• Wed. Nov 22nd, 2023

Janeane's World: Published By James, Davis, and Associates

We train individuals and teams to work with confidence and competence. Call: 484 381 0532. Email: janeanedavis@janeanesworld.com.

When The To Do List Has Problems

We spend a lot of time talking about our to do list. What should and should not be on the list. How we are going to get through the to do list. How to prioritize the to do list. What to do with the items we can't get to on the to do list. Today let's talk about what happens when we do something on the to do list and it does not turn out the way we want.

It is terrific to know that part of having a to do list is knowing sometimes what we have to do doesn’t work the way we want.
 
We spend a lot of time talking about our to do list. What should and should not be on the list. How we are going to get through the to do list. How to prioritize the to do list. What to do with the items we can’t get to on the to do list. Today let’s talk about what happens when we do something on the to do list and it does not turn out the way we want.
 
For example, once I spent all afternoon and evening putting together the Ikea bunk beds my twins asked for as a birthday present. After I was finally done, the girls were excited, jumping up and down screaming how happy they were. At bed time the girls climbed into bed, fluffed their pillows and spent 5 minutes in their individual beds before Twin Z climbed into Twin C’s upper bunk. Guess who climbed into my bed at 3:00 am? If you guessed Twin Z you are correct. At 6 am guess what I found in my face sweaty little Twin C feet.
 
In a prior life, at a prior time I would have been upset about this turn of events.  I mean I put 9 hours of my life into those bunk beds. The point of putting that item on my to do list and checking it off was so that the girls could have their own bed. The point of spending 9 hours fighting with the Allen wrench and Ikea instructions was that I did not want to make up to sweaty baby feet in my face. There was a mission and a plan. I created a plan and I worked my plan. I put in the work and what did I get? I got baby toes in my face. 
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It was as President Obama used to say, a teachable moment. Sometimes when we do the things on the to do list, the results we get from others are not what we would have desired. That does not change the value of what we did. It is a good thing to go down the to do list and check off the things on it as we planned. It is good to accomplish what we set out to do. But, part of having a to do list is the reality that sometimes the results are not what we intend. When that happens, do not get upset. Realize that is part of having a to do list and keep moving.
 
So the question for you this to terrific day is how are you going to deal with unexpected results from the to do list?