Musings

“I have so much to do; I don’t know where to start.” Have you ever felt this way? It is too frequent that this thought comes to my mind, and so I just keep putting things off, all of it. Then I finally take the time to get started on my list of things to do. Why do I delay the things that I know need to be done? Well, it is only a matter of prioritizing and performing, and many of us just don’t know how to do that, set priorities.

Everything seems to fit into my “important” bag, but not everything is “urgent.” Getting to work on time is an important item, but the way that I am paid and the work that has been given to me doesn’t make it urgent. I can generally get everything that I need to do finished in short order, but that will make my day extremely long as I sit and try to make myself busy. That makes a world of difference to me, my staying busy; so, I drag out my assignments.

During the course of the day, I don’t let interruptions bother me. That is because I am pretty organized. I can stop doing what I am doing long enough to finish putting out a fire that someone else has burning out of control. I like bringing peace and calm to someone’s life when they are running around like a chicken with its head cut off. That’s what makes me feel good about my existence. However, I don’t like being in that position myself; so, I try to stay ahead far enough that I can take a break.

So, why do I keep adding more to my plate? That doesn’t make sense at all because I really enjoy the peace and calm. My day goes just fine when no one else is around to “throw a pebble into the serenity of my little pond.” The waves generated by that stone emanates into the surrounding area and rocks the boats everywhere. The further it gets from the center of impact the less effect it has. I like being on the periphery of the impact so I can stay calm.

It bothers me when others are in panic mode. I want to get as far away from them as possible or fix whatever has them in that mindset. My preference is that if they can’t do what needs to be done, then they need to move out of the way and let someone else handle it. Panic is contagious. Watch a herd of cattle if you don’t believe me. To interrupt the calm of the herd, all you have to do is spook one steer, and off they all go. So how can we prevent panic? Organize.

If you’ve go a lot to do, then the place to start is with organizing your tasks. Prioritize your tasks. Do the things with the shortest deadline, and get it out of the way. Look again for the urgent, and give it your best effort. If something else that is important comes by “squeaking,” then don’t panic if its squeak is not as loud as another task. Just remember to get back to it as soon as possible. Put your list together and work it. Make sure that you leave room for the stones that will inevitably come flying out of nowhere.

In conclusion, organize, prioritize, and synthesize. It makes life so much easier.