What We've Been Putting Off

Even without pandemic pressures, “Laters” tend to pile up. Some laters are the usual… need to schedule the dentist, time to change the oil in the car, must get out to visit family members we haven’t seen in too long.

But laters also include things like stopping at the farmer’s market with a friend, staying up late to watch a scary movie with the kids, and printing new photos for the frames in the house. As my friends and colleagues are adjusting yet again to the changes in how we work, mixed with the shift into holiday season, I’ve started to think about these happy little “laters” that keep waiting for things to calm down.

While things stay unresolved (in any area of life really), we can begin feeling powerless to know when things will ever be “normal” again. This powerlessness can drain our drive, make it hard to even know what we want, and dull the edge of excitement because we’re just too drained by the yo-yo of life.

When we can’t remove or resolve the uncertainty of the world, there are some things we can do to reconnect to our passion, and restore the delight and drive to ourselves while we keep moving forward. One approach is something I’ve come to think of as “Later Hunting.”

Reconnect to Passion + Joy

In the foggy wilderness of Laters and Somedays, lurk fun activities and meaningful experiences. Instead of burning down the wilderness or clearing it one wild to-do at a time, what if you were to take a quick jaunt in, hunting down some cheery laters that you’ve been putting off?

Maybe we can’t do some things…they’re monsters that will stay in the wilderness a little longer. And no one can catch up on everything at once (we are only mortals after all). But what if you made a game of later hunting with your family, to get a few of those meaningful things moving? It’s like giving yourself a gift of lightness, and a tiny fresh start with each Later you reclaim from the pile.

 Instead of later, consider if maybe this week holds the day that you will… 

• Send a thank you note to a friend who lifted my spirits when I needed it.
• Look at Christmas decorations with my daughter.
• Take a Wonder Walk instead of saying I’m too busy to lollygag.

What we're putting off follows us around, tarnishing our accomplishments and muddying our focus for tomorrow. But it's not just about getting "important things" done.

Keys to Happy Hunting:

Don't Stress About Catching Up Completely.

Later hunting works in part because it's a boost of energy. It's a shift of momentum in the forward direction. But if you try to slay every single item on a list of laters it can feel like you're waging war on your inner procrastinator. Often that part of you will retaliate later and start building up a fresh pile of things that need doing while you're recovering from the herculean effort to clear the deck.

Pick Non-Urgent Things.

If the squeaky wheel usually gets the oil, then the most stressful "late thing" tends to grab at your attention. Look instead for something that keeps getting overlooked because it's not screaming at you. Things like learning something you're fascinated about, or trying something new in the kitchen.

There's a disproportionate payoff we receive when we do something while it still resides in a place of positive energy. Things that are already screamingly behind may offer relief when finished, but not delighted joy.

So pick something delightful, something that you could ignore. And do it with joy.

Invite Others To Join In.

Sometimes the most stressful part about all the uncertainty around us and the many things up in the air is that they affect other people in our lives.

Watch what happens when you invite someone else to not catch up, but instead go later hunting. If we all pull something off the list and engage with it today, everyone moves forward. Not to mention that the solidarity and excitement of seeing others do it with us creates shared positive emotion (which is huge for our health).

If your family or work team has been run ragged with all the changes in the world, and the pressures of pivoting with them, this is a way to signal a time out from stresses, a space for positive progress.

Happy Hunting!

~Morgan