Things to Do

This latest offering came to me while I was on my lunch break, sitting in my car at a park contemplating all the things I needed to do since my return from vacation. Instead of a “to-do” list, the following landed on my paper! I am not sure but I think I was channeling Andy Rooney! Enjoy!  C~

I always have something I can do; maybe you know this feeling? Things I want to do. Things that I need to do. Things I’ve been meaning to do. I can “things to do” myself silly. Do they really need to be done? If I do them, is my life richer, or more meaningful? Would my life or its quality improved because I did them?

There are books I “want” to read; CD’s and tapes I’ve been meaning to listen to. There are organizational projects and cleaning-out projects on my list of things to do. I have files of written ideas for writing to record into the computer, a collection of quotes over the years to cull into one big document. I have a list of things I want to do that would be fun or different. I even have a to-do list for when AFTER I get around to doing something in the future!

What is this phenomenon of “Things to Do” really all about? Am I creating these things to do so I can feel I’ve accomplished something after (when and if) I actually do them? Or is it busy work that gives me a sense of value in my life?

I’ve considered a “Job Jar” similar to the one I would see in an old comic strip called “Hi & Lois.” Hi would pull a slip of paper out of the jar to get his chore for the weekend. A Job Jar would keep things interesting, and lend a sense of spontaneity to the “things to do” task. I don’t like being stuck in a routine, though I need routine to fulfill my need to “mix things up” and create variety. The Job Jar would also eliminate the dread of doing those annoying “things to do” items, which tends to lead to procrastination.

I read somewhere that if you have a book or magazine you mean to read, or recipes that you mean to try, or projects you aim to do, and you haven’t done so in over a year, odds are you won’t ever. Interesting; however, I like going up against the odds.

Perhaps this issue is about how I manage my time or how effectively I use it. Do I waste a lot of time? Never mind, I don’t want to know that answer.

I don’t want to be a busy-body but I know people who seem to have everything in their life in perfect order. How do they do that? Of course, I’ve never checked their cabinets or closets or attics to see if they are stuffed with stuff to do, hidden out of sight, out of mind.

Having the burden of all these boxes and lists of things to do leave me feeling overwhelm, and well, a little lazy. I have things I’ve held onto for years with the plan of doing something with it. A table I plan to resurface with mosaic tile. Unfinished cross-stitching projects I started when I was in my late twenties, and some I’ve yet to start. Training notebooks, tapes and CD’s I got from professional conferences when in jobs 6 or more jobs ago; and handwritten notes, letters, and journals I intent to type up and chronologically organizing.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m not that unusual. Maybe I’m an optimist because I believe I will eventually get to my to-do list and complete everything on it.  Maybe I’ll go to the mall and shop instead.

New item for To-Do List:  Type up a new to-do list.