because
mowing it in a downpour at three in the morning really isn’t making
it any more enticing. But is it an absolute must? Will the world
crash around you if you don’t get it mowed?
You
might need to head out to the grocery store. You need more milk,
but a morning or two without cereal wouldn’t be the worst thing.
You’ve still got eggs, bread and plenty of coffee.
How
do you get yourself motivated and approach the things you need
to get done?
There’s
a classic definition of character that offers simply it’s what
you do when no one is watching. And in a way, that’s the path
we’re headed down here.
The
lawn may look a bit shaggy and prove slightly more difficult if
you wait another entire week before heading out, but not much
else will change. In fact, that headlight on the front of your
mower has always dazzled you into thoughts of what it would be
like to mow in the dark. More to the point, there isn’t much of
a personal danger in losing the job to the rain and putting it
off for a bit.
But
put off paying the bills and you may be dancing with some dangerous
repercussions. Wait to make reservations for your anniversary
dinner and you could lose that table at your spouse’s favorite
restaurant… you know, the one where you got engaged.
For
reasons practical and sentimental, we value some things more highly
than others. We place a greater importance upon them, and when
it comes to getting things done that creates a reality where there
is a to-do list and a must-to-do list.
Around
our house we have something we refer to as mind chatter. (I usually
picture it more as a group of chimpanzees let loose in my head
with pots and pans.) The idea involves those thoughts and such
that strike you in moments of quiet, then won’t let you settle
down. You head to bed to go to sleep, settle in, and suddenly
find yourself reliving the day’s accomplishments while considering
everything that needs to get done tomorrow. Usually, mildly annoying.
But then there comes the night when you’re convinced you’ve missed
something. Something you’ll forget if you don’t remember it. Something
you’ll forget tomorrow because you did remember it now. Something
you won’t have time to do.
A
few weeks ago, I forgot my dad’s birthday. Now, I didn’t really
forget it. I was preparing for a trip and didn’t remember to send
out a card for his birthday before I left. I found myself on a
five-hour drive with the thought taking form that by the time
I got back home anything I sent would arrive after his birthday.
I needed to add send dad a card to my trip. What had been important
suddenly worked its way to priority. And there I was, with more
than two hours of driving still ahead of me, no pen or paper nearby
to scribble a reminder, and the chimps warming up on the back
seat.
So,
before the mind chatter monkeys rob you of sleep tonight, I’m
wondering what happened to you today that suddenly rearranged
your plans. What types of things, from making dinner to getting
that television show on your record list, came around and reset
your activities? Did it arrive in a text message? An e-mail? The
weather forecast?
Whatever
it is, I hope things are all set now. Go get some rest. You deserve
it. You had a hard day.