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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

6/12/12 Terrific Tuesday - Taming the To Do List


Terrific Tuesday - it is terrific to know  part of having a to do list is knowing sometimes what we have to do doesn't work the way we want.

We spend a lot of time talking about our to do lists. What should and should not be on the list. How we are going to get through the to do list. How to prioritize the to do list. What to do with the items we can't get to on the to do list. Today let's talk about what happens when we do something on the to do list and it does not turn out the way we want.

For example, I spent all yesterday afternoon and evening putting together the Ikea bunk beds my twins asked for as a birthday present. After I was finally done, the girls were excited, jumping up and down screaming how happy they were. At bed time the girls climbed into bed, fluffed their pillows and spend 5 minutes in their individual beds before Z climbed into C's upper bunk. Guess what climbed into my bed at 3:00 am, Z. At 6 am guess what I found in my face, Z feet.

In a prior life, at a prior time. I would have been upset about this turn of events. I mean I put 9 hours of my life into those bunk beds. The point of putting that item on my to do list and checking it off was so that the girls could have their own bed. The point of spending 9 hours fighting with the Allen wrench and Ikea instructions was that I did not want to make up to stinky baby feet in my face. There was a mission, a plan, I put in the work and what did I get? I got baby toes in my face. And you know what, it is terrific.

It is as President Obama stated, a teachable moment. Sometimes when we do the things on the to do list, the results we get from others are not what we would have desired. That does not change the value of what we did. It is a good thing to go down the to do list and check off the things on it as we planned. It is good to accomplish what we set out to do. But, part of having a to do list is the reality that sometimes the results are not what we intended. When that happens, do not get upset. Realize that is part of having a to do list and keep moving.

So the question for you this to terrific Tuesday is how are you going to deal with unexpected results from the to do list?

3 comments:

  1. Ooh! Good one!
    I think just relaxing and breathing is the way to go. Take time to allow yourself anger/frustration at the change of plans and then do something about it that's within your power.
    -r

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    Replies
    1. That is a good idea. I saw that on lost, be upset for a short period of time, then continue to move. Thanks for the reminder,.

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  2. Wow!!! This post is right on time! Really. I'm going to take a few minutes and just...be. This afternoon, I"m going to put my "to do list" down and spend some uninterrupted time with my baby girl. Thank you!

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