As I write this, the lists, notes, and Post-Its that litter my desk, monitor, and calendar overwhelm me.
The way they lay jumbled in a pile or surrounding my computer screen can make me feel claustrophobic about all the “stuff” going on. But, a part of me also feels better if I write things down – as if the act itself is productive and then I’m for sure not going to forget them. Yeah, right!
It’s not only tasks that I write. Sometimes I write catchy phrases I could use later or affirmations to stay positive (totally from an Oprah episode I tivoed). What really gets me going is when a note includes someone’s name, a date, or a time that I have no recollection of. Sometimes I rewrite completed tasks from a list just so I can put “done checks” next to them – who am I kidding?
If this sounds like a scene from A Beautiful Mind, no need to worry about my mental health! I live with this chaos for a few weeks, until I do a Susan Powter “Stop the Insanity!” I consolidate the lists into one, double check the calendar, figure out what is done, isn’t relevant, or isn’t yet completed. Then I start the fresh list with a completed task, give it a “done check,” and the cycle continues . . . .
