I’m
honestly a bit stunned by how many days I’ve lost recently. I
mean, complete days, gone.
I
suppose if I’m being honest, there was some productivity to be
found in the results. It wasn’t truly wasted time and effort.
Still… wasn’t planned… forced other things to get adjusted… and
it sure felt like waking up in the morning moved directly into
turning off lights and heading to bed.
Here’s
a little secret: I don’t always focus all that well.
The
other day I was headed outside to get the mail. On the way, I
spotted some empty bags we use for groceries, which needed to
be returned to the car. So, figuring I was headed out into the
driveway anyway, I turned back and grabbed my car keys.
When
I got to the car, there was a layer of snow on it. It was that
somewhat wet snow that isn’t too difficult to move. I knew the
temperatures were expected to drop in the afternoon, which meant
that if I left it the windshield would end up covered not with
snow, but ice. I left the bags on the back seat and headed to
the garage, where the snow brushes for the cars are. While clearing
off the windshield, I realized the brushes needed to be in the
cars and not the garage, so I went back to the house because I
only had one set of keys. I picked up another brush and… hey…
why is that ladder over there?
I
took the brushes out to the cars and made sure that was taken
care of, then headed back to the garage to put away the ladder.
I hung up the car keys and joined my wife in the living room.
She asked if we had any mail.
It’s
distractions like that taking over moments of my day. But it’s
more than that.
One
day I was supposed to head out shopping. I don’t like making multiple
trips out these days, preferring to line up a sweep of errands
into a single run, and then get in and out of the stores as quickly
as possible with as few interactions with people as possible.
That approach shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
As
Terry and I talked for a few minutes to see if there was anything
else we might need, a few items popped up and I needed to adjust
my journey. Two of the new additions weren’t available at stores
close to home. Just the new driving time added an hour to my run.
We also decided that instead of cooking at home, grabbing a takeout
meal made more sense. That was the good idea. The crazy idea was
that since I was going to be in an area we don’t get to that often,
but also have a few restaurants we like, picking up something
from two different places was the choice.
One
store and ten minutes of driving. Switched to three stores, two
restaurants, and more than an hour of driving. I basically went
from no more than thirty minutes to wrap up my list to more than
three hours.
Honestly,
it’s not the distractions of planning and opportunity that are
troubling me. Two restaurants? I finished all my errands, including
the ones that got added in. Opportunity was there, and we agreed
to use it. But a ladder put away and the mail never retrieved?
Not quite as forgivable.
The
other day I went to get some water. Saw that the dishwasher had
finished and unloaded it. While putting things away, I realized
I could get out some things I was going to need for dinner later
and save myself some time on the other end. I went back to my
chair without the water.
A
few weeks ago, I had three errands to run. One was the post office
with some mail, and another was a package I needed to return.
Put on some sneakers, got in the car, and finished getting stuff
at the hardware store before it hit me that I needed to go all
the way back home to get the mail and the package I had left on
the counter in order to go put my sneakers on.
And
now I’m finishing the essay, but wondering about an oil delivery
that’s on the way. Should I clean up a path to the side of the
house? Maybe. But first, I’ve got to figure out what made those
tracks across the yard…