Day 27 of the 30-Day Challenge: Creative Movement:
Task: To continue to put a dent in my miscellaneous tasks (special project work and clean my devastated house), requiring some follow-up.
Reason for Task: Again, just trying to finish some things I’ve started. It’s so easy to start some tasks but can look overwhelmingly impossible to complete them, especially once you actually get going and realize the goal post may be a little further away than you noticed at first glance.
However, today’s tasks didn’t fall into the “what have I gotten myself into” category. They were actually doable. And one of them was even enjoyable at that. The enjoyable task I’m referring to is the “special project” that I’ve been incrementally working on this week and will finally be able to present to my wonderful blogging buddy in a couple of days.
I know I’m being so secretive about what the “special project” actually entails, and I’m doing that on purpose. When the presentation is available for release, I promise you’ll be the first to hear about it. When that time comes, you’ll also be clued in on the name and blog site for my “blogger friend” I’ve been alluding to. But for now, I’m choosing to keep things hush-hush.
Just trust me when I say I couldn’t do this special project alone. Not only has my friend been so gracious in offering me this opportunity in the first place, but I’ve also enlisted the services of my dear daughter and asked her to bring her artistic and production talents to the table on this one. So, the extra excitement I have about this whole opportunity is even more heightened because of my Baby Girl’s involvement.
Anyway, I managed to work on some scripting for the project and my daughter has finished the tasks on her end, so I’m looking to wrap things up in a couple of days.
And here’s where I take a pivot on creative content tasks and turn to the personal side of things. My house needs some serious attention, folks. Not just on the tidying and deep cleaning fronts, but in the major home renovations area.
My family and I have endured a couple of major water issues within our home (over the course of several months) that have led to water damage, ruining ceilings and flooring. So, let’s just say that my husband (the handyman he is) had to bring in the professionals to assess the damage and come back with some estimates for the repairs. And yes, drywalling and replacing old carpeting in the basement with new is in order for the month. And in all actuality, it was time for the carpeting to be replaced anyway, so no biggie on that one. However, the water damage that led to the demise of a huge chunk of ceiling in my daughter’s bedroom is another story.
Without boring you with all the mundane details, let’s just say that things are moved around in inconvenient places within our home to get ready for the carpet installment and drywalling events. And our most recent water catastrophe created the task that I worked on today — the cleaning up of the parts of the house the drywall people needed access to in order to survey the ceiling damage.
Nothing like being forced to clean up your house so complete strangers don’t think you run a daycare for 15 disorderly pre-K children. Hee. Hee. No, my house isn’t quite THAT bad, but this whole 30-day challenge has definitely put a delay in my maintaining any semblance of orderly household conduct on a daily basis. I find myself getting to things as I can get to them. And such instances create the kind of clutter that you have to hurry up and do your best to “mask” before outside forces come into you home and see just how unkempt it really is.
Duration and Outcome of Task: Both the special project and the jet-speed cleaning in preparation of visitors were worked on today. The cleaning I completed (along with my family’s help) was done in a matter of an afternoon and completed for purposes of the drywall people’s access. I didn’t have to suffer any embarrassment because of sub-par household etiquette. Whoo hoo! Of course, we all know that cleaning house is one of those on-going tasks that will forever keep us company. But, the cleaning I needed for the day was accomplished. And, the special project work will take a couple more days and then it should be completed as well.
Practical Application of Day 27 for Your Life: It pays to keep up with recurring household responsibilities, even when one-off, huge tasks seem to come in and take over. Even if it’s just a little something-something, try to do what you can (consistently and daily) so you don’t have to scramble to get your built-up household chores completed in a mad dash.
Here’s where I say, “do as I say and not as I did”. I have to be honest with you, right? And I honestly, didn’t follow the advice that I’m giving you right now. But that doesn’t hinder me from telling you to learn from my poor example. Putting undue stress on yourself is never a good thing. So, try to avoid it at all costs and opt for staying on top of things.
Just look for ways to balance your tasks out. Know what your priorities are for the day or the week and determine in advance (PLAN! PLAN! PLAN!) how best to spread them out throughout the day or week so you can get to all your to-dos without going extreme one way or the other (working only on some tasks while giving no space for others).
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