What matters in the busy times

 

 

In working out, finally, what matters in the busy times, I have discovered the delights of delegation.

In small ways – so, instead of going to the post-box with a misdirected letter to have it mailed to the right address, it’s incredibly liberating to hand it back to the postman – and in bigger ones – this is a massive job; instead of trying to do it all myself, I shall employ someone else to do it – I find myself freed from so many jobs I used to assume responsibility for, without once asking, “Do I have to do this?”

By delegating, I have more time and mental energy to do what I must do for myself; or, as my brother used to say, “There’s only one thing that other people can’t do for you – write your books.” So, increasingly, the everyday stuff I get through has this end in view: to leave me with energy enough, so that when I sit down to write, I can invest the time properly, write well, and leave what is after all my chosen field of endeavour, feeling satisfied.

If you need a few tips to help you get to what you enjoy, here are my latest recommendations:-

~Delegate as much as you can. Ask your partner to cook tea, get in the washing off the line, take out the bucket, answer the phone.

~If it comes to it, stop answering the phone for a while.

~Value your time, and remember you ain’t going to get it back any time soon. Therefore, spend it wisely doing what you enjoy.

~Learn to say no. Kindly, gently and firmly.

~Keep your feet moving to where you aim to get. Go for a swim, don’t talk to lots of people on the way out – unless that is your idea of heaven; keep your feet moving so that you arrive home earlier than you expected – how novel that is, and so empowering!

~Congratulate yourself on any job well done. Any difficult job is bound to take away precious time. But if you have to do it, just get it done and then move on to the next thing. Well done!

~Stop thinking and start floating through all the stuff that pulls you down.

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