Cleanup duty
“Do the hard jobs first The easy jobs will take care of themselves” — Dale Carnegie
In this instance, they did not Mr. Carnegie, Sir.
This writing is Certified Human
The Obstacle
The things left off the list can add up.
It’s important we do what’s important. Focusing our attention on what we value brings order and meaning to our life and allows us to spend our time, energy, and attention where it’s needed the most.
It comes at a cost when the undone, urgent things begin to stack up and don’t go away.
The small things can only be put off for so long. Too many days pass and they begin to stack up, to become a monster themselves.
When that happens, we have to stop and clean up the mess.
The Gift And Opportunity
When we focus on what’s important, the main things in our lives get our attention. Our time. Energy. And effort.
It’s the way things should mostly be.
Sometimes this means ignoring the little things, not avoiding them, putting them off.
Every once in a while, we need to take some time out of our day to address the urgent things in life that aren’t taking care of themselves.
The little tasks we put off and did not resolve on their own.
We have to find a balance.
And sometimes that means stopping to clean up the little things.
The Practice Of Self-Mastery
• Focus on what’s important
• Notice what’s stacking up
• Clean up the little things
• Refocus on what matters
CHEAT CODE: NOTICE WHAT’S STACKING UP → CLEAN UP → REFOCUS
The Why
This was a busy weekend.
I wasn’t able to do the things that I wanted or needed to do. It was my son’s birthday and my sister was in town from out of town.
Things had to be put off. Little things that get pushed off all week weren’t done.
Monday rolled around with a stack of small things undone that weren’t going away on their own, and by now they really were urgent.
A good portion of my day was playing catch up and cleaning up a bunch of little tasks that weren’t important enough to take over my day, but that added up over time.
My weekend was enjoyable. My son knew I was there with him. And I was able to see my sister without distraction.
It came at the sacrifice of part of my Monday, and that was the cost of being present with those I love.
I didn’t stress about it at the time. And I’m not stressing about it now.
The little tasks are done and the rest of this week can be refocused to the important.
Sometimes we have to be okay putting things off for the greater things, not avoiding for the sake of avoiding.
There will be time for clean up later.
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