One Fell Swoop

I thought I'd surprise everyone and post in the morning. Before I get started: is it possible to be sore from doing housework all day? I guess so, I was just a little surprised.

Anyway, today I'd like to talk about my way of doing things. For some reason, I like to get things done in one fell swoop (I can't think of a better way to say it), instead of a bit at a time. My room, for example. I love for it to be clean, but instead of putting everything away every day, I clean up my room about once a week. Same goes with laundry. When the family laundry gets to be where I have to wade through it, I go at it for a day or two until it's all done. It may not be the most efficient way to do things, but it works. Maybe that's why I have trouble getting into shape. It takes a little bit at a time, consistently! When we were assigned 30 or so sections of shelves to be re-taped at the FHL, I cancelled pretty much everything I could and taped all day long until I could mark off my sections. I think my tendency to do things quickly like that made it hard for me to understand people who worked slowly or who focused on too many things at once. By george, just get it done! In college, I would go to school an hour early, pump out a five-page paper, print it off, and hand it in, receiving decent grades (note to self: revisions will help you out with your Master's).

I remember listening to one of those business CDs (I find those things interesting) and hearing that I should focus on the most important thing first, always. I remember shaking my head and saying, "They obviously haven't worked at the FHL." If a missionary came in during an important meeting with one of the head honchos where we were making massive decisions affecting all the employees and missionaries and said that she didn't know how to help a patron who was waiting at the window, I'd have to either go help the patron or find someone else to do so. Or if I had been working on the training manual, same goes, even though in the long run, the training manual would be what would help the missionary help the patron. (Don't get mad at me here for saying that the patron isn't first.) Anyway, I threw the CD away.

Last week I read What to Say When You Talk to Yourself. Okay, I got the main point and then skimmed through the rest. It makes sense: what you hear or say over and over becomes true to you, and most of us hear mainly negative things. The book said that smokers should tell themselves, every day, that they don't smoke and that they have healthy lungs, even while they're lighting up in front of friends. (Sometimes making claims in front of others is the most powerful way to change.) So, I wrote out a lovely page to read to myself every day about how wonderful and accomplished I am. If anyone were to ever find it and read it, I would be mortally embarrassed, but maybe in a few years' time, I will firmly believe that my nose is wonderfully unique and I always have a positive attitude . . .