Do-able To Do Lists

In response to my to-do lists being too long, a reader suggested I focus my lists on one day or one room.

I think some of my lists should focus on even less. They should encouraging discipline for the specific times of day I know I'm likely to loose focus. They should acknowledge things that take up time that I don't factor in well enough.


Furthermore, what if I made my lists short enough that I knew I could actually accomplish them?


I keep making unrealistic lists. Sometimes I let myself think I could actually accomplish them. Other times I know I can't, but feel the need to keep all the things on the list, because they have to get done sooner or later, preferably sooner.

That's not helpful or rewarding. I suppose I need that big master list somewhere. But what point is there in taking on more of it than I can handle at a time?

Dark Picture

Yes, I know the photo in the last post is dark. When I first viewed it on the blog I thought it was a problem.

Then I looked got closer and looked more, as if letting my eyes adjust to the darkness and focus in. I could see enough. I even noticed something I really liked that I hadn't noticed before.

Is it just because I already know what's in the picture? Or can you see enough if you look closely? (I don't know.) If you need a hint, it's a view from a porch (or is it...no wait, I won't give the other perspective away).

Looking and listening closely, or not, creates interesting effects.

When I picked my car up from the shop I listened intently to see if the noise I took it in for was gone. The noise was gone. But I heard another I was sure hadn't been there before. Later when I wasn't paying attention, I heard that "new" noise again, and realized it was familiar.

Yesterday at the clinic the doctor asked if a certain sore little mark was always there. I didn't really think so. Walking back to my car I suddenly recognized the familiarity of that spot's discomfort.

What am I tuning out that I might want to notice today? What problem? What beauty? What presence? What question?

Local View 1

I love words. But sometimes it's so much work to try to communicate effectively with them.

You know the saying about pictures and 1,000 words.

This picture & others I imagine I might post mean something to me. I won't try to explain what on this blog.

I hope you you find them evokative in some way.