There is almost nothing more puzzling to me than when I see my list of things I want to accomplish… count out the hours in the day I have… divide it by the amount of time I need to allocate to these certain “to do’s”, press “equals”….. and?
Just as you would imagine, the magic number stares in front of me… but, it has a decimal in it.
I am not even sure what that means exactly.
So I am going to chalk it up to, “not enough time in the day!”
Like puzzles, we love to look at the big picture. We are mystified by its beauty and cannot wait to get there!
But, as well, like puzzles, it takes time, strategy and careful placement of the pieces, if we want to accomplish this task with enough time enough to actually look at it, enjoy it for what it is, and then, as we do, off to the next puzzle tackle!
We know, from watching our parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents- whoever had the addiction of tackling those large 1500 piece puzzles of New Hampshire, New England, New Foundland, and New Brunswick Houses or Scenery, bought for $0.50 at the neighbour’s garage sales- that there are certain strategies for piecing these puzzles together!
First, take a large cork or plywood piece of material, to keep this project safe and out of harms (or us rowdy nieces’ and grandchildrens’) way.
Start off with all the side and corner pieces; those are no-brainers.
“Piece out” all of the solid and dark distinguishable colours and shades.
Continue on, from the inside out, “piece out!”.
The main thing with these ever so enormous projects, whether it be the bargain basement priced puzzles, or your “to do “ lists; one thing matters above all else.
“Focus.”
“Piece out” all that you have to do, and how you are going to do it!
Make your “to do list”, or “project list” like a puzzle to tackle.
Do the things first, that you know are the easiest, and that can be done effortlessly, and you can feel great checking them off your list, giving you the momentum to continue.
If you start off with the biggest project of them all, you will struggle, get disappointed, and sometimes quit from discouragement, leaving even the easiest of tasks undone.
If you have 5-8 easy things to do in a list of 20 things, but look at all of them at the same time, with everything else above them, still pending, of course your head is spinning.
If you have a goal, and no strategy to get you to accomplish it, you will be spending all of your very precious time pulling your hair; grinding your teeth; or my favorite- counting the holes in the plywood slats on the ceiling of my office- wondering if anyone would notice if I took 1 or 2 to use for my new hobby of 1500 piece puzzle I may pick up from the craft store on the way home, so I can feel productive since I have no idea how I am going to tackle this “to do” list I have been cringing over since what seems like forever….
I have seen enough scenic 1500 piece puzzles in my day, I can do without another, at least until I go home for the holidays.
So, don’t look at the whole picture, look at it step by step, and pat yourself on the back for accomplishing, each and every step.
Rome wasn’t built in a day!
And neither were the 1500 piece puzzles that depicted Roman Sculptures, or Roman Gods and Goddesses.
So, don’t act like you have to be a “God or Goddess”, but instead just be “good” at what you do, strive to be “even greater” with time, and work on the “greatest” strategy to get you to where you want to be.
Life is all about the journey- not the destination…
If it were the other way around, we would be buying 1500 puzzles, already pieced together. They would probably be more expensive, and who has money to spend on them or space for these honkin’ puzzles, when most of us have enough of a hassle trying to find enough income to afford, and space to hold our already existing belongings into our enormously expensive 550 sq ft downtown condos…
So, I would say focus on your “to do” lists, leave the puzzles for retirement, but don’t retire your projects until you have successfully completed them!
You can do it, just do it one day at a time.
And take a day or two off, too…
LuCy sMiLeS
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