True Confessions Wednesday: One More Thing-itis

True Confession #18: I have one-more-thing-itis. For a long time, I made a resolution every January and on many Ash Wednesdays to be on time. There are a few things in life I am never late for (work, massage appointments) but, much of the time, I am running anywhere from two to ten minutes behind. The cause of this is clear and consistent.

I have one-more-thing-itis -- a terrible case of believing that I can do fit in just "one more thing." Whether it's one more task, one more sentence, or one more time hitting the snooze button, I prove myself wrong much of the time, discovering only when it's too late that I really did not have time for one more.

When I try to do this before leaving the house, I inevitably end up late to wherever I'm going. When I try to do this before I start dinner, we end up eating dinner later than planned. When I try to do this before winding down/going to bed, I end up not getting enough sleep.

In a way, it's a very optimistic outlook (I'm sure I can squeeze in one more thing!) and it can even seem efficient, as though I'm using my time wisely by filling all my nooks and crannies of time with items from my to-do list. But, in the end, I don't end up being very efficient at all. Instead, I end up hungry, sleepy and late and I often inconvenience others as well.

I've been aware of this problem for quite some time; I've even come up with ways to work on it. I'm improving but I still have a way to go.

I've begun to consider what might be at the root of this issue. Why do I always think I can fit in one more thing? Sometimes, as noted above, it's optimism. Other times, it's denial ("It really won't take me that long to get there") or dread ("I don't want to have this hanging over my head, so I want to finish it now"). In the end, it's a time management problem that creates a time management problem.

As with any habit, the desire to change has to precede the change itself. Most of the time, especially when the thing I'm going to is as interesting as (or even better than) the thing I'm coming from, that desire is there. It's in those other moments, the ones where I just hate to stop what I'm doing, that the habit digs its heels in, becoming entrenched.

As I type this now, I have one eye on the clock, knowing my alarm is going to go off in five minutes so I can get ready to go to church.

Will I stop?

Check out tomorrow's Thursday Then & Now to find out whether or not my alarm strategy worked and what other strategies I think I might need to put into place.