Making a Home for Your Task

Have you ever said something like “I’ll complete that by the end of the week,” and then found that you ran out of time or you simply forgot to finish the task? My most recent version of this was my mad scramble to finish the new brooder for our chicks before leaving to go fishing with my dad and brother in Alaska. The chicks were growing bigger and in need of something larger than the horse trough they were in so I told myself, “I’ll finish the larger brooder before my trip.” However, I didn’t plan out how long each of the phases would take so I spent most of my last day at home working on the project, and I still had other things to do before I left. 

In a recent conversation with a client, he had a valuable insight about this sort of thing. He realized that in order to meet his deadline, he needed to create space during which he would work on the task. It occurred to me that this was sort of like making a home for the task. 

Inviting yourself and others to set deadlines is resourceful. It seems to me that slowing down to ask a follow up question or two after the deadline is set is even more valuable. 

This week, I invite you to take a look at your agenda: 

What are the deadlines for the tasks you are currently working on? How well have you stewarded when and how these tasks will get done? Which task would benefit the most from slowing down to create a home for its work? 

God bless,
Dan