Lowering Ambitions

One of the how-to-get-stuff-done books I was reading about the other day mentioned that one of the biggest problems of getting stuff done is that people sign up for too much stuff. We want to get too many things done. We add too many items to our lists and then feel buried under the load. While I understand this person’s point and may even agree with parts of it, the idea sort of depresses me.

I look at my lists and can’t decide what I can give up. I like taking photos too much to give this site up, yet it consistently takes a chunk of my life daily. I obviously can’t give work up (though that would be quite nice). I won’t even consider giving reading up and that takes a few hours of my weekend depending how regularly I’m doing it. These, besides the pregnancy, are some of my only priorities lately. On my good days, I aspire to get so much more done. I have ideas for software to write. I want to go back to learning or bettering my languages. I want to volunteer. I want to meet more people and have some friends in this town. These are just the beginning. My list can go on for a few pages.

So is the only way to feel happy and not overwhelmed to not shoot for much? Is that really good advice? I know having a small list may mean the items actually get crossed off. I know there is some sort of joy to be gained from having all my to-do list items done. But then I don’t get the jitters of a new, crazy idea. I don’t get the excitement of aiming for a project that’s obviously too high. I don’t think that’s good advice.

So I guess I am bound to be disappointed in my lack of ability to complete my lists for the rest of my life.