When I was a kid, maybe about high school age, someone told me that if you really wanted to delegate properly, you neede to assign the most important task to the busiest person. This made no sense to me, so I asked why you'd want to load more crap into an already full, proverbial one ton truck.
The answer I received was that people who have a lot going on have to become more organized in order to keep up with anything on their plate. If they don't, everything will fall. Hmm. So, they person who doesn't have a lot to keep up with then doesn't know how to handle lots of stuff because it isn't their normal M.O.? Yes, my teacher explained, that's exactly what it means.
Lately, I've taken on a lot of new volunteer responsibilities due to the flexible nature of my job and the resultant free time. However, I've been using a lot of that free time to look for another job... and to catch up on cleaning, doing laundry and walking my neighbor's dog for him. Does that make me one of those busy people? Most days, I don't FEEL overly organized. I always have something going on, but much of it becomes automatic. I see the hamper and remember to start laundry. I see the cat (he doesn't make it hard to do, either) and feed the cat and clean his box. I see that the shower isn't clean and start cleaning it while I'm cleaning me... is that weird, or does everyone do that?
Recently, a friend showed me an online tip for fighting depression. The tip, from a blog by someone called Flylady, stated that the way to start organizing was to make yourself care again by shining your sink every night, so that morning would have at least one positive thing for you to look at. I've tried this, and it has given me a reason to not leave dishes soaking overnight, because who wants to start the day cleaning up yesterday's mess? And with that looking nice, you do sometimes tend to be more willing to say "Okay, what can I start on today?" rather than "I like my bed, and I may just return to it."
So, I get ready for each day. It doesn't always start early, and I don't always get a whole lot done, but there is always something accomplished,, no matter how small. Maybe this is what was seen by my teacher: if you are always doing something, everything gets done eventually. Not immediately, but it will be covered. Everytime you look at a clock, it's time for something new, and the more you can fill that internal schedule, the more likely you are to get something done quickly and say "I have time before A to work on B a little bit, and may come back to it tomorrow."
So, maybe it makes sense after all. I don't have to be afraid of taking on new things as long as their are hours available and I remember to make time for me. And now, I'm about to be busy walking a dog.
