A to do list that is never done

I have chosen to work in a field where the To-do list never gets completed. Individual items come and go but there is ALWAYS some project underway. I first came to understand this while dissertating last year. You write ALL year on one big paper. And, even when it is done,.it must be formatted, submitted for graduation, and then chopped into publications for the masses to consume. Even when you are "done" with those publications (years later) there is already another giant project (or 3) on your desk. So, this morning I awoke, got dressed for work, and made some fat free hot chocolate while I read the morning blog posts on Google Reader. I found this from Donald Miller (Check him out at http://donmilleris.com/) and while I am still processing his thought, it is definitely worth of sharing.


A Creator Finds a Rhythm and Loves the Rhythm


So if the work you are creating demands completion before you can find fulfillment, it’s doubtful the creation will be finished, and perhaps more doubtful it will be any good when it’s done. You’ll labor through it, pushing it up a hill like a broken cart. But if you can love the actual work, not the finished product, you’re on to something. If you have a rhythm, if you get up every morning and work for a few hours, and you like the getting up and the work, and you don’t think about how great it will be when it’s done, but rather how great it is every day that you get to get up and do the work, your creation will be tremendous. Don’t think about the finished product. Stop rewarding yourself with something that doesn’t exist, and may never exist. Instead, think about how delightful it is you get to do this, you get to make this, and how delightful it will be to get up and do it again tomorrow.