Nov

17

What’s on your mind?

Filed Under Time management, Work life balance issues | 

It’s Monday morning. Whether you managed to recharge and rest during the weekend or not, you are now on your way. Off to work, a new day, a new week, and there is a host of things to be done. As you are getting ready to check your e-mail and your voice mail, you mentally say a little prayer, hoping that you don’t have to deal with crises first thing Monday morning. And so, it starts.

As you go through your day, there are people to talk to, decisions to be made, projects to review, and problems to solve. Events will transpire that will distract you, demand your attention, drain your energy, and eat up your time. You will try to focus on what’s right in front of you but. . . what about the “unfinished” business?

What about the items that linger in the back of your mind? You know what I mean. I am talking about procrastination; the items on your to-do-list that have not yet been accomplished but are hanging in there, gnawing at you!

Things like the bill you forgot to pay, the phone call you dread to return, the expense report that was due last week, the broken appliance that needs to be fixed, the doctor’s appointment that keeps getting pushed back, the difficult conversation you need to have with a colleague, a family member, or a friend.

I am not writing all this to depress you. Unfinished business can drain your energy and darken your spirit even before you get out of bed in the morning. Unfinished business lingers in the back of your mind, works on your subconscious, and eats you up until you do something about it.

What to do? The simplest and fastest way to bring these items out of hiding and into the light is to write them down. Take five minutes and write down everything that you have been putting off. When you finish writing, take a deep breath, and scan your body and your mind. Do you feel lighter?

Writing down what’s on your mind frees space and energy for you. Instead of allowing your fear of something to control your actions, you are able to examine it from a distance and make a decision.

Look at your list, pick one thing you can do right now, and do it! We can talk at length about why we procrastinate, how we allow things to get out of hand, and what unfinished business really is all about, but that’s for another entry. For now, pick one thing, and do it!

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