There is a habit that I insist is a MUST for anyone who wants to live an organized life. It is:“Do what you gotta before you do what you wanna.”
It is so very important.
We think that it doesn’t matter to do things out of order as long as we get everything done, but it does matter. If you have been doing things out of order or without an order at all, that is why so many things don’t get done or so many other things are done in a panic, in a rush and with chaos in its wake.
An example is when our car needs gas and we also need to get somewhere critically on time, like a job interview or to an airport.
Getting there 5 minutes too late or even 1 minute too late, can mean that it doesn’t happen at all and our life can be drastically affected by that event.
It takes the same amount of time to get your car gassed up and the same amount of time to get to the airport or interview. If you do the math, and it’s done on paper, it all works. But in reality, it doesn’t.
If instead we go to the gas station the day before and then leave for the airport or interview the next day, we get there without a hitch.
If we need to get gas right before we leave for the airport, we have to add in extra time. Otherwise, we’ll be late and miss our flight.
It seems ridiculous to point that out because we all know that.
What seems even more ridiculous to say is: “I’ll go get gas AFTER I get to the airport! Why not right? It takes the same amount of time!” See how nonsensical that would be?
Yet, it is exactly the same thing with our daily routines and our daily to-dos.
The simple aspects of running of our lives and doing the things that are non-negotiable like showering, cleaning up after ourselves, getting breakfast, coffee, dressing, doing our hair, getting kids dressed and ready, lunch prepared, shoes on, items gathered… all of our to-do’s… when we do things out of order, important things often do not happen, or, happen with a frenzied! Leaving us feeling out of control and frantic.
We are left living with chaos, uncertainty and incompleteness.
Somehow we don’t recognize that planning to do something earlier, the day before, or in a specific order in our timeline, can make the biggest difference in our lives.
It does.
EXACTLY as it does if you don’t leave earlier than normal because you need to get gas on the way to the airport to catch a flight.
Consider what the words “Out of Order” means to you if you read them attached to something. Like an ATM machine or a bathroom door.
It means IT’S BROKEN! Out of Order means it does not work.
Can you see now that what you felt was not that big of a deal before, doing things in a certain order becomes more important when thinking about what an “Out of Order” sign means.
So, “Do what you gotta before you do what you wanna” is not just a nice little phrase that helps us to be focused. It is a life-altering statement that if adhered to, makes life successful.
If you don’t know how to manage the “gotta’s”, that’s where I come in!
I hope you’ll watch the video. This blog inspired the topic for a meeting I had with my Tidy Tutor Insiders so I decided to share it with you. I’d Love to know what you think!
Love,
Kathy
PS
Did you know that for the entire month of June, we’ve got about 2 weeks left that I am meeting live with anyone who wants to join me?
We are working on anything that needs to be worked on, or if you just need people to hang out with, you can do that too.
CLICK HERE for more info and if you’re reading this after June 2020 is over, click anyway. This was so successful that I will be keeping it up, just not every day as we have been during the Covid-19 lockdown.