When I was a college student I discovered I couldn’t study and write if my house was cluttered. My attention was always being drawn to mounds of papers, or piles of laundry, or a sink full of dirty dishes. Until I had cleaned up all the clutter I was unable to settle down and work. Perhaps I used cleaning as a means of putting off study or writing.
Yesterday I had a really small to-do list. Straighten my office and begin setting up templates for my “2 Minute Dog Trainer” brochures on agility-and-obedience foundation training.
I started the day at my desk, paying bills and filing away receipts. Then I thought, “Bud’s leaving soon for his TDAA judge’s clinic, better do some laundry.” Started laundry and, while in the laundry room, saw the new bottle of hardwood floor cleaner I bought so grabbed it and the floor-mopping supplies. On a return trip I dragged all the pillows and dog beds into the laundry room. (I should launder all these while I’m cleaning and doing laundry.)
Within half an hour I was vacuuming the kitchen, dining room, my office — all the areas where the dogs hang out — moving furniture, thinking about rearranging it, and prepping for a thorough mopping.
At 4:00 p.m. I plopped, exhausted, into my recliner. I had given 1/3 of the house a thorough cleaning, had pulled a muscle in my back, and had not touched my to-do list.
It’s an interesting situation when you work out of your home. The lines between housework and business work become blurred. When I was working outside the home my housework had to be done really early in the morning or immediately upon returning home. It must have been easier to do since no one was in the house 8-10 hours a day.
Perhaps I enjoy housework more than business work because I don’t have to engage my mind overmuch with housework. I’ve always found that problems and issues are clarified overnight or during hours of mowing or housework. So maybe my brain works better when I’m not getting in its way. Just going about my dull work, letting it get on with higher functions.
So today I’m going to clean up my desk, establish a filing system for my C-Wags paperwork, and create a template for the “2 Minute Dog Training” brochures. But first I need to fold some laundry …
To anyone reading this daily journal, please send suggestions on specific training issues you’re facing. If it fits into the format of the “2 Minute Dog Training” idea I’ll use your suggestion. You may send your suggestion as a comment to this blog.
The 2-Minute Dog Trainer Blog 
January 13, 2009 at 1:54 am |
Glad to see you blogging Marsha. I am interested in your 2 minute training brochures. My 16 month old toy poodle might benefit!
I so wish you and Bud had moved to OR rather than OH and set up camp here, you are simply too far away.
Looking forward to your writings!
Michelle
Grants Pass OR