To Have or to Hold?
I've always said that I enjoy having a personal backlog -- a list of projects. Without something (or, more often, somethings) waiting on the back burner I feel empty. Truth be told, I am scared to death of boredom and the waste of unrecoverable time it implies. And by boredom I mean boredom, not reflection, meditation, or self-examination all of which are worthy pursuits, in moderation.
The danger of viewing ones activities as a backlog is that one tends to make line-item tasks out of constant activities. What do I mean? Let's look at my most recent backlog. Some of the things are, truly, line-item tasks (of various duration)...
- Finish caulking and painting the baseboards in the upstairs hallway and stairwell.
- Sand down, stain, and put up the banister in the hallway
- Sand, stain, poly, wax the new doors I "made" for the linen closet.
- Put up Linda's "Winnie the Pooh" door (pictures coming)
- Install slate in our foyer
- Make kitchen cabinets
- Build the garden hutch before spring
- Texture and paint the ceilings
- Take down the Christmas decorations (yeah, I know....)
etc... etc... trust me, there is aplenty on the list. But, they are all things on a list. You do them, and they are finished in some reasonable amount of time. Then there are other things on the list...
- Work out for 1.5 hours
- Handle the next 2 classes from graduate school
- Blog
- Get ready for your next martial art belt test
- Follow up on the new years resolution to reconnect with the family/friends you have not been paying attention to in a while.
etc... etc... and trust me, there are others here too.
All of which makes for a prioritizing nightmare. Does one pursue the individual tasks (the things to have) or does one pursue the lifestyles (the things that hold). So, that has been a question on my mind today: which is more important -- to have or to hold?
Probably not the deepest "question of the ages", but it is, to me, an important question. I've always struggled with the right way to prioritize my time. Having a large and active base of friends, and family, and hobbies has always been a double-edged sword -- there is simply never enough time to make everyone happy so you just resolve to get by on the understanding of those around you.
-Ed
The danger of viewing ones activities as a backlog is that one tends to make line-item tasks out of constant activities. What do I mean? Let's look at my most recent backlog. Some of the things are, truly, line-item tasks (of various duration)...
- Finish caulking and painting the baseboards in the upstairs hallway and stairwell.
- Sand down, stain, and put up the banister in the hallway
- Sand, stain, poly, wax the new doors I "made" for the linen closet.
- Put up Linda's "Winnie the Pooh" door (pictures coming)
- Install slate in our foyer
- Make kitchen cabinets
- Build the garden hutch before spring
- Texture and paint the ceilings
- Take down the Christmas decorations (yeah, I know....)
etc... etc... trust me, there is aplenty on the list. But, they are all things on a list. You do them, and they are finished in some reasonable amount of time. Then there are other things on the list...
- Work out for 1.5 hours
- Handle the next 2 classes from graduate school
- Blog
- Get ready for your next martial art belt test
- Follow up on the new years resolution to reconnect with the family/friends you have not been paying attention to in a while.
etc... etc... and trust me, there are others here too.
All of which makes for a prioritizing nightmare. Does one pursue the individual tasks (the things to have) or does one pursue the lifestyles (the things that hold). So, that has been a question on my mind today: which is more important -- to have or to hold?
Probably not the deepest "question of the ages", but it is, to me, an important question. I've always struggled with the right way to prioritize my time. Having a large and active base of friends, and family, and hobbies has always been a double-edged sword -- there is simply never enough time to make everyone happy so you just resolve to get by on the understanding of those around you.
-Ed
posted by Ed at 2:21 PM
3 Comments:
Is this the way you are letting me know you and Linda are not available for a free dinner at my house?!
I know what you mean by prioritizing, I have the same issues. There is the list of things I "want" to do, the list of things I feel I "have" to do, the list of things I "should" do (and don't really want to do), and so forth.
When you figure it out, let me know! ;)
Phil,
We are trying to find time, but it is difficult. I try to never turn down free food.
PG,
I've developing a theory, but it involves winning the lottery and moving to the Bahamas.
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