In several seminars I've attended with LEMI and at George Wythe University I have heard this proverb or saying:
The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.
I was thinking about that this morning when I emptied my dryer lint. My husband is always trying to get me to do it after every load, but I like to have something to grab onto not just scrape the lint off. So often to his dismay I wait too long to remove it. I was thinking this morning how that sums up the way I do a lot of things. For example, I will wait until my desk is piled high with papers before I will pay attention to it. I read in an organizing book once that I am a "Zorro" house cleaner. I attack a job with zeal and enjoy seeing the great change only to let it pile up soon after, then I repeat the whole process over again. A very exhausting approach that causes the cleaning process to happen only when the mess can't be tolerated any longer.
So my thoughts are, should I put away the mask and change my natural tendencies? I think it is important to recognize that I like to accomplish things in chunks of time rather than a little here and a little there. This knowledge could be helpful if I recognize when writing, for example, I do better if I have a chunk of time to get my thoughts on paper then I know I need to schedule it. But honestly, in the life I lead, I do not have chunks of time to devote to things like house cleaning or tracking my finances. I really only have little gifts of time to accomplish these tasks.
In contemplating this I remembered that my friend Tamera was telling me she liked the post "It's a Snap!". Funny...I should take my own advice. So I had a wonderful idea. I could capitalize on my Zorro tendencies and attack a bunch of little jobs with zeal by thinking, "This is a snap!" Do you think I can do it? I would stay on top of things and expend less energy.
I probably sound like I'm repeating myself but really I'm wrestling with the natural man. I have a clear picture of who I want to be and I'm determined to come off conqueror. Afterall, I have Zorro-like tendencies ; ) I think I could possibly start enjoying scraping the dryer lint off the screen thing...and I'll have a really happy hubby ; ) I feel a positive affirmation coming on...
We are so much alike it's crazy!
ReplyDeleteWow, if only my husband could read this, he would think I wrote it! He simply doesn't understand that I do not clean as I go, but wait until it's a huge job and then tackle it! I'm glad I'm not alone...BUT, I have two kids and you have, like twelve so my thought is if we're always chasing the messes as they come, we're surely missing out on the most important "little" things that our kids are doing throughout the day. So my question is, how can we meet our darling hubbies in the middle? Men are so "all or nothing"!
ReplyDeleteI guess you are right. Although, just as I empty the dryer lint EVERY time, I also empty the garbages at least once daily, get the dishes right out of the sink, and do everything that way. I don't know that I've EVER procrastinated. It would keep me up at night. I have 5 kids, and I would miss out on all the "little" important things the kids do every day anyway, as I pretty much fight fires, keep the littlest ones from killing/poisoning/etc. themselves all day; when I'm not cooking, studying, serving, holding, helping, that is.
ReplyDelete