You are going along with your tidy to-do list decorated with empty check-boxes waiting to be marked.
And then, WHAM!
You get hijacked like the rhino in today’s picture and carried off to some unknown destination.
Hours go by, and you are tossed to and fro by this new crisis and that new task.
Before you know it, the day is done and your eyes find that tidy to-do list. Still pristine as the moment you created it, unsullied by your hand. You glumly pick up your pen and add six new items to that list so you won’t forget to take care of everything tomorrow.
Ever had one of those days?
What about one of those weeks? Or months?
What do you do about it?
Read more books about time management?
Swear off email for a day? [Note that I said “swear off,” not “swear at.”)
Throw away your list and pretend it never existed?
Go on vacation and blame everything on “being away from my desk”?
Work on weekends or evenings when it is blissfully quiet?
Or do you get determined to get it all done if it kills you or those around you?
We all have our busy times. And we all manage the “stress” differently. I’m curious to hear what you do when your best-laid plans for getting things done go awry.
Meanwhile, try not to feel like the rhino in today’s photo.
[An earlier version of this post ran in 2014. I’d rather not think about the number of “rhino flying” days I’ve had in the last 10 years.]
Fun Friday – June 21, 2024
It’s true; Everyone has those days. But whatever cannot be done today can certainly be done tomorrow. The urgent (mortgage payments, credit card payments) can do damage to your credit report if not paid in a timely manner, but the world will not collapse if you miss a payment. I learned my lesson when the World Trade Center was attacked. I made a foolish financial decision on that day. Looking at my bank account I saw that I had lots of money so I paid many bills in advance . . . and bounced 5 checks. Like bank accounts we only have a set portion of time. If we categorize only the few things of greatest importance as urgent actions that absolutely must be performed on a certain day, we have freedom to NOT stress about what doesn’t get done one day, because there’s always tomorrow. And if tomorrow isn’t granted to us, we won’t care about what we left undone. and neither will those who love us.
The only thing needed is to keep the list of truly urgent matters tiny. Everything else can wait. (And by the way, my credit rating is still in the 800’s).
Poor rhino. And poor us when the things that we think are important turn out to be not so much. When an emergency or sickness comes upon us or someone we love, that’s when everything changes and our priorities have to change with it.
‘Don’t want another day like THAT!’
the one-eyed green-scaled monster said.
‘It was scary, tell you flat,
to have Andrew hiding ‘neath my bed.
He ranted, foamed and gibbered,
his beer-breath was a curse.
I closed my eye and quivered
for he did it all in sonnet-verse.
I pulled the covers o’er my head,
and found I could not scream.
I was sure I’d soon be dead,
or writ ’bout in some magazine,
and then came denouement so hard
when Mom came in…dressed like the Bard.’
Always love your sonnets, Andrew!
BAHAHAHAHA!! So thankful to see your humor is intact today, Andrew!
I give it to Father, remind Him (well, myself) that He wasn’t surprised, and that He’s the great organizer. Then I ask Him to help me prioritize. Then I move on to work that list.
Sometimes I get frustrated, but I’ve learned that is a waste of time and attests to not accomplishing ‘my’ plans.
I found I’m better off setting goals for a week and the only thing set to a day are required appointments, whether they are with doctors, bank, family, or business. The rest can shift as needed. At the end of the week, I can assess what bamboozled any goals and make a note of why.
The importance of goal tracking and measuring allows me to determine if I set a new goal too high for a project, if the week wound up flowing differently (more things to do outside the norm or I got sick), or if I slouched at what I should be doing.
It helps that I used to be a project manager and engineer before I wound up on disability and finally figured out this writing gig was the thing for me at this stage in life. Nothing is set in stone and it is best to add in what I like to call fudge factor time. I’ve seen enough projects delayed and cost more because something wasn’t thought out correctly.
Althea, I heartily agree. My “to dos” tend to be global (even longer than weekly at times), and they tend to include everything that ought to be done, not just a do-or-die-today list.
Like you, I circle the ones that aren’t done, and add them to a new list, a new pocket card, along with whatever new things come along, and work on that.
The only time I make daily lists is when I’m running errands or shopping, which really only amounts to a timetable and a “route map” which I tend to follow point-by-point. Usually, gets everything accomplished.
(LOL, today, however, I forgot to get gas, because between the grocery store and the convenience store I didn’t look at the list! Oh well. The gas down the road was a bit more expensive, but only 5 cents a gallon.
That fudge factor you build in is vitally important to me, too. I’ve always said the true value of a plan is to help you know how far you’ve diverted, and how to revise the plan to go forward. Five years of covering NASA back in the Apollo days taught me to appreciate both the value of careful planning, and the way a plan gives you the basis for making seat-of-the-pants revisions during those inevitable emergencies. Good luck with your writing.
When I’ve had “one of those days,” I turn to the Lord and say, “Okay, Lord. Since You order my steps, You obviously allowed this detour in my life for a reason. So, even if I don’t understand it, I rejoice in the midst of it, trusting that You will guide me through it. Show me what I need to learn from this incident. As you multiplied the loaves and the fish, multiply my time so that I can complete the work You’ve called me to do.”
Thank you for your emails! I really like them!
