Life happened, and I ended up taking an unplanned break from Through Her Eyes Blog for a few weeks. I spent most of this time working, traveling and preparing to move. Trying to keep up with everything on my “to do” list left me tired and overwhelmed. I told myself that I would get back on track with my writing as soon as I finished everything on my “to do” list.
This is the illusion of the “to do” list. We convince ourselves that we can finish everything by a certain date, and that life will calm down when the last item is crossed off of our list. Therein lies the deception. Rarely, if ever, do we complete all of the items on our “to do” list. New things take the place of the ones that we check off as done. That is the nature of a “to do” list–to have items on it to do.
The reality is that there will always be people to meet, calls to make and projects to complete. But regardless of who we are, or what we think we need to do, we have to remember that nothing is as important as our well-being and that of our loved ones. “To do” lists are a part of life. They are not life. I often have to remind myself that my “to do” list is not about getting everything done in the shortest amount of time.
Apparently I forgot this principle when it came to my upcoming move. I organized my move and everything was on schedule until I found out that there was a possibility for me to move earlier than expected. The painters and other repairmen working on the house notified me that they thought that they would finish a couple of days earlier than anticipated.
When I heard this news I considered rescheduling the movers and other services to try to take advantage of the earlier date. I pored over my “to do” list trying to figure out what needed to happen to make the new date work. The painters, repairmen, cleaning service, and movers would have to be scheduled back-t0-back, and everyone needed to finish on time. There would be no room for a delay.
After another sleepless night last night I acknowledged what was staring me in the face and keeping me up at night. The workmen ‘thought’ that they would finish early, but they were not sure. I finally admitted to myself that it would be lunacy to reschedule everything based on what may happen. With the return of my common sense I decided to leave my move on the more reasonable timetable.
I will not complete my “to do” list as soon as I would like, but I will still move. The difference is that now I will do so in a more relaxed manner that allows me to enjoy other aspects of my life during this time. Life is not always about the “to do” list. A big part of living is about the journey and enjoying the steps that we take along the way.
What or who are you putting off until you get everything done? Are you managing your “to do” list, or is it managing you? Time is valuable. Spend it wisely.
“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” – Harvey MacKay
Blessings.
See. Live. Enjoy.
