Although it has been near 90 degrees several days here in NJ, it is still officially spring. Good thing, since I still have tons of spring cleaning to do before summer. Then I look around at all the tasks I have been putting off, and I want to hop back into bed and pull the covers up over my head and hope the fairies will come in and magically do it all for me. Can you relate?

So I decided to act like a grown-up, and pick a place to start. I did hear the bed calling, but I persisted. I started with my cell phone, actually Blackberry. I’ve only had it a few months, and there is a lot to learn about it. Like how to set it up to sync with my Outlook calendar and address book. It’s been a great learning experience, and frustrating too. Who are all these people? And how come some of them are in there twice, no, three, wait, FOUR times??????

I glued myself to the chair, and went through each entry, deleting all the duplicates and unknowns.  The process of getting the phone numbers from the old phone to the Blackberry was somewhat complicated, as I had to do it via Outlook. Which resulted not only in phone numbers but email contacts as well. I think I finally have the sync setting worked out, and the “device” cleared of what doesn’t belong there. First sync since the clean-up seems to have worked.

Go figure, I had been avoiding that one for, well, months. It took the better part of two hours, and was so worth the investment of my time.  The key was FOCUS:

First I set the goal: clean up the contact list so that I didn’t have to spend so much time searching for the number I was looking for

Second, I thought about how things would be after I completed the task: created a clear vision.

Third, I committed to the task. I ignored the breakfast dishes, and pushed back thoughts about the new audio book I just checked out from the library and the 2 yards left I have to weave on an exchange project.  I went through the contacts one at a time, and avoided trying to figure out how to select and delete several entries at a time.  As I reached the last sip of coffee in my cup, I realized I was already on “s” with only a few more letters to go. In a few more minutes, I had completed the goal!

Yippee! Celebration!

I feel lighter! I feel proud! I feel inspired!

I feel energized enough to move onto the next task. I will not think so hard about which one should be the priority. I will take the next one that makes me feel weighed down. Probably the breakfast dishes. And after two smaller successes, I think I will have the energy to weave some of that yardage, which is actually relaxing. Maybe not what I should be doing when there are rabbit cages to clean and the entryway to paint.  I’m thinking if I ignore the should and celebrate with a relaxing, fun activity, I will have renewed energy for the not so fun ones.

What do you think?