Steve, I just circle whatever it was on today’s list, showing that it didn’t get done, and then put it on tomorrow’s list. If I do that enough times for a given item, I figure it wasn’t that important and cross it off the list completely! Less stress, unless it comes back and bites me in the . . . whatever, a few weeks later. (Please note that my filing from months ago is still waiting in my office. Like dust, it keeps, as long as you don’t get it wet. )
Hi, Steve. First, I remind myself to breathe. After this, with endorphins free-flowing in my head, I remember to pray and ask for His peace. With increased clarity I am able to decide my next step: return to the list, pick which item is most important, or go do something else entirely off my list for a change of perspective. Breathing is the first thing… it returns us to our first breath from God.
Learned to schedule less on each day! Yes there are days and projects that need many tasks. Even schedule less per week or month. Less per quarter. I find that I get more done as I stay focused on one task in the project. I realize it’s not always possible!
It’s a matter of priorities to me. Last year I got a phone call that caused a screaming halt to my to do list and everything else. My brother, in the early stages of dementia had been victimized by a woman who moved into his apartment, took his bank cards and helped herself to his money. A caring friend wondered why she hadn’t been able to reach him so went to visit and found several people there, stoned and drunk. My brother was alone in his room, terribly dehydrated and on death’s door. The Dr. said if she hadn’t come by he would have been gone in a matter of days. That meant a 7 hour drive, one way, to deal with the police, clearing out his apartment (he was not able to return to it since the trauma exacerbated the dementia), making arrangements for his care in a nursing home, etc. It was some time before I was able to, or cared about that to-do list, but eventually I got back to it.
Family comes first.
This brings to mind a poem by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton- or at least part of the poem.
‘Settle down cobwebs,
dust go to sleep,
I’m rocking my baby,
and babies don’t keep.’
An adult version might go something like this-
Quiet down chore list,
No check marks today,
I’m in God’s keeping,
His will I pray.
I hope your monster to-do list shrinks according to God’s will, Mr. Laube. Right now I have a mini-monster to-do list, the kind you get when company is coming in from out of town for a week and there are a million and one things to do. I will get done all I can get done, hoping for the best, it’s really all I can do. Oh, and I might shed a few tears here and there, as a release valve and carry on. So much in life is out of our hands, including all our best laid plans. The Bible tells us –
Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
No matter what is on those lists of ours, ‘If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that.’
Pro 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
I sigh and say, really? Alrighty then.
I have lots of days that distract me because I have a special needs daughter who needs 24-7 care and has seizures everyday. She had 2 just while I was typing this. Thank the Lord they were short.
Having her has taught me to not grip hard on my to-do list. It’s totally okay to not get everything done. That was super hard at first, but now, it’s just plain freeing.
A nice glass of Malbec doesn’t hurt, either. Heh.
Dear Pam, Couldn’t help but reach out to you for several reasons. First, I have appreciated some of your comments on this blog/newsletter from Steve Laube.
Second, my heartfelt compassion regarding your child with physical problems. I had years ago an MPS Hurler Syndrome child…God led us to phenomenal help when there was no medical help…and that included help for seizures. If you want to follow up on this, please call me at 208 543 8013. I hope this is allowed on this comment page.
Thanks, Jan! Anna has Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, a rare and uncontrollable, incurable seizure disorder. We’re actually getting ready to try a new medication just for LGS. Before now, there hasn’t been any meds for it. We aren’t hopeful, but hey, you never know, right?
I wrote down your number. Not sure when I’ll be able to call, but I have it just in case. What time zone are you in? Thanks!
I know it sounds very “Christian” to say this, but I’ve learned to trust God’s plan. (Which, since I am a Christian, is rather appropriate.) That doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated—sometimes I do. That doesn’t mean I never panic—sometimes I do that, too. But God has used some rather dramatic events to show me He works all things—including delays—for my good. Some events call for quick action to correct, but most of the time I can take delays in stride and just continue on. Life feels better that way.
I look at my to-do list and ask myself, “Will any of this come up for discussion when I stand before the Throne of grace at the end of my earthly days?” If the answer is no, I try to let it slide.
Funny you should send this out today. I am looking a three (3!) pocket-size “to-do list” cards with only, maybe, 40% of the items scratched off. Happens continually. I just plug along, like eating that proverbial elephant (one bite at a time).
Today was “one of those days,” but the interruption was a funeral I only learned about last night. I could say it “killed” half the day, but that would be most irreverent. It was the right thing to do. The time spent with old and new friends was a blessing. And I was able to get some shopping done that would have waited till Thursday.
True, here I am at 8:20 p.m. with these lists, consolidating them into one fresh one, re-planning my day tomorrow, and prioritizing things that can wait and those that can’t. Somehow, the Lord provides either the time or the energy, and stressing only gets in His way.
Honestly, what eventually happens with a number of my “to dos” is that if they have clung to the list for too long, I discover that they really didn’t need to be done, or that they somehow took care of themselves, and I gently retire them.
Uh, huh. Today. Great morning and early afternoon. Then wham, bam, my knee went wacko on me. So no, no gym. Praying it’ll heal tonight. So yeah, I do feel like that rhino right now.
I am bringing JOY into the journey. It is changing everything.
—a Christian realist (really hanging onto His Word to make it through life)
I start prioritizing, combining and delegating if possible. Sometimes I just have to let it go and Let God.