. . . and more on things I can!
Almost exactly a year ago, on July 4, 2016, I started posting about the upcoming election on my personal Facebook page. I had never been particularly interested in politics before but had become greatly exercised about the possible outcome in November. My goal was to change a few minds or at least open them a crack. (I don’t post directly about politics on this page or on my author Facebook page.
Ain’t that just the way it always is? You finally solve a problem after weeks or even longer of delay, but one little thing is still wrong. So what do you focus on? That one little thing, of course.
Yesterday morning the second set of carpet installers arrived and immediately showed that they knew what they were doing. I mentioned to the guy before I left that they needed to check all the thresholds, which he assured me he would do. Arriving home after a great morning of Bible study and fellowship, I allowed myself not one second of enjoyment before going to the kitchen threshold and checking to make sure it had been done.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen, available in many editions and formats. Link is to Amazon page. You can also visit the Getting Things Done website.
I’ve heard of David Allen and his “getting things done” (or “GTD”) method a number of times in the past and finally decided to read/listen to his classic book which first came out in 2001. I must have been reminded of him recently in some way, although I don’t remember just how, and I got the audio book from the library. It’s read by the author, who sounds very engaging and thoughtful, and I was really fired up by his introductory chapters. Then he kind of lost me as he headed into the chapters that delineate exactly how you’re supposed to do things his way. Most of his work has been done in the business world, and so many of his examples are drawn from that arena. I think that was part of why I drifted away.
I said last week that every Monday was going to be a Progress Post. Well, today, Wednesday, is the first post I’ve written this week. Monday our peerless contractor and his son worked most of the day on installing our very small number of cabinet units, and I kept thinking that I should run and take a picture, but I wasn’t sure where my camera was. They were actually supposed to be on a much bigger job but they made time for us. I wanted a before and after set of pictures for today, from all the boxes on the kitchen floor to everything being put away, but all I have is this one shot that was taken partway through the process. (Pretty bad shot!)
. . . is one less day you have left.
Sound morbid? It’s not. I quoted my dear friend Nancy’s father, something said at his funeral and which I wrote about last summer:
“What you do today is important, because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.”
Have you ever seen the pictures of King Tut’s tomb as it looked the day that Howard Carter first broke through the wall, revealing those objects to the light of day for the first time in thousands of years? Well then, you may see a certain resemblance in these pictures. We too have our precious objects all piled up together. But, although you may not think that it looks as if anything has been done except for dumping, but believe you me (as my dad used to say), there’s been a ton of work done (mostly by Jim) to get this far. And now I’m realizing that I can get rid of a ton. (Might have been nice if I’d realized this before the move, but oh well.)
The Big Thing: How to Complete Your Creative Project Even if You’re a Lazy, Self-Doubting Procrastinator Like Me by Phyllis Korkki, 2016, available through Amazon and many other sources. (Title link is to my Amazon Affiliate page.) Visit the author’s website at www.phylliskorkki.com/.
What are some of my own “big things”? I want to:
1. Prepare all of my music posts (now mostly over on the “Behind the Music” page) for use by choral groups, re-formatting them into pdf files and eventually (I hope) making some money from them.
2. Finish up my e-book on the Benghazi tragedy. (I’ve done a ton of research on this topic and would like to put together a straight-down-the-line “here’s what happened” account that brings all of the threads together.)
Are you familiar with the terms “maximizer” and “satisficer”? I notice that the spellcheck on my website platform has flagged both of those words as being misspelled, but since my hero Gretchen Rubin uses them they must be okay. (She’s not the only one who uses the words, but I believe I got them first from her.) i guess I should define those terms. So a “maximizer” keeps looking and looking for the perfect whatever-it-s, comparing and analyzing and second-guessing. (Some people actually enjoy this process; others are driven crazy by it but feel they have to keep going.)
If we use it correctly, that is.
So I’m continuing to gain wisdom, both practical and spiritual, from my wonderful Bible study group. A couple of weeks ago I was a little puzzled by the fact that the teaching leader’s phone kept chiming as she worked her way through our discussion of the study questions. Why on earth doesn’t she turn that off? I wondered. She’d just reach over, touch the screen, and continue. I thought she was getting text messages or something. Couldn’t they wait?
So the titles of yesterday’s and today’s posts fit together: Calm down, Martha! But do your work well.
A couple of ideas culled from a recently-heard sermon at my church on work: Avoid working simply for a paycheck (“working for the weekend”–as the little guy in the picture seems to be doing) or valuing yourself solely by your work and how well you do it. Instead, do your work for God’s glory and the good of mankind. A pretty high bar!