I recognised recently that to have more time to spend on things I want I need to either remove, complete or get quicker at my other tasks. Particularly, if I want to make my list shorter (and feel a whole lot better) I need to to complete the ‘problem’ tasks that feel they have been around for years. As I’ve recently completed one of these tasks and though I’d share what I learnt.
Introduction
When my daughter was born my sister personalised a photo album and printed the photographs I’d sent to her; this was all before she’d seen her niece. The idea was I’d continue the book with additional photographs of my daughter taken with different family members.
The details
| Task: | Adding photographs to a baby album for my daughter |
| Why complete it: | A gift from my sister My daughter enjoys looking at the pictures of her and different family members |
| Duration to complete: | At least 3 years! |
| What needed to do: |
Take photographs of daughter with family members (completed by 1st birthday)Select pictures Print pictures Stick in pictures |
| What caused delay: | Lots of pictures to sort throughprinting the pictures; our printer always seems to be either out of ink or the cartridges are blocked and the colours vary significantly between the monitor and printer so it takes a lot of ‘fiddling’ to get the photo printed as desired |
| Benefits of completing | Daughter loves taking it out from under the coffee table and looking at the pictures |
| Improvements | Sort pictures as they are taken so there are fewer to reviewWrite a list of things need to do to print the pictures ie what saturation levels to use. Or buy a new monitor. |
After I’d stuck in pictures of other family members, there was one page left, so I was able to include the annual family photograph, showing how we have all changed in year since she was born.
Have you finished any major or long standing tasks recently? Have you learnt anything that will make it easier to complete other tasks in future?
Do you want to look in other people’s journals?
»