Task Decay (recycled)

I read this today. It's a post created by a friend, Jim Genet @ HD Thinking. He's such a terrific writer, that I felt compelled to share. I pray he doesn't mind my recycling of his works:)

 

Task Decay

10 04 2012

Are there tasks looming in front of you like vultures on a dead tree. Some have been there so long they reek of decay, yet still, there they sit. Occasionally, like a yard sale collectors item, we pull it from the shelf, dust it off, give it a little spritz of perfume and back to the shelf still uncompleted. What is up with that?

Action items un-actionized become distracting clutter at best and dangerous and infectious slime that will ooze it’s way into every other area of your life if we do not do something about them.

Yep, this is not conjecture it’s experiential and proven facts as demonstrated by my own display of putrid incompletes lining the storage shelves of my life. So what’s my plan?

Here it is.

Own the mess …

Build the Solution…

Occupy the new reality…

Own the mess means I have to open my eyes and take stock of the situation by listing the action items weighing me down. You will be shocked by how much will drop from your list just by Owning the Mess. But don’t stop with owning the mess, I mean really, who wants to own a mess. Building a solution does not need to be complicated, but it does absolutely require you do something. So ask yourself, “What’s the biggest and baddest on my list? Own it, and now that it’s yours, find its teeth and get to work .

Building a solution requires good intel and to get good intel you must get out of the building and to get out building requires that you move your ass. (pardon the bluntness) Inactivity is our current state because we fear looking at a problem that “might” be more than we can handle, so we don’t look and instead create “reasons” for avoidance.

Wow, sometimes telling myself what I need to hear is a little painful. Is it ever that way with you? Ask yourself, “what did I see when I got out of the building and took an honest look at the situation?” Does the beast really have teeth? If so, prioritize the canines and pull them first.

Now, don’t stop with a plan and a few tasks checked off the list. Occupy your new reality by moving in, unpacking your unique contribution and then don’t forget to send me a note with some of the cool details.

Something we should all think about...

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because
they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule,
didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who
passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut
back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband
didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been
thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence
while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , 'How about
going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I
can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had
known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my
personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few days ago. We never
did have lunch together.
Because we cram so much into our lives, we tend to schedule our
headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to
ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get the boy
toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room
carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids
out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get
shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One
morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a
litany of  'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things
are settled down a bit.'
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to
adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new
ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for
five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of
Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream.
It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with
a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I
stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an
iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now....go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not
something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and
had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what
would you say? And why are you waiting? I had a friend from high
school that I was always going to call and never did. The other day
her name was in the obituaries so we never had that chat.
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened
to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's
erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you
run through each day on the fly? When you ask, 'How are you?' Do
you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred
chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do
it tomorrow.' and in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost
touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened
gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear
the music before the song is over.
Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we
might as well dance!
(writer unknown)
~Mary~