I am a subscriber to “Cook’s Illustrated,” a magazine. The editor, Christopher Kimball, writes an opening page on life in Vermont. It has the feel of an east coast version of Lake Woebegone, and frequently has nothing to do with cooking. This month, he provides his version of the Vermont Creed: “Seen worse.” There are fourteen steps based on familiar sayings such as “Make Hay While the Sun Shines,” “Check the Weather,” and “Waste Not, Want Not.” The one which is resonating through me is “When You Don’t Know What To Do, Do the Work in Front of You,” which is apparently something President Calvin Coolidge was heard to say.
Every so often I feel so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things which need to be done, that I don’t know where to start. I’ll stare at my desk, knowing that I could enter bills, or pay them, or file, or fill out applications for credit. I could balance checkbooks, or respond to requests for information. In the rest of the house I could clean, do the dishes, make my bed, dust, reorganize the bookshelves, feed the birds, go out to weed or water, or God forbid! CLEAN THE BASEMENT!!
Sometimes it just seems difficult to decide where to start. I hate indecision. I know from past efforts that if I simply choose one activity and get started, that the rest will fall into place. I won’t get it all done in one day, but that’s the nature of being a homeowner, or a bookkeeper, or a housekeeper.
I like Nike’s logo: “Just Do It!” That’s amazing advice for everyone, not just those facing exercise. You start with one small step and the rest will fall into place. Think of it as “One small step for man..”
I’ve come to understand that clutter saps my attention. I accomplish more during the day if I start by making my bed and cleaning the kitchen. I’ve created a morning ritual designed to clear the decks and get me out the doors in time for exercise three mornings a week. It’s so satisfying, that I find myself waking early on the weekend, when I could sleep in, and those days when I ignore that routine, I’m likely to waste my time.
So, I guess I must have some Vermont in me, or perhaps I’m related to Calvin Coolidge. As Kimball points out, the upside to “Do the Work in Front of You,” is that even if things don’t turn out, you’ll have your chores done! *G*.
So, everyone say it with me: “When You Don’t Know What to Do, Do the Work in Front of You!”
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
It is great that “what’s in front of you” works for you and others. For me, it’s a disease. I get distracted so easily that I spend time doing “what’s in front of me”…without regard for prioritization or finishing what I’ve started. I used to characterize my day at work as a 7-layer day or a 12-layer day, referring to the numbers of projects that I had worked on that day. Since finishing one project rarely happened before another pop-up job came along, the paperwork for one project got buried under the paperwork for the next. At the end of the day, I had to do SOMETHING with all of those layers to get them off of my desk.
In weak defense of myself, when a problem stopped the production line or threatened the delivery date of an airplane that was in for servicing, it demanded my immediate attention. At other times, though, I just got distracted into delving into another (existing) project. I’m one who loves to start new things but who is not all that great at dotting the last i.
Well what usually is in front of me is my laptop. I get nothing accomplished there either!
My photo files are a mess, I sign up for every thing new, and I stumble through nonsense, way to much.
Maybe I need to change what’s in front of me. lol
Cop car…as I’ve said in the past, we could be twins! I have the very same problem, and it shows up when I am left with a ton of filing, and twenty quilt projects to finish. I love your description of the 7-layer or 12-layer day. I knew I needed to get dinner started, but I sat at the computer to type up a list of meals for this week, and got distracted by the need to answer comments here. As I was trying to write a response, Dear Husband walked up and started talking to me about some paperwork he wanted me to complete. THIS time, I finished the comment (so I could close the window and not worry about loosing anything), finished the paperwork, and created an additional document to go with the paperwork, and then realized I had forgotten all about dinner. So, you can see, I really DO understand about your layers. I’d like a month just to work on quilts!
Janeywan, I’m beginning to wonder if the computer isn’t my enemy! Like you, my photo files are a wreck, and while they are important to me, there are SO many other things claiming my time…..like MY MOTHER….and the businesses, and the house.
Many of my friends are now using Facebook, and I know they would like to have me join them more online, but I just don’t have the TIME! I think I need to get up and move away from my keyboard, right now.
By the way….have I remembered to say that you have BEAUTIFUL HAIR???!
I like how it rhymes. I think I’ll put it on my chalkboard tomorrow morning. It’s good advice to just get moving. Sometimes the priorities take their rightful place.