On Helping Myself Feel Productive

It's cold here - not as cold as some places where we've got friends and family, but still cold. E has reached the stage where she can go almost anywhere by walking or on her scooter, but she's still prone to dillydallying, lollygagging, whatever antiquated word you want to throw at it. Which basically means that she will go very slowly and sometimes stop, for whatever reason makes sense to her at the moment, but which is not seen by the rest of us as a good reason to stand around in freezing temperatures. Regardless of my best efforts to make everything go smoothly when we go out, there's a 98% chance that one or more of us will be uncomfortable (and complain about it) for at least 50% of the journey. At least. So we don't go out if we don't need to, is what I'm getting at.

Normally when we have a day at home, I get through a lot of tasks. I get the kids' school readings done, grab a second cup of coffee, and go for it. At the end of those days, I feel like I have conquered the world. It feels great. I go to bed happy and at peace. But right now it is cold. We are in a winter slump. I can't seem to power through a lot of tasks in an afternoon at home. I lack the power. So instead, I am choosing to focus on a more limited number of tasks that will do two things: 1. Make things easier in the long term, and 2. Make me feel as if I have accomplished something with my time. Even when I am embracing the chance to have a bit of a rest, I want to feel productive.

Today I chose to do a task I'd been putting off for months. I knew that if I did it, I would feel like the day wasn't a total waste. I didn't want to do it, but it would fulfill the two requirements listed above. So, I organized E's shelf in our craft cupboard. It was daunting, but I did it. One garbage each of rubbish and recycling later, it was done. It didn't take long, but it made a noticeable difference. I can now go to bed in peace.