Catching and Keeping

We are back in Southern California.   We were only away for ten days, but it feels like ten weeks.  Sometimes it’s good to get away from our usual routine but coming Back to the Real World can be a shock.  It’s not that there’s anything really odious to be done … it’s just that the mountain of little things to do can seem odious.  As I’ve said before, my desk is a good indicator of my state of mind … and, as you can see, it’s a mess.  I have a lot of Catching Up to do.    There are chores, from cleaning my office before it’s lost forever to collecting my tax information so our attorney can do our company taxes next week. There are friends who I haven’t seen … even some whose phone calls I’ve ducked … to catch up with.   There’s writing … my posts have been scattered and my fiction project, Complications, neglected … and reading … both Stephen King on Writing and Sea Biscuit are half-read and I’ve been neglecting the Blogs I Read (my apologies … I’m back).   There is mental and emotional laundry to be dealt with which only happens when I give myself time for contemplation, something that can get lost in the rush to Catch Up.   And here it is, Top Sites Tuesday #90 – Two Thoughts on Tuesday.   My two thoughts are on Catching Up and Keeping Up.

Catching Up: My instinct is to look at the Mountain of Too Much, try to do a little bit of everything at once and then escape, whether it’s to the park or the internet or Home Depot (buying stuff to do the stuff I’m not doing).   I found a nice post on the Learning Strategies Blog on 3 Ways to Start Catching Up Before Exams.  There’s nothing I don’t know but we all need a reminder now and then.   I need to make a comprehensive list of what I need to do to catch up then prioritize the tasks, highlighting the most important, the ones I need to do first.   Sometimes, a seemingly meaningless task like cleaning my desk clears the way for me to do other tasks more efficiently.   Starting with a task I’d normally postpone (like doing the taxes) can make the list look less imposing once the first task is done.   I need to use my time efficiently, or, as the Learning Strategies Blog says, Use Your Time Like a Pro by using effectively using Buffer Time, the time I’d normally waste between tasks.   And finally, I need to Let Go of Guilt.   I am where I am.   Beating myself up because I’ve done it again doesn’t solve a thing.  According to Learning Strategies, Studies have shown that people who let go of their guilt also tend to procrastinate less, in comparison to people who blame themselves or rehash what they “should have” done.  Hmmm.

Keeping Up: Isn’t it interesting how the strategies for Catching Up will work for Keeping Up?   I need to get back to my daily to-do lists, effectively use my time, and let go of guilt.   But there is a difference.  Once the crisis is over and I’m All Caught Up (are we ever, really? Maybe that attitude has to go, come to think of it), I need to add down time and play time to my to-do lists (and not with the lowest priority) and my schedule.  I need to give myself back my Buffer Time.   And I need to continue to give myself a break from guilt.   An examined, passionate and interesting life is inherently busy.  I need to enjoy the journey.

So, if you’ll excuse me, I have some Catching Up to do.   A desk to clean.  Taxes to do.  Laundry of many sorts.   While I’m away, if you’d like to push my button … gently … to make me Number One on Top Sites Tuesday #90, I’d appreciate it.

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