What is it that you keep putting off until tomorrow?
For me it's anything that involves the post office. Understand, I have dear relations who've spent entire careers working in the postal service -- just the nicest, most diligent and honest people -- so don't begin to complain about their work ethic.
It's not them, it's me.
Each day begins with a list, you know the kind, all forward-thinking, earnestly-hopeful, pragmatic. A list implies the promise of accomplishment: These Things Will Get Done.
This is how it goes.
- Call Mom about next week's birthday dinner. (Easy to do because I like my mother and there is a meal involved. Check.)
- Get medical forms signed for boys' summer camps. (This trip requires that I talk to people who I know and really enjoy, sweet pediatric nurses, and usually ends up in some cackling and a dissection of People Magazine. Check.)
(Yes of course the fun things are top of the list, what did you expect -- the post office?)
- Write newsletter article. (You already know I got this one done because here we are. Also, articles mean deadlines, which means they have to get done and today's the day. Check.)
- Meet clients at 1:30pm and 3pm. (I love to coach and there is a meeting time involved where people will be waiting and counting on me to show up, which to me is the most urgent kind of deadline, so this one's a lock. CAN YOU SEE I AM ROCKING THIS LIST?)
- Make a pie. (Again, food, and this time a dessert. This one gets done in the afternoon mostly because I'm wishing for something sweet and who doesn't love pie?)
- Get the mail and maybe sort it out for later. (The irony is not lost -- I love getting the mail.)
And look! It's nearing 5:30pm, the very time when everyone at my house erupts into a raging hunger for something more substantial than what's left of that pie. Somehow I've neglected to add "Figure out a dinner" to today's list, and so must rush out to the store and cobble something together. (Also I like to talk to the florist lady and the wine guy, plus my regular cashier. She knows every code for every vegetable, even Swiss chard! Hi Jennifer!)
Coincidentally, most government offices close at around 6pm.
- Go to post office. (Hatefully languishing here at the bottom, thumbing its nose at me, mocking what earlier seemed like solid wins. Not checked. Again. Still.)
Sometimes I try to trick myself by instead listing, "Mail packages." But in point of fact, however cleverly presented, this chore stays on my To Do list day after day, like a old wart that can't be sloughed. Every morning you wake up and check. Yep, wart's still there.
You are asking the same question I ask myself every day. WHY, WHY must I make things so difficult for myself over what amounts to a twenty minute trip? It's not as though I'm an escaped felon who might be recognized near the sketches. And what happens when I allow these packages to languish? You know.
- Wasted money (some of the packages are returns...)
- Wasted time (wonder how many collective hours I've spent just hating on the list!)
- Aggravation of the poor people who are waiting for my packages! (Very sorry, I am getting better, Robin, Elsie, Melinda, and various on-line retail establishments.)
- My own daily annoyance with myself for dragging this out
You and I CAN get our acts together, attics/garages cleaned, doctoral theses/manuscripts/portfolios submitted, weights program launched, seasonal decorations stored and packages mailed. I have already improved and can tell you how to do it too.
First, it takes some focused thought and a new commitment to the great things that will come into our lives when we treat ourselves and our valuable time with respect. That's what we'll learn at my next LifeInspired free group coaching session (see sidebar).
We can do it, and we'll feel so much better getting it done.
