Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Faster You Go

I've had a list of items on my day planner that I've been shifting forward day to day for a month.
I know as well as anyone, that documenting things on your day planner and todo lists is a huge first step, but unfortunately it doesn't actually get them done. You have to get off your fanny and "do them." 
We have a fig tree by the barn that should have been moved years ago. I kept forgetting. It's in the shade and it struggles to survive each summer. 
Earlier this year while walking, I noticed the fig tree and said to myself, "I need to move that tree while the weather's cold. This time, I whipped out my iPhone and put a task on my todo list to move the tree.
When I got back to the house, I captured the item on my day planner which sits beside me on my desk. That was on Valentines Day.
Moving the tree migrated from day to day on my list until this afternoon when I realized I had caught up with my work and no deadlines were zipping toward me. So I spent quality time working with my hands, fertilizing all my fruit trees, planting a new pecan tree, and transplanting the fig. 
Tonight I feel as though I've been beaten with a garden rake, but it feels good to finally strike a few things off my list.
Here's the thing:  you keep a day planner and todo lists to keep you on task. As the old saying goes, the road to hades is paved with good intentions. To get ahead, there are things you must do. If you're a musician, you must practice. If you are an artist, you must paint, take pictures or whatever your medium is. If you're a writer, you must write. If you don't do the things you need to do, your life gets backed up and it starts to wear on your outlook. The faster you go, the behinder you get. 
Well tomorrow I start out with a clean todo list. My day planner tomorrow will have all NEW items, and I am happy about that..


8 comments:

  1. How satisfying to clear your list! And you took care of your fig tree. I never used to like figs much. My grandmother would make us jars of fig jam from her tree every year. Now that she's gone, I just crave the stuff. Figs will always remind me of her.

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  2. There is an immense satisfaction to marking things off your list...so much so that I will occasionally write things down I've already done just so I can mark them off, lol.

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  3. I have that to do list in my phone... it feels so good to finally complete them... :)

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  4. I am a little behind (or a lot behind) on my to-do list!!

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  5. Must be a good feeling ticking off the to-do list! I use simple pen and paper to construct my to-do's.......I don't mind forgetting or losing a notepad on the train/bus/park etc. I'm very much a iPhoney thingy dodger!

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  6. I can imagine your satisfaction in getting to the bottom of your list. It has happened to me twice in my life, and I relished those moments.

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  7. Jack always has a 3x5 in his pocket with his "to do's" on it. Not very tekkie but he gets the job done. Me? I'm a fly by the seat of my never get it done pants. I just have not gotten into the list thing, or the day planner either. I do manage to accomplish tasks but it's not always pretty! When my #2 son was little he always told people:"My Mom works best under pressure." Now for a question..What do you do with the figs?

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  8. We used to do this and now we say ah. It''ll be there to do tomorrow lol
    Won't run away. lol
    Sorta like Ma and Pa Kettle.
    Pa the porch step needs fixin.
    Ok Ma I'll get to it in a bit
    and he goes back to his napping. lol
    I do things I like to do first and leave the rest for later

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