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
