Just Do It!

Just Do It!

         I received a note from a friend commending me for the number of reviews I have done. I appreciated the feedback, particularly for having read and reviewed two long chapter books. To ensure I completed those tasks I made notes on my Just Do It! list.

         I renamed my To Do list to my Just Do It! list because I am admittedly a procrastinator, making excuses why this or that task on my To Do list did not get done. The new name, shamelessly borrowed from Nike, gives my plans more urgency. I am not as prone to ignore, put off, and ultimately not complete tasks as I did previously with my To Do list. It has helped me tremendously to stay on task. Instead of excuses I Just Do It!

         Why am I writing this?

         My mind wanders. I have to reign it in many times a day. I have a hunger for daydreaming without getting caught. I yearn for the beach by the blue Pacific and picture myself sitting on white sand listening to the ocean waves roll in, recede, rhythmically arriving again with a pleasing swish. I play a game to see if I can predict how far the wave will reach each time. In the next instant, I will imagine driving up the incline road to Lake Tahoe anticipating the first glimpse of the incredibly blue Donner Lake. In the next moment, I am praying incessantly. All I do is to improve, grow, and add as many things I can possibly get done in the daily twenty four hours allotment.

         I encourage you to try it. If you are not a list maker, rethink it. You don't have to take up additional brain cells leaving tasks to the chance you will remember. Moving them from your mind to paper reduces stress. The satisfaction of placing a check mark beside a completed item is a wonderful reward.

         Epilogue: Something as simple as changing the name of a list has taken me hundreds of words to explain (262 before I edit this) . I have three past due contest stories to write today. Excuse me while I jot those down on my Just Do It! list.