Schedule It
I’ve had a phrase pestering me for the past 3 days. It kept coming back, so I knew I would have to flesh it out. The words were, “Schedule it.”
It seems to me that when something shows up on a schedule that it is real. When it stays in your mind as unscheduled, it’s a nagging thought.
This is more than making a list; it’s making something important enough to be scheduled as an event.
Just making a list becomes a list of “shoulds,” and “should” just reflects an argument you are having in your mind.
“Schedule it” contains action. In fact, when you are scheduling things, use an action verb as the first word of your scheduled item.
• Call the plumber for an estimate.
• Plan the surprise party.
• Scan the old photographs.
On the surface, it looks like a to-do list with action verbs and that’s partly correct. The bigger part is that you’ve made the effort to get something out of your mind and into the light of day. It’s here that action is assigned, rather than remaining an idle thought in your mind.
Years ago, my wife and I did the following exercise from time to time. We sat with a note pad and went through every room in the house in our minds and put down what each of us would like to do with that room. Paint, refurnish, rearrange, tear down a wall, etc. It could easily be mistaken as a wish list, but what these fantasies became, when scheduled, was an action list.
I would like to tell you that we acted on everything on the list, but that would be a lie. But action did take place on some of them – action that would have remained dormant had we not scheduled it.
There is power in scheduling things. “Schedule it” is an action that leads to action.
Don’t take my word for it. Schedule some things. Take what’s been rolling around in your mind and schedule it for some action. Even if you tuck that list away somewhere, when you rediscover it months later, notice the number of scheduled things that got action. You will surprise yourself.
“Schedule it” is a tiny action that tricks inertia into movement.
All the best,
John
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