Taking Care of Business

Getting things done. Some people are given a task and can complete it right away, but others procrastinate until a minute before it’s due. College students are known for their procrastination skills—hints the late nights and coffee addictions. On the other side of the spectrum, there are students that have the mentality when they’re done with a task ‘I am done here and I am moving on’—they don’t mess around.

As a college student myself, I am half and half in this scenario minus the coffee addictions—I prefer hot chocolate. As a Digital Media Major, I can confess that when it comes to getting things done, I struggle because I’m always on the computer which means I have access to the internet. Yes, I use my computer often for school work, but when I take a ‘small’ break, I find myself sidetracked hours later without realizing it. With that being said, I sometimes forget to take care of myself physically—breaks shouldn’t involve a computer.

This is crucial, but for me, in order to get things done a big part is having my spiritual life in order. If I’m not right with God, it affects every other aspect of my life—physically, emotionally, and mentally. I have been raised with the mentality to ‘get things done and move on because you’re burning daylight’. On an occasion that hinders me because I’m always in a rush. David Allen is best known for his time management method called: “Getting Things Done”. In an interview with the Long Real, he quoted: “It’s not about getting things done, but about being appropriately engaged with your life so you can be fully present.”

After getting right with God, it makes sense to get organized. Confession: I spend too much time simply researching the best ways to get organized—Pinterest and Youtube plug.I find myself losing sight of where I left it or not checking back to it. One way I stay organized and get things done is by not using a physical agenda—doesn’t work for me. It’s made sense that having digital agenda works. I’m constantly on my computer already, so thanks to Gmail I can access documents, slides, emails, calendars, and more whenever and wherever. Typing things out for me helps process emotions and tasks.

I also have learned a huge lesson to getting things done is to show yourself grace and patience. Being a Digital Media major, we always have projects and deadlines. I have urges to just sit down and get a whole project done in one day. Realistically it won’t happen because life happens. Instead of stressing, we need to remember to breathe, put your hair in a bun on top of your head, and prioritize. What’s important today? It’s also about trusting in God that we will get things done and not rely on our own strength. 

One area I want to work on in my life is clearing my head. David Allen once said: “Clearing your head allows for clarity, transformation, and enlightening. The universe is always on, so what sounds are you going to quiet so you can hear other sounds?” He makes a solid point. At what point do we stop and be okay with not getting things done? We each have a breaking point and for some, we have to learn the hard way the lesson we never learn on our own. We need to be allowing growth and expansion instead of hindering ourselves—our own worst enemy.

It’s comforting to know that when it comes to getting things done: “It’s not a single transactional event, but really a lifelong lifestyle art and the craft about how do you manage the flow of life because everything is changing in us and around us.” -David Allen See, so getting things done doesn’t happen overnight. It goes back to showing ourselves grace. David Allen also once said: “In loving everything works, but in fear, nothing works.