Not long ago, one of my teacher clients proudly told me that she is learning to deal with the “me now” in order to be a happy “me later”. I asked her to expand on that. She explained to me that very often the “me now” wanted to walk away from messes in her classroom or a cluttered desk on Friday. In the past she had jut given in to those feelings because after all, she was soooo tired. Now she gives some thought to the “me later”. When she comes back into the classroom the next day or after the weekend, how will she feel then? Having forced herself several times now to stay, even though tired, and clean up the room or clear the desk, she acknowledges the great feeling of coming back to a classroom that is organized and ready for the new day.
I thought about how this though pattern can affect us all.
I will clean my desk now so that I will feel in control when I have to come back to the desk to work
I will plan my menus and grocery list for the week now so that I will not have to scramble every evening this week to figure out what’s for supper
I will catch up on my laundry now so that I will not have to face piles of laundry later
I will pay my bills now so that I don’t worry about late fees or missed payments later
I will prepare my report/presentation now so that I won’t stress over it not being ready later
If every time we are tempted to just throw in the towel and quit because we are tired or frustrated; we stop and visualize how this will make us feel later, I think many times we would just put in that last 30 minutes effort to make the “me later” a happier person.
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer