It's a Matter of Time

One of things I least like about myself is that I have trouble finishing a task completely. For example, we loaded the car with some things in the dark of early morn to take to the donation center. That is, in light of our quest to rid ourselves of excess, a very good thing. The not so good part is that the stuff has been sitting around since July. It feels wonderful to see space, just empty space where the stash had been. Why, of why, I ask myself, didn't we make that happen sooner?! It's not like we didn't see the cr...er, stuff, every day! It was taking up space and making the living room less attractive since July. Yet, we did nothing, other than talk about getting rid of it, for months. Does this make sense to anyone?

It occurs to me that I run out of steam and enthusiasm for whatever task I am working on just short of the finish line. This is a mindset I want to eliminate. To successfully eliminate this bad habit, I must process and understand why I do that. Any suggestions? Any one have a thought to contribute?

I find I work better with a deadline. If I have 2 hours, it takes 2 hours. If I have 30 minutes, it takes 30 minutes. I read in one lesson of a workshop I am taking, that a task should take no more than 10, 20, or 30 minutes. It said that if it takes more than 30 minutes, it is a project rather than task. By breaking tasks down to small slivers of time (10, 20, 30) they are not as daunting as thinking you have a huge project before you. When I actually had regular routines, it reinforced that we can do anything for 15 minutes. A timer was vital to stay within the 15 minutes because it took away the urge to keep looking at the clock to see how much time was left! You stop when the timer went off. Easy enough.

So, I'm working toward establishing a new way of thinking that works with my writing schedule, a major priority, rather than beating myself up for not accomplishing what I 'think' I should (thus stealing my peace) when I am writing. My homework is setting a time limit on tasks and leaving projects for days when writing is not on the agenda. My goal is live a simple life that works, for us, rather than having tired, old mindsets dictate life to me.

Write back and share what you find works for you!