Bonjour!
When I decided to take the step towards my "author girl" dream (i.e., starting a blog, which I am calling my first self-publishing pursuit), I never really thought about the implications to my to-do list. I figured, start a blog, write for someone other than yourself (even if it's only my family and uber-supportive friends who read it).
Every time something pisses me off these days, I think, "Hah. I'll blog about this". Likewise for anything that is amusing me, or any big lessons I am learning in my self-help book-bingeing of late. PS-- This self-help stuff gets addictive when you hate your day job, let me tell you. I have a HUGE list of ideas to write about... but where are the posts?
I seem to be a very dedicated "To-do List" person. The back of an old envelope carries me through my week and I cannot stress enough how very efficient I have become. My mother always says she wishes she had my organization skills, and friends make fun of me for my dinosaur version of the Blackberry. But it works wonders and I think "What a good girl am I" as I get things crossed off.
My point today is simple: I fear my existence is turning in to my to-do lists. Are to-do lists running my life or am I running my life myself?
The yogis speak about samskaras, which are patterns of thinking that one adopts and develops, and in reading up on the concept, I am learning that they are generally a pretty crappy and restrictive pattern of thinking. My to-do list is stifling me and what gets squeezed out of it is the time to actively be in the moment, and enjoy a day's events, rather than rush through them. How many times do I think, "Call your parents. Call a friend. Take a nap. Sit with your pets who adore you" but refute the thoughts with "No time now". All this coming from a CHILDLESS person's brain, too!
So today, I ask the universe this.
In a world where efficiency and speediness and effectiveness are revered, and procrastination and relaxation are poo-pooed as laziness, are we missing the point? Would it be wiser to stop trying to take on the world, and instead let the world take on a piece of us?
Salad Girl's tip of the post:
Set your alarm a half-hour later than usual and let the world just deal. You'll get there when you get there! I'll put it on my list for tomorrow.....
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Hey,
ReplyDeleteFound your blog via Facebook and have been following for a little while (hope you don't mind). I enjoy your writing.
I'm a HUGE to-do list person, and I totally know what you mean about how they can take over your life. But they help keep my stress down because otherwise all the things I have to remember just swirl around in my head. At least once they're written down, I can relax and know that I won't forget about them.
And, you know, if you are good at following your to-do list, just add the "fun" stuff (which is actually the very-important stuff), like going to a movie, having coffee with a friend, sending an email, etc. Half my to-do lists are just names of people I want to respond to by email, phone, or Facebook. So, basically, if you add relaxation to your to-do list, you completely legitimize it! (And you can make it as high or low of a priority as you choose. I usually make mine high!).
Barb Janicek