Difficult, possible

Today I had plans and stuck with them. This isn’t always the case.

Some days I jump right to work with no plan, and other days I have a plan but never commit to it.

These are bad ideas, and  yet human nature, decision fatigue, and/or any other number of life events sometimes make it difficult for me to use the tools that work best.

Difficult, but by no means impossible. It’s time to stop letting difficult win.

Every now and again I remind myself of some of the most productive years of my life, the early 2000s when I taught elementary school. I was relentless with my planning and execution, my organization and classroom management. Things ran like clockwork, and the momentum was enough to keep me going to the next round. Working this way was not a chore. It was fun. In 2013, I wrote about this noting:

I’ve long since left the classroom, but I’ve found that, to the degree I prepare the night before (cleaning, planning, organizing materials, etc.), I can expect a high-energy, productive day. One wonders why I don’t do this all the time. I’m writing this post as a reminder to do just that.

Here I am again, writing this as a reminder to myself… Take a few minutes, plan ahead, and commit to one small victory each day.