Time Management

I think I’m a very organized person – lines in the rug from the vacuum, jackets and shirts evenly spaced in the closet (maybe even by color), car washed, bookcase and CD’s by category, etc. You get the idea. But as organized as I think I am I realize now that I never really know the state of my personal and family affairs until I get ready to make a big move. I’m always surprised too; because although I think everything in my life is nice and tidy I really do have to make sure that my financial house is in order? I can’t just walk out the door and know that everything is going to take care of itself. How am I going to pay the bills when I’m away for months at a time? Are those three or four bank accounts all necessary or can I streamline things with one or two? If I pay my bills automatically, will they all come at one time even if my paycheck comes twice a month? Can I see all of my obligations online? Try it, you’ll see what I mean. The experience is a metaphor for all the loose ends we learn to live with.

With less than a week until we leave for Saigon we are learning the importance of time management and civility. There is only so much time and there are X number of things to get done. It would be easier if there weren’t two people involved. M and I work very differently. I work quickly and throw away everything I don’t use regularly. She works slowly and thoughtfully and saves everything she thinks she might need sometime in the future even if she hasn’t used or looked at in five years. My method seems impulsive and capricious to her and her method seems sluggish and inefficient to me. What we have learned from all of our travels and travails is that tolerance and civility will get us through to the end.

We’ll see how it goes in exactly one week.