One thing keeps me going in the endless battle of tasks that make up my day during this shut down: doing one thing — from start to finish.
I arrived at this life hack late in life. It’s really just an attitude adjustment, and oh! how I could have used this approach years ago when my children were little and and needed my attention, and dinner was on the stove, and laundry was overflowing, and the floor needed mopping, and…and…and….
I STRUGGLE WITH BEING ORGANIZED AND TIDY
Back then I prioritized and moved on to the next important thing. The kids got settled. Dinner was served relatively on time. We had clean clothes, if sometimes a little wrinkled. And the floors? I plead the Fifth.
Fast forward to today. I’m enjoying what many people would call a slower pace. That’s true. But time seems to have turned in on itself during this pandemic and isolation. For some crazy reason, we’ve given ourselves the charge to produce! produce! produce!
I can’t. I’m distracted by fears and the isolation of self-distancing. I’m overwhelmed by the need to sanitize and disinfect.
I still have a long list of tasks. Housework needs to get done. Dinners need to be made. Chores are like shampoo: rinse and repeat. But the daily list started choking me with the unreasonable expectations I placed on myself, and I wondered how I had gotten everything done when I was younger.
The truth is I didn’t get everything done. Not even close. But I got enough done. I regret that younger me wasn’t consoled by that. Present me, however, sees the victory in accomplishing one thing in a day and calling it a win.
I’ve thrown out the list — everything on it is already a habit. Either I do it or I don’t. Ignoring some things is also a habit. Instead, I identify one thing that I want to accomplish today. Laundry? Ok. Clean out the fridge? OK! Make a doctor’s appointment? Yes!!! Mop the floors? Begrudgingly …ok.
FEELING ACCOMPLISHED
It’s not a surprise that the harder the task, the greater the satisfaction. I haven’t written a novel or trained for a marathon, but I’m grateful for a neat garage and a cleared desk where I can write a novel, perhaps one page at a time.
My days are still busy with the tasks that keep a household running, but I don’t fret over it. I endeavor to get one thing done. Besides making my bed in the morning, it’s the one thing that keeps me organized, and maybe, when this is all over, I’ll have made a good habit to keep.
How are you coping these days?
