Tuesday, April 22, 2014

In Six Minutes

I have no concept of space or time.

Before I moved, I couldn't tell you if 1200 square feet was big or small. I didn't know if an empty bedroom could fit a queen or a twin...I had to measure everything to get a mental picture. It just doesn't come naturally to me. 

I'm the same way with the concept of time. I have no idea if a task will take 5 minutes or 55 minutes. I naturally work better according to task lists rather than schedules. 

Which is why I'm also a procrastinator.

Often I'll avoid a task because I've imagined how much time it will surely take and I'll decide I'll do it later "when I have time". 

Or I'll do just the opposite. I'll see that I have an extra 10 minutes so surely that's enough time to get tasks A-Z done before I have to leave for work/church/home! Next time I look up at the clock half an hour has gone by! And now I'm late. 

I'm trying to be more mindful: more aware of my surrounding, more aware of people I'm with, more present in general. 

So last night I decided to fold the extra large load of mixed laundry that's been sitting in the dryer for two days. I've put it off because I've been busy and tired at the end of the day. I figured I'd do it...when I had the time.

But after dinner I decided to just bite the bullet and get it done. I headed to the laundry room armed with my iPhone, put on one of my favorite podcasts and started folding. I folded towels & clothes and hung up some shirts. Then I looked in the washer and saw that my son still had wet clothes in there. I put those in the dryer for him and then grabbed my iPhone and the laundry basket to go back in the house. 

That's when I noticed it. 

My podcast had only played 6 minutes. That's all it took for me to do something I had put off for two days? What's wrong with me??

So I walked in the house, took another two minutes to put everything away and then sat on my bed and wondered, "Why have laundry & I been enemies all these years?"

What do you put off? Let me know in the comments!


1 comment:

  1. I am the same way. For some unknown reason, I think everything takes an hour. Most things don't take nearly that long, but for whatever reason, I think I need an hour. To do laundry. To change bed sheets. To work out.

    Being more aware of how long as task REALLY takes is so helpful!

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