Ray's Daily

Ray’s Daily

December 5, 2019

http://rays-daily.com

“The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams.”

Og Mandino

I am off to an early doctor’s appointment this morning, and that is after a full day yesterday. So I am again sending you something from the past, days when I was able to do more.

Ray’s Daily first published on December 5, 2007

 Yesterday I suggested that we get out of our easy chairs and do some good for others, or at least something for ourselves. That got me thinking about what an expert procrastinator I have become. I am pretty good about getting out and about and volunteering for this or that. In fact when I am healthy I usually have more on my plate than I can handle. Where I fall down badly is in the little things, balancing my checkbook, updating software, throwing out junk, and more. The crazy part is that most of the time I put stuff off for long periods, fret about the fact that I haven’t got to them only to find that when I do it takes little time and I feel better when they are done.

Sometime ago I got the following tip from guru Kathy Gates that she entitled, Life Vitamins:  A Task A Day” I think I better try her suggestions.

Everybody needs a way to stay healthy in their life, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.  In that vein, most of us know that a good way to help stay physically healthier is to take a vitamin every day. But did you know that a great way to help you stay emotionally and mentally healthier is to do a Task A Day?

It’s like a vitamin for your daily life.  By staying on top of the tasks of your life you are taking care of your mental and emotional health.  If you neglect things in your life, no different than when you neglect your physical health, you will find that you are emotionally unhealthy as well.

Just like your vitamins, in order to have a healthy emotional and mental life it’s important to signal your brain and your emotions that you are in control and you are taking action. “Life Vitamins” help you feel good about yourself, and about what you accomplish.  They give you a sense of mastery over your life, a sense of moving toward something instead of being bogged down.

Think about several relatively small tasks that you’d like to have off your To-Do list — call somebody, return something, arrange for something, finish something, pick up something, catch up on something. You get the idea.

The key is to keep it small enough to accomplish with a relatively small outlay of energy — like that daily One-A-Day. However, you can put in a step to a larger task if you’d like. For example, if “clean out closet”, is languishing in can’t-get-it-done-land, try putting “go through shoes” on the list instead.  Or even “go through dress shoes” if you’re Imelda Marcos.  That’s a 10 minute project instead of a half day project.

Now that you’ve got the concept, write out the first 10 things you can think of that you’d like to get off your mind, and that would take you 15 minutes or less to accomplish.

And yes, it’s important to write them out.  This does several things:  (1) Takes it out of the “I wish” category, and puts it in the “I am” category;  (2) Gets it off your mind and onto something concrete; (3) Starts the ACTION phase, sending a signal to your brain that this is to be taken care of, not just worried about.

Now focus on one a day for the next 10 days.  Remember to keep it to tasks that are 15 minutes or less to accomplish, or break up larger ones into bite-size pieces. Make a commitment.  Make a new habit.  Change your perspective to see the tasks as your Daily Vitamin — essential to helping you feel happier, more efficient, and make your life much more comfortable. 

~~~

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task”

William James

~~~

“Office Work”

You can create your own opportunities this week. Blackmail a senior executive.

To err is human, to forgive is Not Company Policy.

A conference is simply an admission that you want somebody else to join you in your troubles.

Work is the curse of the drinking class.

The fifteen minute morning coffee break is when your employees take a break from doing nothing.

You worry too much about your job. Stop it. You are not paid enough to worry.

The usefulness of a meeting is inversely proportional to its attendance.

If you don’t know what you’re doing, do it neatly.

Work fascinates me. I can sit and watch it for hours.

When in charge, ponder. When in doubt, mumble. When in trouble, delegate

The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.

No man goes before his time. Unless, of course, the boss leaves early.

~~~

Never go to bed angry, stay awake and plot your revenge

~~~

She said: Working as a court reporter, I hear to a lot of testimony that you won’t hear on LAW AND ORDER, including the following give-and-take between the judge and a mother during a paternity suit.

Judge: “Was the child born out of wedlock?”

Mother: “No, sir, just outside of Louisville.”

~~~

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

Galileo Galilei

~~~

“Who broke this window?” cried a furious father.

“It was Andy, Dad.” replied the young boy. “He ducked when I threw a rock at him.”

~~~

Six retired Floridians were playing poker in the condo clubhouse when Meyerwitz loses $500 on a single hand, clutches his chest and drops dead at the table. Showing respect for their fallen comrade, the other five continued playing standing up.

Finkelstein looks around and asks, “So, who is going to tell his wife”?

They draw straws. Goldberg picks the short one.

They tell him to use good judgment, be discreet and be gentle. Don’t make a bad situation any worse.

“Discreet”? he asked. “I’ll be the most discreet person you will ever meet. Discretion is my middle name. Just leave it to me.”

So, Goldberg goes over to the Meyerwitz apartment and knocks on the door.

The wife answers and asks what he wants. Goldberg declares, “Your husband just lost $500 and is afraid to come home.”

“Tell him to drop dead!” she yells.

“I’ll go tell him,” says Goldberg.

~~~

What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t invent with your mouth.

Jewish Proverb

~~~

A Scotsman, carrying a huge suitcase, has been riding a London bus for five miles along its route, all the while attempting to avoid the ticket collector. Finally, the conductor manages to corner him and tells him to pay up.

“You’ve been on for five miles–that’ll be 50p, please, and 10p for your suitcase.”

The Scotsman responds, “I ha’not, I want a ha’penny fare, just got on this vera moment.”

They begin to argue, and the ticket collector becomes more and more enraged, and finally, as the bus is passing over London bridge, he grabs the Scotsman’s suitcase and hurls it out of the bus. It lands in the river and sinks without a trace.

The Scotsman stands shocked for a moment and says to the ticket collector, “Not only are ye tryin’ to overcharge me for the ticket–but now ye’ve gone an’ drowned me boy Angus!”

~~~

Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another’s pain, life is not in vain.

Helen Keller

~~~

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.

Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than fifteen years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@gmail.com. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are more than 2000 readers from around the world.