Happiness Is Getting S**t Done

Let me ask if any of this sounds familiar:

You use a paper day planner (like I do), To Do list, or an app on your phone or computer to keep track of important tasks that keep your life running smoothly, whether those tasks are big or small.

Some of those tasks get checked off right away. Make a dinner reservation for a friend’s birthday, bam! (Food and someone you love!) Or, sign up for that drawing class, done! (Making art!)

But other tasks on the list seem to never go away. They sit on that damn To Do list, not budging, and even seem to glare at you with disdain as if to say, for god’s sake, take care of me already and get me off this list! What am I, the redheaded stepchild of chores?

Every time you see those tasks you feel a pang of guilt, a twinge of discomfort. The emotional equivalent of “ugh.” You tell yourself, “I’ll get to that soon.”

But soon never comes, and every week (or however often you update your To Dos) you transfer those tasks over to the current list, where they sit and glare and make you feel like crap.

Know what I mean?

I’m a big fan of Seth Godin, who says all kinds of smart things on a regular basis, and recently I heard him say this:

Simple and true, don’t you think? Well, yesterday I took it to heart and grabbed my day planner by the ears. I saw a bunch of tasks I’ve been putting off until soon, and thought, dammit Kahler, move them into the now zone.

I made a cup of coffee and a) booked hotels for three upcoming trips, b) did my taxes and got them filed, and, this is huge, c) migrated my photography catalog (about 30,000 photos worth) from Adobe Lightroom to On1 Photo Raw.

(I’d been using both, but recently On1 made some major improvements so I don’t have to anymore, meaning I can let go of my Adobe subscription and process my photos in just one place. Cheaper and simpler.)

It took me all day, but when I was done I did a happy dance around the living room. I felt joyful, light, and even a little smug for getting all that s**t done. (Which makes no sense since I should have done it ages ago, but whatever. I’m taking the smug where I can find it.)

Here’s my challenge for you: I want you to tackle one of those ughs on your list, right now. Get it done and check it off, no more excuses. Bam! Doesn’t that feel great? Give yourself a high five, and let us know about it in the comments.

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