This month’s resolution is actually based off what was a portion of one of Gretchen Rubin’s month resolutions. In one of her earlier months of the project, she vows to finish all of her tasks that she continually pushes off. This isn’t necessarily procrastination since none of these things truly have deadlines. However, the thought of having to complete these tasks eventually is a constant drain on her mind, no matter how small the task is.
The truth is, we probably have a lot of these types of tasks. Schedule a doctor’s appointment. Re-organize the filing cabinet. Sort through clothes for donation. Call customer service about X. And a lot of times, it runs in the back of our heads, “Oh, I should do X!” or “Right! I need to do that!” but the thought disappears almost immediately, and all these little things with no deadlines create what feels like an only slightly present, yet consistent stressor.
This month, I solely want to tackle this and get into the habit of handling these sorts of tasks more immediately. To do this, I have two steps.
- When the thought of one of these tasks enters my mind, write it down immediately if it cannot be completed right away.
- Schedule the task for completion, and honor it just as it would be if it were any other task.
I’ve already started tackling this, but there are larger projects that are sitting at the back of my mind. Whether these things are true priorities or not, the weight of them lifting off your shoulders, no matter how light, is a relief, because of how persistent these tasks are in your mind.
I have several tasks, both low and high in priority, that I will take this month to schedule. Like the pile of things, I still need to go through. The closet I still need to re-organize. The documents I still need to correct. The calls I still have to make. All the little things that weigh me, bit by bit, because I am reminded so lightly but so often, that I forget yet it still lingers in the back of my mind.
This is also an opportunity to re-think how I want to run this blog, since coming back to it after a break has proven to be more difficult to me than I thought. And it is not the thought of working on it that has pushed it aside for me, but the realization that I need to better schedule how and when I work on it.
This resolution was only a part of a month for Gretchen Rubin, and I do believe that it may be insignificant to have this alone be my goal for this month. However, I do feel that this is an area that I must work on. And by making this my primary focus, I hope that it breaks a bad habit that I haven’t been fully aware of for a long time and that I become more diligent in prioritizing certain actions over others.
That’s all for this month. Do you have any small tasks that you’ve been meaning to get to? Let me know below.
Sincerely,
Julie Anna
