My inbox

Last Wednesday morning my class was taken by someone else and I was able to sit and observe.  It was the first time in ages that I’d actually had nothing to do.  I mean, I obviously had something to do, i.e. observe her teaching and learn from it.  But while the students were writing or getting on with other tasks, I was able to daydream and think about myself for once.  I started to relax … I hadn’t felt like that for a long time. 

And I then I realised the reason why I haven’t been feeling relaxed: a constant nagging feeling that I haven’t quite finished everything and that there’s still something more that ‘needs’ to be done.

Partly this is true.  At (my speech therapy) work there are always more reports to be done, and there’s always other stuff that’s outstanding or overdue.  I also have plenty of things that need doing at home … cleaning to do, letters to write, things to sell on ebay, people to call etc …  Normal stuff, that everyone has to do.

But mainly my problem is accepting that this feeling is irrational.  There are always going to be more things that ‘need’ to be done.  As Richard Carlson would say, my ‘inbox’ will never be empty - that’s the nature of an inbox.  And if it ever is, then I may as well give up - an empty inbox makes for a dull life. 

So, in the last week, I’ve been trying to chill a bit.  Leaving work early, and trying not to let this feeling of ’unfinishedness’ totally consume me.

Not sure how long it’ll last.

May 21, 2008. Home, Work.

4 Comments

  1. Jane replied:

    A grand plan.
    I find it too easy to get in a fankle if I don’t succeed in remembering positive things like this, so I hope if the niggly feelings catch up with you again you can manage to just take a deep breath and start from the beginning…
    The in-box analogy is nice, I like the idea that having lots of things I haven’t finished actually makes for a better picture!
    Jxx

    May 21, 2008 at 10:07 pm. Permalink.

  2. Masher replied:

    I can completely relate to that.
    I constantly have a feeling of uneasiness that I know is down to unfinished things: jobs I promised I would do for people; jobs I promised the wife I’d do at home; personal targets that I set myself and am nowhere near achieving.
    So much to do, but so little time.

    I blame the telly.

    May 21, 2008 at 10:12 pm. Permalink.

  3. Maths Chick replied:

    SG - that’s a great plan.

    One of my late and great colleagues once gave me very good advice about work.

    Our deputy head used to give us endless tasks to do (like we didn’t have enough to do) and my colleague rightly felt that some of this stuff was plain pointless. So, he did the things that he thought were really important and left the rest. If these things were really that important, people would nag at him to do them. Otherwise, they would forget about it and he would be left alone.

    That’s why I try to divide my “inbox” into:
    1) Stuff that simply HAS to be done (eg. renew car tax, turn up at work each day)
    2) Stuff that needs to be done at some point (eg change of address letters, marking)
    3) Stuff that I would like to do to make life easier if I have time but is not the end of the world if it isn’t done (eg marking, filing)
    4) Stuff that can bin itself after its shelf life has expired (eg anything else including marking)

    This works most of the time, but invariably you have to expect someone to get annoyed with you from time to time. But that’s going to happen anyway, right?!

    Good luck with chilling out. Makes for a longer life, I reckon.

    May 22, 2008 at 11:10 am. Permalink.

  4. stratfordgirl replied:

    Jane: thanks for your comment. Glad your like the inbox analogy.

    Masher: Yep, TV can take up so much time, can’t it? I’m really trying to limit my intake! Although, shit, BB starts again soon - yikes.

    MC: Hello CC, I like your four point programme. It reminds me of the important versus urgent quadrant where you are supposed to prioritise important over urgent things. See here for details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Things_First_%28book%29

    I also try to use “The 4 D’s method”. For everything that comes into your ‘inbox’, you either DO it (if it can be done in less than 2 minutes), DELEGATE to someone else, DIARISE (stick it in your diary if you really have to do it and then do it when you say you will) or DELETE (bin it).

    So many time management methods. But I still can’t get organised! :-)

    June 4, 2008 at 11:36 am. Permalink.

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