g the American Express bill around in my purse for a month so when Joe went to buy me a birthday present - they took the card. I'm sure I caused some awkward moments for my kids, as well, with missed permission slips, forgetting the day of class pictures and others that I'm sure they'd love to share.When I started working I thought I could carry all my deadlines and duties around in my head, and for a while it worked. As my responsibilities grew and I became more involved in the community, I knew the mental calendar was going to lead to disaster - not being where I needed to be or missing an important deadline does not lead to success in business.
Knowing I had to do something ,and being a non-techie ,I started a practice which worked for me. Every night before I left work I wrote a list of all the things I needed to do the next day. I placed it front and center on my desk so it was the first thing I saw in the morning. As I completed items on the list I'd cross them off with the fattest magic marker I could find. Most days, other things came up and not all the items were completed, but every time I made a slash with that marker, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I found that the least pleasant tasks often made it to the list for days on end and sometimes spilled over to the next week.
One day in the nineties I attended a seminar . The speaker talked about lists like mine - but with one difference. He called it "Eat the Frog". I can't remember the guy's name or even where the seminar was, but I don't want to take credit for someone else's idea. It is so simple:
Say you have a list of things to do today and one of them is to eat a frog. Instead
of putting it at the bottom of the list, eat the frog first. Everything else you do that day will seem like a piece of cake. I started using that method and it made an incredible difference in my work and home life.I promised myself that I'd continue to use the lists in retirement and for the most part I have. I stopped altogether on my recent trip out west. As a result, I probably wasted more time on the computer and just wandering around than I have in years. I was even less diligent with the crossword puzzle. Now I'm back home and back on track with the lists. I think they may be more important to me now that I have total freedom to use my time as I wish. There is nothing earth shattering on my lists but what's there keeps me focused and prevents wasting precious time. I finished today's list by 3:30 - so I rewarded myself by sitting in a chair watching Jeopardy. Here's tomorrow's list:
- Finish cleaning out bookcase
- Make Dr. appointments
- Call Lorraine and Elba
- Write 2 thank you notes
- Defrost salmon
- Go to the beach with my book
No frogs on this list - but I'll sure enjoy the beach a lot more if I do the other things first.
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Haha!! I love this one.
ReplyDeleteI think I could probably still describe your office in detail...
- big wooden desk w/glass overlay
- wood paneled walls adorned w/thank you awards for all of your volunteer work
- a jar of cigarette buts so you would never smoke again
- a credenza w/a plant on it
- your address book/planner "filled with names of dead people"
- bullet holes (now fixed) from that crazy day
- and on your desk; NO computer (until you were forced to have one) and your list :)
Good Memory, my dear. Don't forget the old photos of North Avenue in the days of the trolley cars. My bet is someone threw them all out when they moved to the new location. My office is now occupied by the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce - do you remember Pete Schmugge? The bank lobby is a wreck - it makes me want to cry.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to locate some old school photos to show the results of forgetting picture day, no luck. I like this method of tackling things and have finally put it to use. It took my 6 weeks to report to the insurance company the fact I hit my neighbors car. Though I still contend that if you park in the alley directly behind a garage you assume the risk of getting hit. But I digress.
ReplyDelete