Finding balance in a chaotic world

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Will it be Any Easier Later?

I came across the above quote in a book about organizing things. It struck me as being the perfect compliment to the whole “person of action” concept that I’m trying to live. Simply put, when you have a task that you want to put off, you ask “will it be any easier later?” If the answer is yes, then put it off until the appropriate time. If the answer is no, then just start it already. You’ll get it over with sooner and then it will be something you accomplished rather than something you need to do.

 

What I really like about that question is that it puts into focus your reasons for putting something off. 9 times out of 10 the reason I put something off is that I just don’t want to start it. I’m feeling lazy, or there is a video game I’d rather play, or I fear it will take too long. What I’ve discovered is that it rarely takes as long to finish a task as it seems like it will when you start. Take my garage for instance. I cleaned a third of the garage in under 2 hours. If I had not let it get so cluttered up, it would have taken less than an hour easy. Another perfect example is the dishes. I typically wash the dishes after dinner and I’ve discovered that it only takes about 15 minutes from when I start to when I’m done. I seems like a tedious and annoying task but the reality is that it often takes me 15 minutes to decide what I want to do next. At least with the dishes, I’ve accomplished something.

 

So the next time you have a task you want to put off, as yourself “will it be any easier later?” If not, then suck it up and get it done. By the way, this also goes for scheduling doctor and dentist appointments. Tackle it head on and be a “person of action.”