When Highly Ineffective People Go Rogue

Highly Ineffective Person's Dwelling (when it was on the market)

I am coming off a month-long period of being Highly Effective.  This happens about once a year and catches me totally off guard.  To recap, in the past month, I packed Daughter #2 off to her sophomore year of college; removed every dust mote and mold spore, virus and bacterium, from the 1600 square foot apartment occupied by Daughter # 1 so that she will be able to breathe; helped my in-laws empty their family home of 40+ years; organized my husband's half of the home office; and re-organized my entire filing and bill-paying system.  And, I got my garden beds weeded, trimmed, and mulched while I was on the road!  I even managed to do some writing when I wasn't driving or slaving away.

My Office:  AFTER (family photo)

When I enter these (temporary) Highly Effective phases, it feels like a kind of mania.  I talk faster, write more, don't sleep (much), and feel like I can do anything.  I make lists and actually use them! I create strategies for how to manage my day and do the work that ten of me couldn't accomplish under normal circumstances.  And then, it all ends just as quickly and mysteriously as it began.  Suddenly, the kitchen is grimy, the floors are gritty, and the laundry has piled up into a three-day affair.

One thing I have learned in recent years is to make the most of these brief and rare periods of productivity because it is the only time I actually get anything done.  The rest of the time I feel like I am shuffling piles of papers, living in the laundry room, and panicking over what to fix for dinner for my husband who is "absolutely starving" and has to eat the minute he comes through the door.

The garage will have to wait until next year, I'm afraid.  Unless it "accidentally" burns down.

Copyright 2012 Teresa Friedlander, all rights reserved