Getting My Work Done
Today I am catching up on emails, tidying up my workspace and organizing files. In other words, I am procrastinating.
I find it is easy to get carried away with this busywork, especially when I have a mountain of “real” work to tackle. All I want to do is drink coffee and read, and the “mountain” feels too high today. Yes, emails need to be read, the top (or a portion of it anyway) of my desk needs to be cleared and papers do need to be put away. But I can’t avoid my work indefinitely, and a few quotes found their way to me as a gentle reminder.
It is not your obligation to complete your work, but you are not at liberty to quit.
— Talmud
Hmm. OK, Talmud, I get it. No quitting.
Do not undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible.
— Edwin Land
All right, Mr. Land. No matter how impossible my work may seem today, I did make the right choice to start it in the first place. I should carry on.
Back to the grindstone!
