Tag: priorities

5 Steps to Getting Things Done Now

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

The time is now. This moment is all I have. Time has been on my mind a lot lately. I have been trying to get my family history scrapbooks caught up after years of neglect. Assembling photos and pages detailing long-past events I am struck by how much time I no longer have to spend. Then I think about what I hope and plan to do tomorrow or even this afternoon, and I realize I don’t have that time to spend, either. The only time I have is literally this moment. Right now. Only now.

My to-do lists are everywhere. I am a serious, some might say ‘compulsive,’ list maker. So many of those lists have the same projects and plans listed and often in the exact same order. One of my constant thoughts is “what is the most important item on those lists to be doing now?” Hmmm. It is so much easier to make lists instead of actually starting on the projects on the list. So, chastened by this truth, I talk to myself and say “pick one thing. It isn’t important what, but pick one things and start. Start now.”

So here I am writing. ‘Writing for my blog’ is on each list. “Good for me,” I silently congratulate myself. ‘Making art’ is on each list so I’ve made some calligraphy to go with this post. Again I pat myself on the back for seizing this moment. So the question arises, “how can I help myself stay in this mode of using the time I have now?” I’ve set up a game plan.

  1. Make a list. What do you really want to do? Be detailed, but don’t get bogged down.
  2. Prioritize the list. Think of all reasons every item should or could be done. Given where you are in life situation, what is the priority for each item? Make a fresh, prioritized list.
  3. Start now. Start with the top item. NOW. (This step requires a bit of “self-talk” – grab myself by the scruff of my mental neck and look myself squarely in my internal ‘face’ and give myself a serious command to “get going, now!”) Begin the doing the top task.
  4. Go back to the list when you find yourself milling around with a sense of “what should I do?“ Take the top item and start. NOW.
  5. Congratulate yourself when you have taken the moment in hand and gotten one of the items done. “Good for you!” Enjoy the sense of accomplishment and maturity you have gained by this process. Don’t stop now! Go back to #3. Soon you will have a list of accomplishments rather than “to-do’s.” And won’t that feel great?
Actor Hugh Laurie puts a fine point on the way to get going. Just start.

Let me encourage you to get going on your list. Do now what you have been stalling while you get “ready.” As the quote by Hugh Laurie puts it, “There is no such thing as ready. Now is as good a time as any.”

With practice, you and I can get much accomplished and who knows, we might just improve the world in which we live as an added bonus!

QUESTION: What are you doing NOW? Have you thought about the loss of letting this moment slip by un-used?

Gratitude Eclipsed

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

 

Hot weather engulfing wide swathes of our country this week stir my thinking about how we are engulfed and swayed by the immediate and often lose sight of what is really important. When the heat and humidity soar we are preoccupied with how to stay cool. We find conversations everywhere focused on the communal misery of the oppressive heat. When you are enduring triple digit heat and 99% humidity, thinking about anything else is truly difficult.

It seems the same with our political climate this past year (has it been that long already?!). The waves of words and crashing craziness combined with world events that seem careering out of control have swamped me, and I imagine many others, with a high tide of anxiety about life. It has caused me to lose sight of what is true, beautiful and lovely.  I have often not noticed the beauty of daily blessings.

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Our garden is being particularly lovely just now but there I sat in my chair, staring at it all, busy mulling morosely over the political debacles unfolding, instead of praising my Creator for such a joyous panorama.

I am in good health and, shame on me, I have failed to thank Him for that good gift today. God has put so many people in my life who are delightful. I have failed to thank Him for each one. And to compound it, I have taken them for granted failing to let them know how much I love them.

He provides a comfortable and safe home for me and given me so much to do that I have grumbled about my “overload-ness” and complained about my stress. What a shame that I have not stopped to thank Him for the talent, training, time and space to do what I love. I love caring for my husband and mother. I love being able to do laundry and hang sheets on the line to dry. I love being able to cook and eat tasty food. I love being able to lie down and sleep in peace and safety. I love being able to draw and paint and make beautiful letters with my pens.  Oh, this list could go on a long time!

God is so good to me. And how have I repaid Him? With careless ingratitude stirred with sinful anxiety. I think the best antidote to this situation is a fresh reflection on Philippians 4: 4-8.

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Sensible Seasons

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

“I can’t do it all!” –Her words made me feel sorry that I had applied more pressure to an already overwhelmed young woman. I had asked if her family and she were planning to come to the mid-week small group Bible study. OOPS! Too much pressure! Her words were part explanation, part a cry for help.
She’s a mom of three grade-school aged children. The school year has just begun and so the activity level is ramping up at a frantic rate. I remember those days and even now get a knot in my stomach thinking of the tension and pressure I felt. This season of “Back to School” is both exciting and overwhelming for most of us moms. The calendar fills up with so many activities that between the “must do’s” and the “want to do’s” floods of panic sweep over.
Hearing her litany of activities was exhausting –especially since I am so much older and now less energetic than she in her prime. But as we talked, it was apparent that she has had the sense to think through what is on the schedule. Each activity was necessary and manageable. And she was sensible enough to say “no” to the extra mid-week study for herself, since she has a ladies’ Bible study that she has already put into her plan.
Her biggest need—and probably all of our need—is to step back, breathe and analyze each thing on the calendar and priority list. This season of her life makes it wise and necessary to be in her children’s classrooms. It makes it wise for her to spend time in her kitchen making wholesome food for her growing little ones. It makes it wise for her to carve out time for personal fitness activity. I was glad to be able to affirm and reassure her (from my “been there-done that” vantage point) that her choices were good and even though life is busy right now, it is most certainly a season, not a permanent condition.

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We humans often forget that how things are today is NOT how they will be forever. So stop. Breathe. Analyze. Think through what is on your calendar. Ask yourself about each thing:
• Does it have long-range value?
• What or whose expectations have put this activity on the calendar?
• What would happen if we don’t do this?
• Is there anything NOT on the calendar that should be?
This season will pass. It matters what you do during it, and if it is extra busy, remember that it isn’t forever.
QUESTION: What items on your calendar need to be re-thought?