Triplets

“Triplets” are things I "trip over" in the course of trying to get IMPORTANT stuff done … mostly in the morning … trying to get my day off the launch pad.  They include:

• ·         Making the bed
• ·         Feeding the cat
• ·         Retrieving the paper
• ·         Making breakfast
• ·         Eating breakfast
• ·         Emptying the dish washer
• ·         Taking out the trash
• ·         Taking my vitamins
• ·         Cleaning the litter box
• ·         Getting the cat’s medications “loaded”
• ·         Delivering the medications
• ·         Getting the cat “settled” in her favorite places
• ·         Brushing & flossing teeth
• ·         Shaving & showering
• ·         Brushing the cat (Damned cat!)
• ·         Watering the garden
• ·         Doing my stretches and exercises
• ·         Getting stuff organized
• ·         Etc.

 When you’re retired, Triplets can take half-a-day … and then it’s time for lunch and a nap! 

How do I reconcile dealing with “Triplets” while trying to perform effective TIME MANAGEMENT / LIFE MANAGEMENT?

[… trimming the mustache here … ]

One of he most annoying things about Triplets is that, once the brain waves start rolling, there’s a certain “FLOW” that begins to take shape, building up steam for things I really want and need to get done – OTHER than “Triplets” … problems that need to be solved, opportunities to be pursued, strokes of genius to be recorded (don’t I wish!), etc. – and the Triplets seriously interrupt that flow! 

[ … arm and shoulder stretches and exercises here … ]

In TIME MANAGEMENT sessions, we are admonished to start each day getting at least one BIG agenda item in the jar as early in the course of events as possible.  BIG stuff need to percolate … it needs LEAD TIME … it needs a longer RUNWAY for lift-off … it needs VISIONING … it needs PLANNING … it needs more TLC … it often needs REVISIONING …

Two very helpful things to facilitate dealing with Triplets are NOTE-TAKING and LIST MAKING.

First, during the course of Triplet Trekking, one can practice “Masterful MindLESSness” (auto-piloting or habit or routine processing) while engaging the wheels of BIG AGENDA item MINDFULNESS, making notes to the desk pad in between Triplets.

[ … arm, shoulder and leg exercises here … ]

This suggests that we can use a “Double-Sandwiching” technique in dealing with Triplets versus BIG STUFF:

When Triplets need tending, we can be thinking about, planning for, etc., the BIG STUFF, and when the BIG STUFF gets “Flowing”, we can mindlessly “sandwich-in” a few Triplets.

Truth being told, I find it very difficult to sustain heavy-lifting focus on BIG projects (sometimes even light-lifting focus on small projects!) for long periods of time.  In addition, my “gray matter” can only process and deliver a limited bolus of useful insight in any given time-frame.  So my productive engagement only comes in limited spurts.

[ … I’m going out to water the garden now … ]

[ … and then to Reed Valley Farm for blueberry pancakes … ]

[ … followed by an afternoon “detailing” the domicile landscape … ]

[ … it’s SATURDAY, for crying out loud … !]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Triplets are not all bad.  Triplets make the world go ‘round.  Without Triplets, the BIG STUFF won’t fare so well.  In fact, it’s important to get some Triplets out of the way early so we don’t trip over them more obtrusively and intrusively later.  (At least get some nutrition in your system so you can put up a valiant fight when the going gets tough, and make yourself “presentable” to head off self-conscious “trifling”.)  However, parceling Triplets out to serve as fire-breaks and wind-breaks in “Double-Sandwiching” scenarios allows them to serve dual functions.   

Revolving Door Channeling is another effective way to deal with Triplets.  Go ahead and tackle the high-intensity, big-boulder stuff with short bursts of absolute focus, but occasionally knock off a Triplet or two as you encounter or create “transition points” in the course of BIG STUFF processing. 

NOTE:  RDC is not “multi-tasking” in strictest terms, and should not be attempted as such.  However, true multi-tasking is an excellent way to knock off Triplets: Paying bills or doing exercise while watching news on TV; preparing meals and listening to news on the radio; listening to books-on-tape while brushing the cat …

Effective “Transitioning” is really important.  The innate tendency we have when a wind-break/fire-break occurs or is needed is to head for the coffee pot, munch on high-octane snacks, check out social media, and/or tap into the office gossip hot-line and temporarily “Veg-Out”.  Having a list at your fingertips is extremely helpful ... or having piles of notes & stuff strewn on the floor that you have to walk over or around until they’re taken off the grid can help.   

[Where did the weekend go?]

[It’s Monday, already!]

[OK, I did the bike ride, watered and weeded the garden.  Now I gotta get cat meds loaded.]

Finally, UP the Triplets!  Squeeze in some “Research and Visioning” explorations for personal and professional advancement/enrichment and include some “Recharge” activity.  I’d have to say there’s nothing like exercise to settle the old “squash” down, aerate the psyche, realign priorities, strategize, solve problems, renew the spirit, re-energize, recalibrate the compass and get a new “bead” on the project(s) at hand. 

Whatever you do, and how ever you do it, start early!  Triplets are part of the “Cost of Living” and are a LARGE part of “Living Well”.  SUCK IT UP!  Instead of tripping over Triplets and getting bent out of shape by all the “triflings” of life, save the righteous indignation for fighting injustice, prejudice, willful neglect, mediocrity, unfounded assumptions, unrealistic expectations, unwarranted entitlements, untruthfulness and fabrications.  Both you and the world you live in will be enormously better for it!  Quartermaster 

“I’m going out to clean the pasture spring;

…

I shan’t be gone long.  – You come too.”

Robert Frost

“The Pasture”