Friday, October 18, 2024

To-Do Lists and Deadlines

I have so much on my mind right now, so many things to do, that I need to get it all* out and try to organize it, because the pile of thoughts bouncing around my brain are making me feel a little like panicking. Being on vacation this week has somewhat helped, but also there is always a false sense of how much I will get done when I'm not working, and as the week winds down, my stress levels go back up.
*I would settle for some of it, honestly

Have to do today:

  • undo the cold brew coffee; I set it up yesterday, so it's the only absolute must-do today

Ought to do today, or at least soon:

  • write more postcards: I'm only halfway through my list, and have to mail them next Thursday, so I need to do some each day
  • tidy up the office at least somewhat before the cleaners come on Wednesday
  • look over the ballot and decide who to vote for---obviously the top of the ballot is simple, ahem, but there are a lot of other races and ballot questions to go over, and I want to get this done and drop off our ballots at early voting, which starts next week
  • clean out the litter box, then take the trash downstairs
  • turn my work alarm back on before Monday done, tragically
  • trim the cat's claws done!
  • cut my fingernails

Before my brother comes for Thanksgiving, aka, he arrives in five weeks, ulp:

  • clear out space in the office for the airbed etc. Just one thing, but made up of dozens of small things.

To do sometime:

  • weed-whack my email inbox back under control. I am not an inbox-zero person, but I usually get it under 50 messages. Right now it's over 200. Hurricane Milton really threw me off stride in so many ways.
  • photograph and put away recent yarn purchases
  • reschedule the bloodwork that was cancelled by Milton, and the follow-up doctor's appointment (routine, but I still should do it)

All right, I'm going to do the coffee now, and then write some postcards. Vote, people! People in the US, that is. Make a plan, and vote!

9 comments:

  1. Vote was at the top of my list yesterday and is pretty much the only thing that got accomplished. Now that I've voted, I expect that I won't get anymore unsolicited political texts (that's a pipe dream and I know it).

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  2. We mailed in our ballots this week! Thank you for writing postcards. I did some, and then also wrote a bunch of letters for Vote Forward. Perhaps I will write some more postcards...I have them, and I have stamps.

    Good luck with your list. I love lists and sometimes I hate them. So much to do. My work email is currently zero, but the last time I zeroed out my personal inbox was January of 2023. I think I need to make it a goal to get it cleaned out by January 2025, so I can start the year with an empty inbox. Why do I keep so many emails? So many folders. Sigh.

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    Replies
    1. Yes to the love-hate relationship with lists! So true.

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  3. I don't have my ballot yet but I most certainly will--for the same person as you, I suspect! Your list is overwhelming, but you can only take one thing at a time. I always do the easy tasks first so I can check them off and feel a sense of accomplishment.

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    Replies
    1. One thing at a time is so true! Sometimes I will literally tell myself, you can't do everything, but you can do one thing. Okay, now do one more thing...

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  4. There was a fire today in the Oakland hills, a day before the anniversary of the huge fire that wiped out so much, with pictures I recognize. It's making me itchy to fill out our ballots and get those in tomorrow--you just never know.

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  5. Thank you for writing postcards! I'm so glad there are so many of us doing it.

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