Linda has a built-in desk in her kitchen. There is a
hole for computer cables to reach the plug underneath. When the workman drilled that, he handed her the round cut-out.
“Ok?” she responded, puzzled. “It’s a to-it,” he laughed,
“a-round-to-it.” Her a-round-to-it cutout sits on her desk now, a paperweight and a reminder. When there is a job she knows she needs to do, Linda puts a sticky note on it so she will see it.
She said, "It reminds me to do the job as I no longer have the excuse of waiting until I get “a-round-to-it.” "
“I will get around to that job soon.” How often have we said that about a task we know needs doing, like cleaning out the linen closet, going through stuff in
the garage, or sorting through files on the computer we know we will not need?
We’ve all been there. What I often find, however, is that the “one of these days” that we're going to do the
dreaded task gets pushed back farther and farther.
It’s hard to get motivated, or we can find other things that “need” doing that are more pleasant. For instance, you may love tidying your
pantry, but hate working in the attic.
Then one day, you may suddenly think to yourself, "the linen closet or the mess in the garage just cannot keep being put off. The linen closet door barely closes because the stuff on an upper shelf has shifted slightly and threatens to fall out whenever the
door is opened. Plus I feel guilty when I walk through the garage."
Sometimes guilt is a great motivator.
But when are you going to get this done? “I will do it one day next week,” you say to yourself. I guess “a day next week” is closer than “one of these days” for getting a job done. But will it really happen?
Experience has taught me that there is, at best, a 50/50 chance...unless you do one particular thing.
You have to schedule a day and time to do
the work. And by schedule, I mean, put it on the calendar just like if it was a dental appointment or a social commitment.
And then, unless there is a really good reason not to, keep
that appointment with yourself.
Most things, by the way, are not good reasons to reschedule. An example of a good reason would be that your dog is developing gastroenteritis and you
have to get him to the vet right away.
This IS an emergency. Most things are not.
If it is a time-consuming job, plan for it in other ways.
Plan to order dinner in or pop something in the slow cooker early in the day. Get a good night’s sleep the night before. Eat a good breakfast or lunch. Turn off distractions like the TV or email alerts on your phone.
Go into it with a good attitude. Think about how good it will feel to finally get this job done; what a relief it will be to no longer think about it.
Don’t wait for someone to give you a-round-to-it. Schedule it and get the job done.
