First Things First, Not Today

I'm sitting here at my desk. To my left is a pile of mail I should pay attention to. My starbucks coffee mug is to my right, filled with coffee to get me through the energy lows of the today. Underneath my hands is a 4 year old powerbook G4, 15" screen. I'm still in love with it. It tells me I have 82 new emails. The biggest object in the room is my planner, and it's also to my right, symbolically near the coffee.

I learned in a Covey conference years ago, that the first thing I need to do when I come into work is plan. Look over the projects, opportunities, and prioritize them. Break them down into manageable steps and then put the steps on a priority list. The list becomes the object of war for the day. Stick to the list, and knock the list down and I won the war for the day. If I ADD the day away, the list doesn't get touched -- but it's a very beautiful, spontaneous and occasionally a very productive day.

On one hand I'm filled with energy today and making the list and killing it one by one will work today. But, I'm also in this place of fog and wonder. I just got back from 5 days of travel with my oldest son. We left last week and traveled to the midwest to attend my nieces wedding. The wedding was awesome. The reconnecting with family was deep, and the conversations were rich.

My oldest son is now 17 and in grade 12, or three years ago we would have said he is a senior in high school. That means life awaits him. Together we were part of recruiting day at a college in the same town the wedding was held. So taking my son to the wedding was one thing, the college visit was the other. Listening to him talk about his interests, passions and academic goals was wonder filled. It just seemed like last year that I was in college in his shoes. Starting out, stretching my arms, and asking tons of questions about life and the future. Now he is there. He is forging the way not only for his own life, but as the eldest, his own siblings. It's quite vertigo for me to be in this place now. A year from now he may be out of the house, then another year and another may be gone. Being in the journey is rewarding, but dropping passengers off in the corners is hard.

I'm now going to turn my attention to the list war, and it's a great war to battle in don't get me wrong - but something in me wants to soak it in some more, gather my thoughts, listen to my heart, and pray. I'm there and not there. Okay, first things first, but there is much else going on.