thependulumswings

One of the many gifts that Boom Boom gave us was the torrent of quips about how one leads one’s life.   He could say so much by saying so little.   A statement at just the right moment resonated in my young, eager eardrums.  How I interpreted or applied it was up to me.  No more words were spoken because no more words were needed.

My intent is to simply drop them here from time to time for reflection in your life.  Perhaps you can benefit as I have.  Whether all of the quotes were originally his(the vast majority are), or if he was himself inspired by a few along the way isn’t relevant.  The message is.

As my senior year in high school began I quickly realized that, regular classwork included, I had taken on a good bit of extracurricular work.  I edited the school paper.  Every six weeks we went to press.  I was fortunate to be prez of our senior class as well.  I had other interests too.  Sometimes all of the responsibilities seemed to wash ashore at the same time.

One evening I whined a bit about what I perceived as too much going on.  Boom Boom heard that complaint of mine one too many times.  “If I want something done at work I give it to a busy person, son.”  I walked across the hall.  “That’s correct,” he said as he worked the adding machine like the proverbial plow horse.  I looked perplexed I am sure.  This didn’t sound logical.  But, as I later learned, it is.

How often have you heard someone talk about how busy they are?  My observation in the workplace is that productive people rarely complained about how much was on their plate.  Busy people get things done.  People who always tell you how busy they are aren’t really that productive.   A big key to productivity is focusing on what is important now and prioritizing tasks each day.

Are you busy?  Everyone is.  Your work, your family, your friends, your sleep, your eating, and your exercising aren’t any different from any other’s need to achieve life/work balance.  There are only 24 hours in everyone’s day every day.  Make the most of them.  Might I suggest more work and less talk about it?   You will quickly feel a rewarding sense of accomplishment.