Some wise person who I probably found on YouTube said something that stuck with me: People tend to be cautious about giving money away, but when it comes to our time we give it away (or let it seep out) left and right. Yet money is something we can always make more of, while time is a finite resource.
Time is a finite resource.
That’s how it’s already February when just two minutes ago we were complaining about the Christmas rush. Time is not something we can make more of or get on a Buy One Get One spree. All of my current ponder-the-navel thoughts are about this main subject — not putting important goals off until tomorrow, using today to make progress, prioritizing what really is important, setting boundaries.
February is a short month and I’m going to experiment with getting the most time out of it possible. That means less time on Twitter and more time doing things I love. Right now I’m in love with sewing/designing stuff, and going for walks, and traveling, and spending time with the captain. I’m going to consciously NOT volunteer for extra credit activities at work. I’m going to delegate more. I’m going to shut my door at work when I need to power through tasks quickly. And I’m going to add a few days on to the end of my mini-trip so I can work on passion projects.
My daily goals are staying the same, except for the planking. I plan to keep doing it but not as a rigid goal, which was seriously stressing me out.
Daily Goals For February
- Walk each day for a minimum of 10 minutes
- Do one language lesson per day (at a minimum do one Duolingo lesson)
- Deep stretch/yoga for minimum of 5 minutes daily
Overall February Goal
I need to take care of my paperwork problem.
This month I’m going to use my new love of small-but-consistent action to take on my paperwork issue. I’m going to break the task into chunks and work it like a puzzle. It’s not a daily goal because that would make me cry. But I’m going to schedule in time here and there to address it. I have so much unsorted mail and paper and old stuff that needs to be shredded and thrown out it makes me crazy to know it’s hiding in bins all over the house.
Last year when I was reading books on minimalism and listening to podcasts and YouTube videos on the subject, I couldn’t quite pin down what it was I hoped to achieve. Now I think I get it. I want that clean feeling that comes with having no outstanding to-do items on the list. Or just a manageable amount. My life is a big old DIY project in every way right now and I want to have that clean, light feeling that comes with being able to enjoy watching a movie in bed because you know your chores are done and the room is clean and all is well.
I hate having undone tasks hanging over me. I have identified some of them and started tracking them (in Asana, yes) and this is the year I either decide to address them or let go of them forever. I don’t want to wake up when I’m 90 years old and realize I spent the past 60 years carting around two boxes of CDs I meant to burn back in the early 2000s. Those damn CDs have been on my list of things to do for literally ten years. I’m so done. Either I burn them to a hard drive or drive them to the Goodwill or buy them all digitally and then donate the CDs or something, anything, but I have got to get it off my list.
That’s just one example. I have at least ten examples of this same issue that I could list off for you. And I do not want to carry these undone tasks with me any more! People, I am tired. Who knows — maybe that’s why the universe gave me this stressful job and weird schedule. Maybe it was the only way I would ever be forced to confront all the stuff cluttering up my mind and my home and my energy.
So paperwork is next on the list. It’s more urgent than the CDs because of tax season and I want to just be done with it already.
That’s the real minimalism I was seeking last year, having less stuff/tasks/chores hanging over my head. Yes, I needed to clean the guest room. Yes, I needed to declutter some stuff (and still do more). But more than anything I need to declutter my tasks, my commitments, my expectations, and my time.
February is the shortest month, and I am hoping to make it the widest yet.
xo L
9 comments
I love this! I’m so glad you are back. Your thoughts so often are spot on to what I’m feeling but struggle to put into words. Thank you! Also, I’ve mostly overcome my paper problem with a scanner. I scan anything that may be remotely useful (bills, receipts, statements) and save them to a thumb drive. Then I throw out the paper and handle anything else that needs to be done from the scanned copy. I still get to keep things “just in case”, but it keeps the paper out of my house. It may not work for everyone, but it’s been life changing for me.
I need to channel your motivation and problem solving skills!
I have a number of projects that have been on my perpetual To Do List. I like the idea that this is the year it gets done or just let it go forever. In your reflections on January, I was struck by the point that 10 mins a day walking had added up to 310 mins over the month. That’s a good chunk of time to get something accomplished. I am going to reassess my list and make it a point to cross one item off this weekend! Thanks for the idea.
I, too, had a stack of CDs I needed to burn. I mentioned to my son that I was thinking about paying a neighbor to do it for me and he looked at me like I was insane. He said “Have you seriously not heard of Pandora? And if it’s important to you to hear the whole CD in order have you seriously not heard of Spotify?” I actually started laughing when I realized that I had put that task off for so long THAT I NO LONGER HAD TO DO IT.
Sometimes procrastination is my friend!
Man, too bad I’m not a local friend/neighbor of yours. This is the kind of thing I do for fun, lolol.
Back in the days before Spotify, when the MP3 and iPod were newer on the scene, I had a whole collection of CDs I wanted to free myself and my livingspace from. And because I’m one of those weirdos who LOVES to organize, I couldn’t wait to dive into the process. Took about a week, I think, but I would set aside an hour or two each night to copy CDs onto my laptop while I engaged in some mindless TV watching. Once I had everything downloaded, I uploaded it all to my iPod. Then I went to the local second-hand vinyl store and sold them all the CDs. I got $200 and some odd dollars and no more CDs taking up physical space in my life. And even now that I use Spotify, I still love my “antique” iPod which stores albums from more local and/or obscure bands I can’t get on Spotify and the like.
Regarding shredding paperwork… my city does a paper shredder event on a monthly basis where I can bring boxes of papers and they shred them on my behalf. I received a tax “donation” receipt for the suggested donation price of $2 per box. It was the best to get boxes of paperwork shredded in moments. (I’ll do anything so I don’t have to deal with shredder jams).
I seriously love it when you share your navelgazing! I often find a bit of myself in your musings which helps me hone in on a direction. For years I’ve been wanting to regain my high school knowledge of French and improve on it. There languished that goal…until I learned about Duolingo! Thank you for that (though I have’t had any lessons that involve milk and elephants). I usually go granular on my annual goals — hello, my 101 Things to Do in a 1,001 Days days — but I’m keeping them loose: learn French again, read more books in 2018 than I did in 2017 (a measly four), and declutter.
I can so relate to the paper clutter and needing to shred- it’s continuous!! It’s an albatross. But we can win! A friend said that the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. I like it, even though I’m mixing my creature metaphors 😀
your goals and such are in line with mine this year. and loving that you’re back!