One at a Time

Suddenly, I have so many need-to’s. My mind is trying to recall everything. Lord?

I brought the animals to Adam to name one at a time. They didn’t come en masse–that would have been overwhelming. You need to approach your to-do’s in the same way. Adam could never have named the giraffe if he’d been fretting over what to call the elephant. There is a place and time for Big Picture thinking and a time for the nitty-gritty details. You’ve had to bounce between the two, but for these next days, try to approach your tasks in the same way you were counseled to photograph in Florida–one bird at a time, rather than darting your focus from this bird to that bird to another bird. You will know when it’s time to switch to a wider angle perspective and consider the whole, but for this week, see each small task through before you begin to work on, or even think much about, the next one. That will help calm your darting thoughts. Not only will you feel calmer, you will actually get more done, with a greater sense of accomplishment. It’s not the way you usually approach a project. You usually try to juggle multiple pieces of its totality at once. Try this other way. You’ll be more productive and more serene. And yes, build in time to breathe! You can take mini-breaks as you finish a task. This is one of your issues–when you try to juggle and consider everything at once, you have the sense nothing is ever really finished, and you don’t let yourself stop, and rest, and enjoy a quiet moment. You also miss out on the satisfaction of accomplishment because your mind is already off and working on the next three things.

Gosh, God, it sounds so easy when You say it. So simple. But You’re right–it’s not how I think, not how I do things.

Remember, this isn’t a contest or a school day. This is your life, your beautiful, busy, multi-faceted life. Why not find ways to enjoy it more, in the actual doing and living of it?