I am sitting at my computer screen, wishing words–inspiring, profound words–would somehow appear on the blank white. Nothing. I have some ideas, but none of them seem to be just right for today. I think of weeks or months when that content will fit better. I keep sitting.
I make a phone call to Lowe’s about a ceiling fan that stopped working months ago. We didn’t know if we had to take it all down and bring it into their store or call the manufacturer. So we did nothing. Lowe’s gives me the number to the manufacturer, assuring me the manufacturer will take care of me. The manufacturer answers my call and tells me to take the ceiling fan and my proof of purchase right back to Lowe’s.
Two phone calls later, I am still sitting at my desk, cursor blinking on a blank screen.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
And then I have a light bulb moment: what do I need to hear right now? Write that.
And here is what I need to hear right now:
There is no perfect time for getting things done.
The closest you will get to perfect timing is right now.
Start. Just do it.
I have been waiting, though I’m not sure exactly for what, to do the next revisions of my novel. I have been using this fantastic excuse that I wanted to finish something else so I don’t have too many unfinished projects going on at the same time. But the more I think about it, the more I realize it is an unfinished project weighing on my mind. I’m recognizing my lame excuse for what it is. Maybe my excuses stem from fear. Maybe fear of failure? Maybe fear of rejection? Probably. But I can’t let that stop me. What am I waiting for?
I had been holding out for some big, uninterrupted chunk of time to do a number of different things. As I’ve been following the Home Organization Challenge this year I have come to recognize how relatively easy most of the jobs have been. I wonder why on earth I put them off for so long! I cleaned out both of our linen closets yesterday while my kids were at school and my little girl napped.
For well over a year we have had a disorganized mess of a linen closet with towers of hand towels blocking easy access to the rest of the shelf and mismatched sheet sets intermingled with new bottles of shampoo and hand soap rendering another shelf useless. Our top shelf was filled with old rugs that we haven’t used and had no interest in using! Now the entire closet is a clean, organized space. And it took me less than an hour from start to finish. If I had waited for the “perfect time” to clean it out, it would still be a jumbled mess.
Today was freezing cold. Literally. I did not want to go anywhere today. But it’s a new month, and I meal plan and grocery shop monthly. We needed groceries. So, no, it wasn’t the “perfect time” to go to the store. It was cold and inconvenient. But we went. The store wasn’t very crowded. And now we have a well-stocked pantry ready for the month–including our upcoming Spring Break.
I don’t like interruptions and I wish I could sit down, work at my own pace, and never have anything come up to distract me or take me away from the project at hand. But that is not my reality. I can’t even imagine a time when that will be my reality! In the meantime, I can’t sit around and wait for “perfect opportunities,” because they just don’t exist. Instead, I have to accept that NOW is as close to perfect as I’m going to get and I need to make the most of NOW and stop waiting for a perfect that is actually a mirage.
I don’t know if I’m the only one waiting for the perfect time to do things, but I suspect that I am not. So if you, like me, needed to hear this today, I hope it brings you joy. I hope you seize this perfect day and take your first step toward doing that thing–big or small–that you’ve been waiting to do. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a chapter to revise.
Oh my gosh I love this!! I’m always trying to plan the ”right time” and I can never find it! I needed this post today!
Thank you, Mandielee!