prioritizing | Cathy C. Hall Writes

I do not understand how it can be October already.

I mean, I understand how the days of the year work, divided into months, starting with January, then February, and so on and so on but wasn’t I just hanging out at the beach yesterday? And the week before that…wasn’t I singing for Easter? Just last month, I was thinking about what I’d like to accomplish this year around the old homestead. Now here it is October and when I took a look at that list I made (Seriously, it seemed like just last month), well…the less said about that, the better.

Okay, that’s not quite true. I had a whole lot to say about it over at The Muffin today in “The October Checklist (Or EEEKS! It’s Getting Scary Now!)”. Mostly, I shared my plan about how I deal with accomplishing a whole list of goals when there’s not much time left to do ’em.

Or technically, not accomplishing goals when time’s running out. See, I am all about prioritizing so basically, when I have a whole list of things to do, I toss anything that’s not absolutely necessary. That way, I get my taxes paid and I leave the torn wallpaper for another day. And now that I think about it, that torn wallpaper has been tossed off the list for about two years. But at least I have a house so it’s all good.

Or it will be good. ‘Cause I’m off to mail my taxes right now. I may accomplish something else today, but frankly, after the check’s in the mail, everything else is gravy. I was going to work on the kitchen wallpaper project but that ripped paper ain’t go anywhere. I, on the other hand, have a sunny day and a good scary book.

Priorities, people. Happy October!

You know I’m a crazy list-er, right? (Or you know now–)

I list goals for the year, the month, the weeks, and daily goals, too. I’m sure, if you’re not a list-er, it sounds like a lot of work. But I’m so used to thinking in terms of “Things To Do” that I get a little anxious if Monday rolls around and I can’t find my list of “Writing Things to Do.”

So you would think I’d get anxious when life interrupts the goals and the lists, right? But I don’t. Maybe it’s because I have The Junior Halls, and it’s impossible to always stay on track when kids (yes, even grown ones who refuse to pose decently for one lousy picture) are around. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman of a certain age. Women of a certain age seem calmer, less Oh-my-Lord-we’re-all-gonna-die-if-I-don’t-get-this-done and more Oh-my-Lord-we’re-what-was-I-trying-to-get-done?

But I think the most likely reason of all (to quote my favorite Dr. Seuss, How The Grinch Stole Christmas) is not that my heart is two sizes too small, but that I’m pretty good at prioritizing. This past month has been hectic, what with my mom taking a spill, and me zipping back and forth to Savannah, and Thanksgiving hoopla and I don’t know what all. So. I’m just now getting to piled-up emails and manuscripts I thought I’d finish long before the end of the month.

And that’s okay. Folks are usually pretty understanding when you finally email them back. And the manuscripts will get finished, maybe by the end of December.

Maybe not. Which is my very long way of saying that I’m on a sort of semi-vacation during December because family and Christmas take priority. It’s possible that you may not see as much of me on the blog or your blogs.

Plus, you know I have this lazy streak, right? (Or you know now.)