As is our routine, I reviewed the family calendar and my convoluted to-do list with Beloved. Why convoluted? I use a tool called Toodledo that lets me assign every task a due date, an importance level, and a category or folder. The web-based tool lets me sort on all three of those. Obviously a task with a TOP importance level that was due last week is going to appear on the top of the list. One with a LOW priority due to today will be farther down, even below HIGH and TOP due in the next seven days.
So we go over it and Beloved has a chance to make sure his needs and household crises rise to the top. We don’t always go over the folders for Marketing, Writing and Owe to Belles unless they will impact his schedule in some way or require his help. This week like most weeks, there is no burning crisis, no urgent household business, but still more to do than I can manage. I find myself staring at the screen and asking myself “What really matters?”
The question is key to remembering to focus on what is vital as opposed to merely urgent. So, what in my life really matters to me right now?
- Faith. God is the source I’ve come from and to which I am returning. Faith is the lamp that guides my journey. Without grace I would be mired in darkness
- Family. The first call on my love, my joy, and my attention on a day to day basis goes to family.
- Community. We’re not meant to live in isolation. We have obligations to the wider community, whether it is neighborhood, country, circles of friends, or parish: compassion always, justice always. My bit may be small, but I have to do it.
- Readers. They are the reason I write. If I was in it for the money, I’d have stopped long ago. The most important thing in my so-called career is always the next book. Get it written; tell it well; reach the heart.
I need to wrap my week around those four and weigh the tasks against them. I will, but first, coffee.
