So Much To Do
It’s already been a pretty full day that started at 5AM this morning, but I have a bit of free time this afternoon before ice skating and dinner with friends. Lately, when these precious unscheduled hours present themselves, I face paralysis of choice in deciding how to fill them.
I could…
Read and nap. (Meaning I start reading with the intent of falling asleep, but will inevitably never put my iPad down).
Actually take a much-needed nap.
Write something for my blog.
Work on the design of my blog.
Research and book lodging for an upcoming trip.
Clear out a few low-energy tasks on my to-do list.
Watch an episode of TV or a movie that’s on my backlog.
Clean up the house.
Fix a bunch of HomeKit devices that stopped working a few weeks ago and that’s super annoying to deal with on a daily basis.
Research startup costs for a business I’d like to start.
Do some yoga/stretches that my body would desperately enjoy.
Catch up on my social media timeline.
Get lost in Instagram Reels. (NO!)
Catch up with friends or family.
Play with my Vision Pro.
Send some photos to shared albums that I usually do every month, but have fallen embarrassingly behind on.
Log my climbing days so they’re ready to submit for my guiding license.
Tinker with an RSS feed idea I just had in the shower.
Publish some shortcuts that I’ve been sitting on.
Answer emails and clear out that inbox.
…and you better believe that I could go on.
But which?
Sure, there are some things on this list that immediately get cast aside, but most of them feel equally important or appealing. All of them would bring me a sense of accomplishment, and I want to do them all. But time is limited.
I can’t say that I’m good at this, but one method I turn to in order to get something done is determine which task will bring the longest benefit with the least effort. You could imagine an X/Y-axis graph in which the horizontal X-axis is the task’s long-term benefit, and the vertical y-axis is time or effort it takes to do it. I gravitate toward the tasks that are pretty low vertically, but way off to the right horizontally.
I recognize that this is just basic prioritizing but, man, prioritizing can be difficult.
But really, which?
Obviously, I chose to write a blog post. And no, it doesn’t meet the criteria that I just explained above. I did tell you that I’m not very good at it. But it’s been a while since I’ve done a “regular” blog post, and I guess I felt that I was neglecting it — meaning that in a weird way I felt like I was neglecting that part of me.
But let’s prioritize a few tasks that I can do with the hour or some that I have left:
Write something for my blog.- Fix a bunch of HomeKit devices. (Will make my wife happy, which bumps it way up.)
- Log my climbing days for my guiding license résumé. (I take an exam next week, and I want the paperwork to be ready to submit ASAP since it will unlock more guiding opportunities for the winter.)
- Tinker with an RSS idea. (Will automate part of my posting process that will save me a few minutes with every new blog post., and I think it’ll be quick to do.1)
- Research lodging for my trip. (It’s not urgent, per se, but it is on a countdown and needs to get done sooner rather than later.)
Wish me luck.
Famous last words.↩︎