Saturday October 19, 2019 // Evening Nap
I came across something the other day that’s stuck with me from one of those inspirational tweets or Instagram posts that magically appears in your feed without you asking for it. The exact quote escapes me but the gist of it was this:
Imagine your to-do list is blank. Literally nothing on it; like it never existed to begin with. Nothing from the past matters. Nothing you told yourself that you’d get done at some point matters. You can choose anything you’d like to work on. What is it?
This idea has been sitting with me, fermenting in the back of my brain over the past few days.
What would I work on if there was a blank canvas in front of me?
There are endless factors that go into choosing what to work on.
Did I tell my wife I’d fix the laundry room door last week and never did? Is it better to tackle a new freelance project or work on a side project that’ll probably never make a dime? My calendar says I’m supposed to be taking my foreign language lesson right now but the dog also needs to be walked and the dishes need to get done.
Our to-do lists will never be fully completed. Every item won’t ever be checked off. If you’re reading this then you’re probably like me and think you can do 10,000 different projects if you just had the time and quiet and willpower to get them done.
Me… when I started writing this I made it 4 minutes and 50 seconds before getting pulled away. That’s life with a 4-month-old. I’m now ~8 minutes into being back at my computer and I feel like I’ve gotten away with a crime having this much time to myself. Quick! Get to the getaway car!
So, with no past promises to myself or others, no deadlines, no one waiting on me to get something done… what would I work on?
I realized I’d be here. Writing words maybe a handful of people will ever read and even less will remember.
I think my quiet time is up and my little guy needs me. I’ve done the crime and now I gotta do the time.
Now it’s your turn. What would you work on if you had the same blank canvas?
– Josh // Painter of Words