Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

Mar 7, 2007

Thinking Out Loud: The to-don’t list

This business with the house-moving has been getting steadily more overwhelming, culminating in the last few days with the misrepresentation of how much we would be getting. To cut a long story short, we’re dealing with people who don’t keep their word and who outright lie, and I’m disgusted. Really, really disgusted.

Our objective to leave in time to take an RV to Charleston (and beyond) seems like too much, too soon. And I’ve been reading (dangerous, that) about a condition called busy-ness. The urge to fill every last waking moment with activity and action, with “productivity.” I’m beginning to agree with the book that this urge is ultimately a very destructive one as I bow under the weight of my to-do list and self-imposed deadline. It has, recently, suddenly occurred to me that there are other options, and other ways to tackle this situation.

The basic premise is this: there are things called tasks and things called goals. They are easily distinguished because tasks do not bring you joy and goals do. Tasks are the to-do list. And often, your to-do list gets in the way of your real work, your goals. The stuff you were born to do. Now, there are cetainly things that must be done to keep yourself functioning–your real commitments, to work, to home. But there is a limit. There is a point at which you are taking too much on, and the line between both is very narrow.

My to-do list is too long, and too heavy. So I’ve decided to make a to-don’t list.

I’m not going to fret about the RV. Buying vehicles is not my purview.
I’m not going to fret about the house. It will work out how it’s supposed to.
In fact, I’m not going to fret about anything.

And so on, and so forth. Until I know otherwise, I intend for things to be “business as usual.” And I am going to keep an eye out for the things I need to do, and what is just filling in the blanks to keep me away from the stuff that brings me joy.

When I think about my goals, I feel warm fuzzies. When I think about my tasks, I do not. And, right now, I feel that the tasks are getting in the way of the real work, which means I am potentially addicted to filling every last minute of my life up with things to do. And that doesn’t make me happy, so I have to figure out how to not do that.

And I think that the to-don’t list is a very good technique for that. So there. Nyergh.