To-Do & Nothing-to-do

For as long as I can remember, I have been a To-Do person.

As a To-Do person today, I continue to have a dynamic list of tasks - both professional and personal - that need to be completed. As more items get added to the list, every day I make a fresh list to prioritize the tasks for the day and get the relatively more urgent items on top of the list for my immediate attention.

Honestly, I would normally never have any 'urgent' items on the list. Those would have gotten handled in time, rather, ahead of time. For this reason, I could evolve into a highly effective Time Manager in my life. I paid my bills and met my commitments ahead of time, and I always reached my destination - whether it was the airport or the railway or bus station or a meeting - in time or as our son, Sid, would like to chime in, much ahead of time. There have been times - even as recently as last week - when I would reach my client's site ahead of time and would 'hang around' in the vicinity before meeting my client...on time.

Being a facilitator for many decades has also helped because we live by the facilitator's code which goes as follows:

Being late is late

Being on time is late

Being early is on time

Although I became a facilitator much later in life, I had caught the To-Do habit in college. As a college-goer, I would have a small spiral writing pad and a pen in my shirt pocket and jot down tasks that demanded my attention as and when they occurred to me. When we college mates were planning to meet, I was given a later time slot - an hour later than what was announced to my classmates with the refrain, 'Yaar, Ramanan tho time pe aa jaayegaa!' (Ramanan would reach on time!).

Later in my career when I spotted that my team members were struggling to manage their priorities and time, I used to facilitate a session that I had titled, 'N2D', an acronym for 'Notebook to Diary' that helped my team understand - and appreciate - how to create a To-Do list, prioritize, set up soft and hard deadlines, close items, and celebrate the accomplishments. The program ran a few times and even today, I use the essence of that program to coach individuals struggling with time management and task prioritization.

I have greatly enjoyed the benefits of being an effective Time Manager.

Firstly, it is a great feeling to be on top of things.

Secondly, it is the ability to focus 100% on the present. With no distractions - usually caused by urgent, pressing tasks - one can focus on the present moment.

Thirdly, one gets to enjoy the unhurried pace of Life, savoring the trivialities that make up most of our lives. In my view, truly exceptional events in life are few and far between. The trick is to extract every ounce of juice that Life has to offer. My Quote #52 says, 'In Life, look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. There will be a lot to look forward to every day.'

Fourthly, it is the perspective. If the mind is not agitating with urgencies, one can employ a telescopic perspective which is great for strategizing and planning whether it is at work or in one's personal life.I am playing the second inning in my life.

For the last 11 years, as an independent Coach & Consultant, I get to work with organizations - both corporates and non-profits - and individuals. I get to travel for work and much of my coaching work happens virtually and many times across time zones. By the way, I am deeply in love with my work.

I am still active with my To-Do list. I get to strike off items while adding new items to the list and as can be expected, I continue to be ahead in this game, meaning, more items are getting struck off than are getting added to my To-Do list. The other reason is that, with experience, one becomes a master of one's craft which means that things get done far more efficiently now.

But then, as my life evolves, I also have time now for Nothing-to-do.

Take yesterday's example. I completed the only coaching assignment scheduled for the morning. There was not a single item on the To-Do list that demanded my attention for the day and consequently, the day was free.

As is my daily habit, I was on our balcony. It was a Sunday and there was a certain laziness in the air. Things were happening in slow motion...or so I thought.

Bangalore is getting pleasantly warm. The sun was out and it was a bright day. The Security Guard was ambling along with a wooden stick in his hand. A radio FM station was playing in one of the homes but given the distance, the non-stop chatter wasn't a nuisance.

The off-duty housekeeping staff of the Apartment Complex were dressed in elegant sarees, probably attending an event in one of the homes. Some of them smiled at me. It took me a few extra seconds to recognize them. I smiled back at them.

The trees in the foreground were shedding their leaves and I caught this moment in the sunlight - the smaller leaves floating unhurriedly in slow motion while the larger ones were twisting and turning in their journey to kiss the earth.

From where I was sitting, I could spot the shimmering water of our 23-acre neighborhood Alahalli Lake. I could also hear the nasal squeals of the Egrets from the lake.

The refreshing breeze from the lake visited me and the voices of the senior citizens sitting on the concrete bench for their daily banter rose and fell with the gentle breeze.

I spotted a couple of Quick Commerce delivery boys rushing past in their two-wheelers. They are always in a hurry - by design.

The oscillating sprinklers in the lake area closer to our balcony were on and one of them happened to sprinkle water onto the green patch of our Apartment Complex through the green metal fence. A crow - now a regular - perched on the metal fence and waited for the water jet from the sprinkler to drench it. Then as the direction of the water jet moved away, it shook its body vigorously to remove the water from its feathers, then preened itself by using its beak to realign and smooth its feathers...and waited for the next round as the water jet returned...and seemed to act suitably surprised when it was drenched again.

As I write this piece, I am in no particular hurry to conclude. While the idea is to post this piece, I am enjoying the process of finding the right words and stringing them together into sentences that reflect my experiences. There is always room for improvement which is what is fascinating during this process of evolution.

Like the crow, I too am thoroughly enjoying this experience. Once I have written about this experience, I too will shake myself and get ready for another experience...even if it is more of the same. By the way, I also know that it will never be the same exact experience.

Yesterday's experience is just one of the many examples of what happens during my precious Nothing-to-do moments.

To-Do & Nothing-to-do.

Results & Relaxation.

I have found my balance.

What about you?

To read more of my writing on travel, food, and life lessons, do visit my website, www.ksramanan.com.