Day of rest

In some circles, Sunday is the traditional day of rest, but for me ... that was yesterday (Saturday).

My youngest daughter sent me a text message asking what I was up to, and I messaged back that I was "chillin' on the couch." I didn't do a whole lot yesterday. Wrote a story for the local newspaper, where I do a little freelancing, and put the finishing touches on a new painting, but other than that, it was pure couch potato.

Daughter replied: "Nice! Need to relax sometimes."

Me: "Hate to 'waste' time, but yes. Sometimes my ambition exceeds my energy level these days."

Which is true. Since I got myself straightened out again about 10 months ago, it seems like there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. The mountain of things on my to-do list can get overwhelming, and sometimes when the to-do list gets overwhelming, you just don't know where to start.

And the easy way out of that situation is ... to do nothing.

But I learned something a long time ago when I was a newspaper reporter. I worked for a small-town paper, and I was the chief cook and bottle washer for our one-man news bureau in a nearby town, about 20 miles away from the home office. My job was to cover the news in this city, along with everything that might come up in half-a-dozen other small towns in a couple of adjoining counties.

Sometimes, it got hectic.

One day, I had six or seven different things to do, all at the same time -- phones were ringing, deadlines were approaching, stories needed to be written -- and I was getting a little flustered. Then, in the midst of the storm, something occurred to me:

One thing at a time.

With the arrival of that simple idea, the dust swirling around me settled. I calmed down, and started taking care of one thing at a time. Finish that one; start the next. Pretty soon, it was all done.

When I told my daughter yesterday that sometimes my ambition exceeds my energy level, she sent me one of those LOLs, and said: "Always. I'm your daughter, for sure."

So, the thought for the day: if your to-do list starts piling up, slow down and tackle one thing at a time. If you need to, take a break.

Take a break -- it'll get done. And if it doesn't, the sun will still rise tomorrow ...