Inventing Boxes, Checking Them Off

I had quite a pleasant day, all told. As it burns down, now, I feel accomplished and happy to have got so much done. There's only one problem: I didn't.

I've probably mentioned it on here before, but I'm a list person. When I have a lot to do, or I start feeling overwhelmed, I break down what I have to do into steps, write the steps down with a little empty box next to them, and get to work checking those babies off. And when I check them off, oh, how accomplished and happy I feel. So yes, in other words, I might be a bit type A.

Where this system fails, though, is that I'm the person who determines what gets written down. Further, each box is just a box; regardless of the size or relative importance of the task, it falls simply into the categories of "done" or "not done." So what happens when I just want to get the great little feeling of having done something? I invent new things to do, of course!

So, what did I do today? I chopped my article-writing bit into three new elements, and finished two (yay!). I vacuumed my room (yay!). I sorted through all the paperwork in my room and got rid of half of it (yay!). I reorganized my bedside drawer (yay!). And what did I not do? Either of the bigger-picture boxes I'd originally slotted for today: finish ALL of the five parts of my article-writing, and finish and submit my final report for Fulbright. Those boxes are still empty.

But, psychologically speaking, who cares? My boxes are checked, hooray!

*SIDE NOTE: Really, though, this system does still work: smaller bits at a time get accomplished, but the little high each of those finishings give me is usually enough to inspire me to work through the next, rather than get bogged down by the hugeness of the entire task. Just give it another day or two.*