“Do More” Lists

As an educator, I am blessed with summers that I don’t have to go into the office and classroom. Although I’m (technically) not under contract, I do still work here and there over the summer preparing for future classes, researching, and other random projects. But for the most part, summer for me is about getting work around my house done. Each summer I create a To Do list that includes a variety of projects I plan to work on while I have time. My list is usually long with the hopes to get everything marked off, but the realization that I won’t get to everything. So I prioritize my list with the most important first and the least important projects that can wait until next summer if absolutely necessary. This is my eighth summer as a professor, and I have yet to mark off every item listed. And that is OK.

Well…. no, it’s not always OK. Actually…. it’s rarely OK that I leave tasks left uncompleted. To be perfectly honest, that drives me nuts! But I have to tell myself that it is OK because I tend to fall into the trap of making a “Do More" list instead of the typical “To Do” list. My Do More lists have morphed into major undertakings during some summers, and I also noticed a growing similarity year-over-year of two primary characteristics which tend to be flaws….