I’ve been feeling particularly scattered lately. Between the holidays and my decision last week to get a new puppy, it’s no wonder I feel scattered.

For instance, I have a couple of boxes in my pantry that originally contained food related gifts. They are the perfect size for me to disguise a couple of Christmas presents.

Every time I went past the pantry I would think I should get those boxes. And then I would just keep walking.

I bought a second Christmas tree the other day – our kids objected to our tabletop one last year – and it’s still in the box. Every time I see it, I think “I should put that up”.

It’s still in the box.

Now I realize that putting up a tree is not a quick 10 second job. I can understand putting it off until later.

The problem is that “later” is too vague and ambiguous. Later when? There’s no time or date attached to it and so it doesn’t get done.

Can you relate?

The boxes, on the other hand, are a 10 second job.

The instant I think of them, standing right there in front of the pantry where they are located, is the instant that I should open the door and take them out.

If we don’t do things we thing of doing when we think of them, not only do they not get done, they float around in the galaxy of our minds and just add to the general clutter.

My solution?

Do it now, if you can. The minute you think of it, do it and get it out of your head and done.

And if you can’t do it now, schedule it.

Keep a piece of paper and a pen with you, or your planner close at hand – anything that lets you put down the task on paper. If you use just a sheet of paper, be sure to take some time at the end of the day to transfer those things to your planner – date and time.

Alternatively, if you are using my Lifeskills Planner, put it on the Dump List, which automatically helps you put it on your schedule.