PRACTICE: Are you a list maker? Look at the list for today/this week. What is the need/must do versus the want to do?
Sometimes at the end of the day, my “to do” list, whether in my head, on my phone or on a scrap piece of paper, looks exactly like it did at 8am. Not one thing has been checked off. I didn’t spend the day in pajamas, watching TV and eating potato chips (although that doesn’t sound like a bad day does it?) I was as busy as a bee, fluttering here to there, doing this and that but doing none of the things that I believed to be essential at the start of my day. My “to do” list would suggest that I had a non-productive day. Oh, did I say end of the day? Sometimes my week looks the same.
How and I why do I let this happen? More importantly, how do I stop it from happening as frequently as it does? I need to find a way to stop others and other things from hijacking my agenda, or do I?
I have been attempting to adopt the practice of incorporating into my interactions with other the question of “how can I help?” Sometimes it is asked verbally but more often it is implied through my actions. One startling revelation has come from this line of living – it hijacks my “to do” list. One 15-minute unplanned conversation listening to another's need has the potential to kill my schedule. 2 such interchanges guarantee something on the list will not get done.
The other wrecker of the “to do” list is talking on the phone, texting, and emails. I will just leave this thought on the table for another discussion. But they are never on my “to do” list.
In sharing my thoughts with you, I have gained some insight into me and my list. The list is a guide and a reminder of what I need AND want to accomplish. When I open myself to be used and very present with others the list takes a back seat…especially the “wants” on the list. Somehow this gives me a sense of release and freedom from my “to do” list. It is my guide. It is not my dictator.
Proverbs 16:9
PONDER THIS THOUGHT- The “to do” list is a roadmap to my day…expect detours.
Comentarios