EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
What she can and can’t accomplish in a day…
A month…
And a year…
– Pamela Redmond Satran
The quote above could have been written for me.
Every day, I think of so many things that really can benefit from my time and attention, and when I list them out, it seems reasonable to stretch for more, and then a little more, and then even more…
And it’s almost universally too much.
So, for the rest of this year, which has presented me at least a mountain range of things to do in addition to the things I was already doing (and made some things that had consumed a great deal of my energy suddenly irrelevant), I am going to shift my focus and make my first steps toward acquiring some vital information…
I need to learn where my personal limits are:
What can I accomplish in an hour?
What can I accomplish in a day?
What can I accomplish in a week?
What can I accomplish in a month?
What can I accomplish in a season?
What can I accomplish in a year?
But those questions feel like I’m asking myself “how much can I squeeze in?” And, reading that list up there, I feel the same old tension, the same slight edge of panic that I will never get to it all, or be doing enough.
I think that’s where the problem is. Looking at it this way puts me in checklist mode. I need to tip my head, look at it sideways, upside down, maybe even through funhouse mirrors, binoculars, microscopes, 3D glasses, or stained glass…
I need a different angle, and new shadings.
And so the noodling begins…
I need to see not how much I can get done, but to figure out what is most important to get done:
For myself
For my children
For our animal companions
For our home
For my wider circle of family and friends
For professional development
For others
Aha! Now I think I’m on to something. There’s kind of an order here – maybe the beginnings of a priority list?
My next post will deal with just this – how to set newer and saner priorities. Look for it at the end of the week, in this space!
I really hope you can figure out what works best for you!
Thanks, Fallon!
I do seem to be on the right track – or at least a better one than I’ve been on for the last few years. I’ll keep on fine-tuning and adapting, and I think I will find that saner but still productive place.
I think I’m finally on to something. One category per block, three things per category. Two days off from blocking, and two half days. No more than six working blocks a day.
Seems to be my happy place, at the moment.
What you’re saying reminds me of the days I had an accomplishment book. I got so overwhelmed by what I didn’t do that I never celebrated what I did do. So for a while, I listed all my wins for a given day. But slowly it reverted to a checklist. From there, I went into militant mode and scheduled the larger part of my day (7am to 4pm) by 15-minute chunks. But as I fell behind schedule I started to drown in despair as I failed to meet my timelines. Right now I have a hierarchy of priorities in which I try and tack my to do-s. Though, the feeling of not getting enough dones eats at me.
Basically, I’m wishing you luck. I’m wishing you success in finding the right balance for you. And I am letting you know, keep at it no matter what happens. If you outgrow systems or need to revisit old/create new ones. Whatever it is, be good to you.
Hi, Gloria!
I so know that feeling of overwhelm. Since Jim died (maybe before, when he got sick, or even earlier, when he started his business), there’s been a tremendous amount of of things to do. At first, I thought I could do them all, or that I should. And maybe I can, but not all at once.
I’ve had to accept that I can only do so much, and that that’s going to be far less than I want it to be. I’m trying to learn to be okay with that and celebrate the things I do. I’ve been blocking the day into two hour chunks and only schedule three things per block. If I finish them, I don’t move ahead; I keep the time for myself.
If I don’t get any of these things done, it’s okay. Sometimes life works in a different way – dogs need to be walked, kids need to be talked to, and the house always needs all kinds of things.
And sometimes I just need to do something like yesterday, when I decided to go with Lise to a home decor consignment shop more or less on a whim.
Jim used to have a motto. “Eat dessert first.”
I’m learning.
I hope you will, too, and that you’ll be good to you, as well.