Societal Commentaries

From The Chief Procrastinator ©2020, All Rights Reserved

With suggestions from Beldro Mercier.

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The following words are direct from the mouth and mind of the Chief Procrastinator Himself, The Story Lover!

The Problem:

I have always run my life by the following quote: "Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow." – Aaron Burr

Unfortunately, lately, I haven't been very good about doing things tomorrow either. So, like a lot of other folks, I sat down and decided to tackle my To-Do-List; unfortunately, I took one look at the size of my list, threw my hands up in the air, and said NO WAY. I then quickly went back to colouring images on my iPad Air 2. Of course, there is a flip side to my life running philosophy, and that is:

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." – Thomas Jefferson

So, now I am in a quandary, as I was caught betwixt and between two warring philosophies! Ugh, what a dilemma to have. Luckily for me, I came across an article somewhere on the Web that gave me a solution.

The problem that I, and probably many others, have been experiencing is that by putting things off we got stuck in a revolving storm of an ever increasing To-Do-List, and running away from it, which caused it to continue increasing and your depression increasing as well. Due to the overwhelming size of the To-Do-List. I know that I kept looking at my list and running away screaming and refusing to look at my list for days. Of course, that just made my shock worse when I did look at it. Looking around my abode at all the things that needed to be done also sent me screaming into the night. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Solution:

So, how in the world do we get through a humungous To-Do-List? The first step is the hardest and the strangest! I will list the steps and then go through the reasoning behind them.

1. Completely Ignore The Size Of The List!
   1. This is a very Important Step.
2. Create or Finalize your list, by adding any job/task that is missing.
   1. Refer to Step One while doing this.
   2. Make a Physical List that you can mark or scratch task off of.
3. Sort the list by what needs to be done first.
   1. This is an optional step.
   2. Refer to Step One again.
   3. You can also put an * or an ❗️to remind you that these are important tasks.
4. Now select one or two items from the top of the list.
5. Complete those tasks.
6. Mark them off the list.
   1. If you feel good and still have energy, repeat Steps Four through Six.
7. Subdivide, don't be afraid to subdivide tasks.
   1. If you only write the overall goal, it can be too daunting to start considering the size of the task.
      1. Instead of clean the house, write each room, and it can go further down.
   2. It is easier to feel accomplishment from many small tasks than 1 big and stopping midway still must be noted as progress.
8. NEVER, EVER Do More Than Four Tasks In One Day!
   1. This is a very important step.
   2. Refer to Step One again.
   3. If you choose to do more than one task in a day, take a short break between them.
9. Make sure that you have marked/scratched off all the completed tasks.
10. Update the list if necessary.
    1. Refer to Step One again.

The reason that Step One, is so strange and hard, is very simple; if you don't worry about the size of your To-Do-List, then you can't be intimidated by it. It is a very Important Step, and that is why it is repeated so often. You must keep your mind off of the size of your list, or you won't be able to accomplish anything.

Step Two, is slightly important as it will make sure that eventually, when you will accomplish everything on your list. Again, it is important to refer to step one when l adding to your list. This will ensure that you have the right state of mind to accomplish your goals.

Step Three, is optional but could help if there are time-critical tasks on your list.

Step Four, is very important, by choosing only one or two tasks you won't get overpowered by the amount of work.

Step Five, the sense of completion that you get from completing a task(s) will lift your depression or sense of futility a bit. The sense of completion will also give you a larger desire, and more energy to accomplish more tasks the next day.

Step Six, this is the step that will give you an even bigger boost of energy and positivity as you now have physical proof to affirm that the list will be whittled down.

Step Seven, is very, very important, I can't stress enough how important this step is. This step is to prevent you from self-defeating yourself by overloading yourself with tasks. If you try to complete too many tasks in a day, you will get burned out and want to just walk away. If you start thinking about how many tasks are left, refer back to Step One.

Step Eight, is designed to build on your sense of accomplishment and increase your forming a positive attitude. By seeing how much you have accomplished you will have even more desire to continue.

Step Nine, is just to ensure that you don't overlook something, and then get depressed when you find it later.

Before I go any further, I need to answer those of you that are saying that they will never finish their humungous To-Do-List, this way. While there is a modicum of truth in their objections, however, the whole statement isn't true. I will explain why if you keep reading.

The overall reasoning behind this system is that if you follow it, you will be continually building on what you have accomplished. Every day you will be whittling your To-Do-List down to a manageable size. And yes, you will always be adding things to your list, however, by following this system it will never get to an unmanageable size again. If you follow this system, eventually you will wind up with only four or five items on your list. How can I say that, simply the sense of accomplishment and positive attitude won't let you stop? If on the odd chance you do stop using the system, just go back to Step One and start over. This time will be a lot easier as you have already done it and you know it works!

How do I know that this system works? Well, I have been following it for approximately two weeks now, and I have to that it works well. Even if you do skip a day due to time constraints or unexpected occurrences, just start back at Step Four, and you will be back on your way. If at any time you start to feel down or overwhelmed, just refer to Steps One and Eight, those steps should help keep you going. The sense of accomplishment that I have gained, have not only given me a more positive attitude, but have improved my will power.

I hope that this system will be of some help to folks, as during these trying times it is way too easy to fall into the, "Do It Tomorrow," trap.

If this system works for you, and or, you have some changes or additions to it, please e-mail me. 

Please remember that finishing the list is not the end or the point, it is the tool to reach and order the différents goals.

Author's Notes:

Before I get into why I wrote this piece; I want to thank everyone that reads my writing and especially those that comment on it. Your e-mails help us to continue writing. I also have to admit, that I am completely astounded by the amount of readers and e-mails that my Societal Commentaries have garnered. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to not only read my works, but to comment on them as well.

The reason that I wrote this piece was that I found myself in a pickle caught in that revolving storm of an increasingly larger To-Do-List. The size of the list was beginning to drag me down, so I went looking for a solution and found the beginning of one. So, I sat down and started putting together a complete system. I have found out by conversing with some folks that they have had the same problem that I did. As I stated earlier, I hope that folks find this helpful.

Take care,

TSL

Darryl's Amazing Commentary:

Thanks for sharing your insights once again.

I believe we all have had times, when we felt that the tasks at hand and at foot, and any other part can seem totally overpowering, are simply impossible to get through.

Putting it into some kind of logical steps and separating it into doable tasks makes a lot of sense and I plan on implementing your suggestions as soon as I possibly can.

Thanks!

Darryl The Radio Rancher

From The Mind Of Myke D.:

It's a nice guide that I am looking forward to implementing within my own household!

Myke D. 

Comments are encouraged and appreciated. Just use the email address listed at the top of the page.