The other day I sat together with my beloved wife and publishing partner Frumma and drew up a To-Do list. Scary stuff. The sheer number of items, not to mention the drudgery, Kafka-esque futility, and steep learning curves associated with 90% of the tasks just about turned me into a quivering, oscillating bowl of jello. It took me many agonizing, self-deprecating hours before I felt competent and confident enough to get productive again. Then I remembered.
The first few chapters of Awesome Aging address the challenge of identifying a clear sense of purpose, and then putting it to work. (Full disclosure: those chapters are way more an expression of Frumma’s expertise than mine.) Time management, we explain, is not just about getting things done. It’s a two-way street: each item on a list of things to do, if it’s to make sense and genuinely motivate us, needs to refer back to our core values, to our life’s mission, to the vision that spawned it. Remembering original intention is key to overcoming the inevitable frustrations that seem to stand in our way.
So if you’re desperately trying to drive a blunt, bent nail into a knotted, hardwood board with a greased ball-peen hammer, back up. Get in touch with the why. It’s not about the nail; it’s about the magnificent ballroom you’re building and the celebrations that will take place inside, once it’s done, and for generations to come. Keep that in mind and you’ll no doubt come up with a work-around.
Have a look at Part One of Awesome Aging to put it in context.
