Time Available, Plus

My cousin has a catchphrase about stuff. She opines that one’s stuff expands to fit the space available, plus two boxes.

My variation on that theme is this: The number of tasks demanding my attention expands to fit the time available, plus five or six more tasks, all with screaming deadlines, taking up line after line on my to-do list.

Yes, I keep a to-do list. It’s satisfying to check off those items. But I keep adding more, until the page is covered with scribbles, some of them in the margins, and hand-drawn stars indicating the urgency. Oh, the tasks that make their way onto that list—and get in the way of writing. There are so many.

I retired from my day job more than a decade ago. I figured I would have more time to write. Not unlimited, never that. But more. Hah! Like that worked.

“I don’t know how I got anything done before I retired.” When I was working full time, I used to hear people say that. After I retired, I was the one saying it. However, I do know how I got things done. I didn’t sleep—much. During those last few years, what with the day job and the commute, I got up at 4 AM so I could write before making that rush-hour drive to my office. Once I retired, sleeping in past 6 AM was pure joy. So is reading my morning newspaper in the morning, a mug of coffee beside me, instead of catching a few pages while eating lunch at my desk.

It’s amazing what crops up to fill the time. Tasks, some pleasant, some routine and necessary. I need to clean my home from time to time, because I like to walk through the rooms without tripping over the clutter. In the spring and summer, I look at the proliferation of weeds in my garden, thinking I’d better haul on the gloves and deal with them.

Exercise is a desirable routine. I have a weekly tai chi session that has been good for me. And walks. Because you never know, I might work my way through that thorny plot issue while walking along the beach near my home.

Errands, always errands. Grocery shopping for me. Stocking up on cat food for my four-pawed furballs. Library visits, to pick up or take back books. Visits to the doctor or dentist. And those trips that are good for the soul, such as meeting a good friend for lunch or coffee, always with plenty of conversation. Or an outing to a museum or the theatre.

I treasure those days when my dance card isn’t crowded, just my morning session with the newspaper, a walk (if the weather permits), and the rest of the day spent in front of the computer, writing and polishing my work in progress. That is so satisfying. But lately, things are getting in the way. I’m thinking of that daylight-savings-time mantra: “Spring forward, fall back.” The term “fall back” makes me think about falling behind. I have certainly felt that way over the past two years, when family and personal issues got in the way of writing.

The tasks are always expanding to fill up the to-do list. That’s always going to be the case, I suspect. One issue gets taken care of, and then another crops up to take its place. And always, things that get in the way of writing, if I let them.

So on to checking off one more thing on the to-do list: this month’s blog!