WORK IN PROGRESS
(Life, Me, You, This Newsletter)
Vol. V, Issue 14, July 15, 2001 ><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>><<>> .
BREAKING THE "BUT FIRST" CHAIN
"I wanted to finish my taxes," explained my friend. "But
to do that I had to enter a bunch of stuff into the
computer. And to do that I had to find all my bills, and to
do that I had to sort through my huge pile of filing, and to
do that I had to figure out where to file the stuff that didn't
already have files set up, and to do that I had to buy
more files..."
We get the picture, and at times most of us have
probably felt the same way. We have great plans for
moving forward with whatever we have identified as the
next step in getting ourselves organized, but it turns out
that before we can do the important next step there are
many other steps that, we think, have to be done first.
Thus a comparatively simple step, yet an important one,
is blocked because a huge avalanche of tasks is poised
to come crashing down on us bas soon as we start
towards taking that simple step.
What to do?
It may be taxes. It may be getting the house ready for
visitors. It may be a work project. A home project. In all
of them there appears to be a blockage because other
things need to be done first. Often those other things
appear to be circular... each requires that we do
something else first, but there is no end to the cycle.
Whenever we are in a cyclical blockage, my thought is to
treat the situation like the Chinese rings used in stage
magic. They may look solid, but in fact we know that
somewhere there is a weak link. The trick is to find it,
and THAT is where we start our work.
However, when there is one important and time-related
task that seems to depend on all the others, perhaps
what is most important is to break it free of them.
Perhaps you can get your taxes done WITHOUT having
to get all the rest of those tasks done first. Perhaps you
can just pull all the bills and income statements out of
that mess of paperwork and not worry about filing the
rest of it until later.
That is just one example, but the problem is far more
widespread and long-lasting. Work does pile up. We
often become overwhelmed by it the accumulation of
piles. To avoid this problem, there are long-term
solutions. To solve them, if we have been unable to
avoid them, we must find short-term solutions.
Short-term: first, find the first and most important step,
and don't worry about the other tasks until that is done.
In the case of the taxes example, the first step is, as
suggested above, to pull out all the relevant paperwork
without worrying about where to file the rest. It was in a
pile before you started, it can be in a slightly smaller pile
when you have extracted what you need. Obviously, in a
perfect world, you could go through the pile and file each
piece as you look at it. When that is not possible, focus
on first things first. With that done, my correspondent's
next step was to enter the information in the computer.
For someone else, it might be to make an appointment
with their tax accountant. Either way, it's one thing at a
time. What is your next step?
As Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey have said over
and over again in their book Slowing down to the Speed
of Life*, there is little point in worrying about something
that you are not doing. If you keep your focus on the one
task that is in front of you right now, you will be amazed
at how much less stress you experience.
(*It's a great book. Check out more information at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0062514547/personalandcareeA/002-8534146-3804809)
Long-term: The long-term way to avoid situations like
this is to develop a system so that these things do not
come at you like this. Do a weekly review once a week
that enables you to track all the outstanding things, to
write them down so that trying to remember them no
longer clutters up your thoughts. Develop a regular
system of getting to the small stuff that becomes big stuff
if we ignore it. Filing. Cleaning. Mail. E-mail. Although
we sometimes think that the word "routine" means "boring"
it can also refer to actions that we have put in place so
that we do not have to think about them. There are people
who routinely do their filing while watching/listening to a particular favorite TV show that does not much visual involvement. When the show comes on, they are automatically reminded that it is time to tackle their filing, and they do it. Thus the pile does
not accumulate to record-breaking heights.
There are others who will not allow themselves a second
cup of coffee until they have tamed their morning e-mail
monster. Yet others refuse to look at e-mail until they
have completed other, more important tasks.
There is no one right way. What is important is to
remember that all these tasks are not important in and of
themselves. What IS important is that we keep them
under control so that they do not impede us in our
enjoyment of our lives. Unfortunately, if we simply ignore
them, they do eventually topple over and threaten to
crush us, so ignoring them does not work. Keeping them
firmly in their place, that is what prevents them growing
like some monster in the basement, yet sets boundaries
around them so that we, knowing they are safely
corralled, can spend the rest of our time doing more
enjoyable and important things.
David Allen's book Getting things Done does not tell us
how to live our lives. It does tell us, very effectively, how
to keep our projects and paperwork under control so that
we have more chances to choose for ourselves how to
live our lives the rest of the time. Check it out at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0670899240/personalandcareeA/002-8534146-3804809
Of course, working with a coach so as to develop
systems, and accountabilities, that will work for you
personally is another possible solution.
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We're SO INTERNATIONAL!
At last count, there were 1,766 subscribers to Work in
Progress subscribers and they were distributed through
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you are outside of the United States and have an e-mail
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While on the topic of distribution, my spirituality-oriented
newsletter, Grounded in the Earth, Reaching for the Sky,
is poised to cross the 1,400 mark, having 1,396
subscribers today, and is distributed to 41 countries that
I know of. I have recently been asked for permission to
allow parts of it to be translated into Russian for a
spirituality newsletter there! Truly neat!
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Coaching from the ordinary experience to an
extraordinary life!
Work in Progress covers general issues that can be
addressed far more specifically and personally in
personal coaching. If you would like to receive the gift of
a free half-hour of coaching by phone, with no strings
and no pressures, visit my Guestbook at
www.ChoiceCoach.com to request such a call, and I will
respond promptly to schedule one. Just one free call
might help you to get over that annoying little glitch that
has been holding you back!
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Copyright 2001 Diana Robinson, Ph.D. Work in
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