From the middle of the mess
They don’t need to be in a row. (Image by Alain Audet from Pixabay)
Funny how the impulse to tidy takes hold when there’s something even less appealing to take care of.
That less-appealing thing might be our most important work, but we don’t feel worthy of it. We’ve locked it away in a fortress like the princess in Super Mario 3, buried beneath many layers of to-dos. We have to clean off the desk, water the plants, put the kids through college.
What I’ve learned in my moments of inspired action is that it’s possible to bypass my rules and preconceptions about getting things done and dig right in on the most important project. The only big scary monster guarding the castle is the one created by my own mind.
I can do work that I’m proud of, starting from the middle of the mess.
In order to do this, it’s helpful to have clarity about what our most important work is. I return to Gary Keller’s question, as presented in his book,The ONE Thing: “What is the one thing you can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Sure, you could argue that doing the laundry is the one thing. But these routine tasks are never going to be done. What happens if you skip making your bed, vacuuming the carpet, and folding the laundry in order to spend that half hour deeply engrossed in the project or activity that will make a real difference in your life?
Maybe it’s something you are putting off because it’s boring or frustrating (like calling an insurance company).
Or perhaps it’s something that is so delicious and fun that you feel you must earn it.
It might be something overwhelming in its scope, like the novel that you want to write that is still perfect because you haven’t started it.
Or it’s something nebulous and difficult to measure, meaning that you won’t get the satisfaction of checking it off your list.
Maybe it’s something that will push you to the limit, and you don’t feel ready.
Or it could be something that’s just plain difficult, and you’re afraid you won’t be able to do it.
Whatever it is, consider: How will you feel at the end of the day if you set twenty minutes aside for work on your scariest project?
Even if the rest of your life is a swirling mass of chaos, I guarantee that you will feel a sense of satisfaction if you make it a point to spend a little time doing the thing you normally don’t make the space for.
Speaking from experience, this satisfaction carries over into other tasks: The laundry gets done more quickly, the email gets answered more easily, and any resentment toward those who make demands on your time diminishes or disappears. The mess is more manageable.
It feels good to have a tidy house and all the routine tasks checked off. But a lot of the most important things we do in life never make it onto the to-do list. As good as it feels to complete the things that are expected of us, it feels even better to do the things that no one is expecting of us. When we give ourselves permission to do these things without waiting for the right time, we will actually be more effective in or work, and we will find more fulfillment and joy in our busy lives.
