Completion and creation.

Acquisition and release.

Closed hand and open hand.

A couple of months ago I read a brief essay by David Allen (author of Getting Things Done) about the value of completion. It made me think. As a person who loves diving into the new and seeking my next Thing, I focus on the future. What do I need to do next? What do I need to get to make my vision real?

I turned over the idea in my mind—completion—and started to layout my daily plan differently. Instead of only what I needed to do, I added a column for what I needed to complete. I’m already a long-time follower of inbox zero, but I still had some lingering emails that had gotten stale over the weeks. I archived some, deleted some and answered some.

I often hold onto things, imagining I will have more time in the future to craft careful replies. The reality is most of us have more tasks than time, between work, the home and yard, (almost wrote yarn there!), family, friends, health and faith.

What can you complete? What tugs at your attention? Where are your loose ends that need to be tied?

After the digital clearing, I still have more to declutter in my house. Strangely, I haven’t felt as much pressure as usual to buy in my two major categories: food and yarn. I actually went into a craft store and left without a yarn purchase the other day. No, it’s true!

Part of it might have to do with a book I read recently. It has an amazing title that made me look at my home differently, “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter.” The author (who says she is between 80 and 100), encourages you to take the burden off your loved ones and shed your excess stuff now. Having lost three of the five members of my birth family, with just me and my sister left, I appreciate the kindness inherent in thinking of others beyond our own ends. It’s easy to look around the house and know that my son, with his clean modern aesthetic, won’t want to deal with any of our stuff!

A reason for completion

It always helps the completion process to have a deadline.

I have a pressing due date for completing my yarn projects: Tuesday, May 21. You are invited to the Grand Opening of the Mizzou Staff Arts & Crafts Showcase at noon, in the lower level of the Student Center. Parking available in the lot next to the Student Center or on the street.

Now comes the test of my commitment.

Will I get the ends sewn into my ripple blanket in time for the Showcase?

It’s one thing to ponder the value of completion…but it’s a whole nother thing to live it!

Blessings to you this week as you complete what you can and open up space for more light to come in.