Considering February’s the shortest month, it seems a bit unfair that such a lot has to be crammed into it. On top of a month’s worth of all the standard stuff, there are the flowers and chocolates to buy, the pancakes to make, and of course all the alcohol to consume to counteract the preceding month of abstinence (dry January always seems like such a good idea on New Year’s Day)… there’s really quite a lot of cramming things in. And all the cramming has started to create quite a bit of pressure.

So I’ve decided to take control. Diffuse the situation. By means of a list. Two, to be precise.

List #1 consists of all the activities that have to be crammed into my daily routine. It’s a long list.

List #2 consists of all the activities that would ideally form part of my daily routine. You know, if I had any say in it. List #2 is also a long list. Now here comes the good bit. This is the bit where I cross reference the lists, cross off the duplicate items, and end up with two short lists. Short list #1 will be the list of things I have to do and would much rather not. Short list #2 will be the list of things I would love to do and can’t currently cram in. And then the straightforward exercise of swapping as many things as possible on list #1 for things on list #2, and crossing off altogether any remaining things on list #1. The result: minimum volume, maximum value. More time for more fun. It’s like life laundry, but with extra fragrance. Honestly, I should market this stuff. 

And in reality… two identical lists. Identical length. Identical content. No duplicate items. No items on list #1 that I’d rather not do. I’m basically living the dream and I don’t even know it. In fact, the only thing I might weed out, thinking about it, is the time spent feeling pressured by the amount of stuff I’ve got to do. That wasn’t on either list.

 And it’s a good job I’ve identified an opportunity to free up some time. Because that will come in handy later this month when I need to toss a few pancakes. Better still, crêpes suzette. That’s dry January counteracted too.