Today my sister Erin and I drove from 5:15 am until about 1:30 pm to get to family vacation location in Palm Desert (east of Los Angeles). We had many conversations about subjects all over the map :)

The one I’ll relay here was a story about going in to work yesterday. She is a 5th grade teacher and the school is out for the week. She felt like she had a bunch of work ready to bombard her upon her return next Monday, so she went in to school yesterday. Her plan was to list out everything that needed to get done and indicate when the different items needed to be done by.

At first she thought, ugh, what a drag. But then she started enjoying the peace and quiet of not being interrupted by the kids. And then she realized she had the photocopier all to herself (a hot commodity during the school day). Not only that, she had the time and peace of mind to fix a copier that had been jammed up for weeks.

After completing all the items on her list that were due on Monday, she had a decision to make. Keep plowing through the ToDo list, or call it good. She decided to wrap up and head out.

Yay! I rejoiced when she told me this. A wonderful show of dedication to a balanced life! She didn’t stay clear of “work” just because she was on “vacation.” She stayed tuned in to her intuition, didn’t “O.D.” on the ToDo list, and ensured that her week would start off with cool calm confidence.

She also bucked the current work trend to be a slave to the never ending ToDo list. There is always more to get done. You’ve heard the saying, “Work smarter, not harder.” Working to check a gazillion items off her list is not as smart as taking care of a number of specific items that will simplify her week.

Thanks for the reminder, Erin!