Get Rid of the SHOULDS!

I am cleaning up my office, which can be a daunting task. I have found lots and lots of pieces of paper I have saved to remind me to do something. I did not realize how overwhelming that made me feel until I started putting all that paper into one stack. WHEW! It was a lot. I found this quote and it TOTALLY says how I felt…

Our greatest weariness comes from work not done.

– Eric Hoffer 1983

I went to the store and bought a simple pad with three sections – Priorities, Reminders, To Do List. I am changing the way I remind myself by only writing down things that need to be done in one of those three categories. As I do them, I cross them off. Once that piece of paper is filled, I turn to the next page. With all the balls I juggle, it can feel a little much to keep many, many, MANY pages of things to do each day.

Now, I do have a notebook with items I want to do in our house, in my studio, ideas of pieces and things I have in mind for future work. Those lists grow and grow as I think of things I want to do. They are in their own notebook so I can put it aside, know the idea is safe, then move on to more pressing to do items. Those piles of paper were not working and were actually wearing me to the bone. I totally get the concept that weariness comes from work not done.

Let’s face it, there are a multitude of options, sources and resource for how to organize your time and priorities. The key is to find out what works for you. It may be something you have to make up for yourself. It helps me to write things down and have one place to look to see what needs to be done. I have tried many different options and have landed on a well written list with colorful pens that make me smile. Simple, yet it works.

I want to encourage you to look deep and figure out why you might be weary. Is it too much to do, too little money, not enough time, or not enough going into your soul instead of it all going out? Weariness usually has one of those sources, and we have to face things honestly to best understand WHY we are weary, instead of just blaming an easy target. Once you do this, the real work begins. What are you willing to do about it? Change is hard, yet the best people I know work on having a positive attitude in wanting to get/be better each day. None of us is perfect, so facing our flawed selves and weariness is the first step to things getting better. That, and making a clear list of what is important….not just what you think you should be doing! Get rid of the shoulds…then the good stuff begins…and you can start crossing things off whatever list you created.