Priorities

I've been doing a better job managing my priorities - doing the things I want to do each day, as opposed to spending too many days falling down rabbit holes or trying to read the entire internet in case there will be questions about it on the test.

But I've noticed something about my activities in the past few weeks. Despite trying to consciously choose what I do, I tend to do first the things where I get a gold sticker once I've done them; the things tracked by my electronic devices.

I mean it's great if I'm going to fit everything in anyways, but on those days when something's got to give, I don't want to always cut out the non-electronic ones, which is what I've been doing.

I mean, does the little owl in DuoLingo REALLY care if I've broken my daily streak of studying? Will he be personally disappointed in me when I fall out of the Diamond League down to the Obsidian League because I didn't complete as many lessons as my arbitrarily chosen group of peers? I'm thinking probably not. 

And I'm going to be grateful I was wearing my Apple Watch if / when I take a fall, but I'm pretty sure it won't refuse to call 911 in a snit just because I didn't move enough to close my activity rings yesterday.

On the other hand, no one raises a cheer, electronic or otherwise, if I remember to practice piano. No one even knows if I manage to begin to tackle one of my long-procrastinated-on house projects. No boxes get checked if I complete a pen-and-ink drawing.

Now I've noticed what I've been doing, it's bugging me. Here I've been so proud of myself for beginning to find structure in my days. Now, it seems I need to go one step further. I'm going to begin to take a closer look at the structures I'm building. I want to make sure I'm working on the things I most want to work on, whatever those are, and not just the things that are screaming the loudest. 

Honestly, I'd think I'd have learned this lesson long ago, as I wended my way through the world of work, but I obviously need a refresher on the concept. I'll be out of town for a few days shortly and I'm going to cold-turkey all of my electronic winning streaks. If I let them lapse, I hope I'll be able to let go of the likes of Duo and his proddings to keep up my learning streak. I do want to keep learning, but I want it to be my choice to study (or not), not his.

It's time to Stop.  Breathe.  Relax!