Comments on: The Priority Parallax: Everything is Not as Important as It Appears

By: Elaine Stock

Elaine Stock — Sat, 19 May 2018 13:34:56 +0000

Absolutely loved your post. Your uplifting words made me LOL and encouraged me that I’m really not strange after all because I’m me and not doing life the way folks are “expected” to these days. But hey, I’m all for the no-aging bit!

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 12 May 2018 22:45:18 +0000

This is a very well timed post.
I often feel like there is too much to do, particularly too much I don’t really want to do, but which I “need” to do.
Some of it is how we live in a world full of sales pitches, even hanging out with friends, one of the more common refrains is some variation of “have you seen/read X?” And more often than not you haven’t, and it turns into a recommendation, which is nice, but there is so much to read and see and do.
I think part of it is we don’t have a widely expressed sentiment of “enough”.
Not only do we see all these “perfect” homes and lives in images and videos (commercials and TV), but there’s also the way in which so many feel a “need” to be better than they are for the sake of others.
Growing up I often remember times where, if company was coming to visit, the house had to be particularly clean, which struck me as a little comical.
Heaven forbid they see how we “really” live.
But yeah, it is a challenge.
I try, whenever possible, to choose and say “what one thing do I really want to get done”, and until that’s done, nothing else is even considered.
But there are also times, particularly in my day job, where someone comes in, and they need answers (or help) right now, and there’s no recourse but to quickly make a note of where you left off and then go searching (in mind or in notes) for the relevant information.

I will say, I do love computers for their ability to organize, and the Find command.
If I have a random idea that doesn’t relate to “now”, but I don’t want to lose it, I write an email and send it to myself. Cause I figure that way I’ve got it, and it’s not some obscure document, it’s my email. Eventually I’ll go through and see which “random notes” still have relevance.

And sometimes I just need to put in foam earplugs (to block out the sounds of the world), set my phone to silent (but have it just in case), and go for a walk, or sit quietly.

By: Kristy Perkins

Kristy Perkins — Thu, 10 May 2018 02:09:16 +0000

Ugh. Reading this at the end of a long day when I barely managed to do all the stuff on my list…except the writing.

Fine! I’ll “prioritize” my writing, force myself to do it first so it actually gets done and all that stuff. (But seriously, thanks. This came at the perfect moment.)

By: Molly Stevens

Molly Stevens — Wed, 09 May 2018 18:39:44 +0000

I have a very hard time to do ‘nothing’ but reading your post made me realize a lot of what I do amounts to ‘nothing.’ So I’m better at it than I thought I was! But, I can relate to the feeling of losing my serenity while I live under the mistaken notion I can keep up with everything. Yesterday I allowed myself to sit and read for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and that is the first time I’ve done that since I entered semi-retirement a few months ago. I’m going to bookmark this post and re-read it when I get out of control!

By: Debby Zigenis-Lowery

Debby Zigenis-Lowery — Wed, 09 May 2018 18:31:58 +0000

“I’ve noticed that, unless I am mindful to unplug, get quiet and recalibrate, it is super easy for me to lose my way. Why? Everything is overwhelming. I hate my phone, am afraid of my mail and won’t shop until we’re down rationing toilet paper.”
Wow, Kristen, you’ve described me!
Even recovering from cancer treatments I have maintained a long to-do list (of course it did include things like reading blogs).
I still remember that ridiculous ad for I don’t know what–“I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan…”
What a horrible burden to lay on young women. It is impossible to do everything! I wish society would quit pretending that it isn’t.

By: Elise

Elise — Wed, 09 May 2018 13:55:56 +0000

As I was reading through this and laughing hard at how much I could relate to this, my phone went off with a text from CVS asking me if I wanted to refill my prescription, which is the same text I got two weeks ago that I said no to. There’s a lot out there, and I find myself overwhelmed at it all. My writing has suffered recently because I’ve been going so many places all at once and have been getting on Facebook instead of writing. Reading blog posts are a better use of time recently because I learn from them. I’ve fallen into the trap of people telling me that I have to be everywhere in order to market what I’m writing, but now that algorithms have changed, nobody sees my stuff anyway, so I just need to write and be happy, really : ) That’s my philosophy for now, anyway. Maybe the next interruptive text will tell me I should believe differently. But who cares? I’m going out to feed my chickens.

By: Ramshah Akbar

Ramshah Akbar — Wed, 09 May 2018 03:58:59 +0000

You’re the boss!!

By: Earnest Painter

Earnest Painter — Wed, 09 May 2018 03:52:53 +0000

I’m glad I’m not the only one afraid of mail, and now email. I unplug frequently, and sometimes I don’t feel guilty about it. When I start feeling that being in a cheap hotel room sounds like a nice getaway, I know it’s time to step back.

And, I have sacrificed my writing two days this week. It’s Tuesday; that means 100% of the days this week. Alas.

By: Mandy White

Mandy White — Wed, 09 May 2018 02:25:12 +0000

This really hits home, from start to finish. Especially the Pac Man/chess analogy. So true.

By: Botanist

Botanist — Wed, 09 May 2018 00:14:53 +0000

Oh, boy, talk about a trip down memory lane. Summer holidays consisted of us kids disappearing into the wilds and not being seen again until we got hungry … and 98% of parents did not find this at all odd. True that!