Our capacity to focus is a precious and limited resource. One way to protect your ability to concentrate on larger issues is to take care of more minor issues that have been sticking around on your To Do List for quite some time. This may seem counterintuitive as we believe we need to devote all of our energies to the larger issues and ignore the smaller ones in order to stay afloat. We may even feel like we are wasting time when we bother to take care of the small stuff. The potential problems with ignoring smaller matters are many:
- smaller problems may quietly lead to other problems, like overdue fines and missed enrollment opportunities
- the list of smaller matters becomes too large to keep track of effectively
- you will start to get a nagging feeling
- actual people will begin to nag you
And so, the Step of the Day: Tie Up a Loose End
Here are some suggestions for some loose ends you might want to tackle today:
- return your library books
- write a thank you card
- call your medical insurance company to inquire about your benefits or a claim
- mail a gift
- send a reply to an invitation
- give your pet their monthly medications
- draft a letter as part of your neighborhood volunteer work
Yes, you may have caught on that I am heavily borrowing from my own niggling To Do List for today. But you know, I am writing this post happy to know that Patch is protected from heartworm and fleas this month. And I don't get a guilty feeling every time I look at his pretty face. Take some time today to make yourself or someone else happy. Have fun with it!
Which loose end will you tie up today? Notice how you feel once you are done, then repeat.
