Act I Scene III: Connect with the Serious

 Nothing is worth doing unless the consequences may be serious.

-George Bernard Shaw

At least for me, serious tasks need to be divided into baby tasks in order to make accomplishing them more realistically possible. To that end I've divided everything I am to accomplish into categories and then baby steps.

Tasks I'm working on will be shown in bold.
Tasks I've accomplished will be shown in strikethrough. 

I will of course have a hard copy where I can physically check off my accomplishments, because who doesn't love the satisfaction of marking a big fat "X" in a box you've been neglecting?

Spring Cleaning
Room by room, box up and then clean thoroughly each room in our old house:
the bathroom
the living room
the dining room
the kitchen
the bedroom
the bedroom closet
the office
the office closet
tippen's room
the storage unit
the deck
deep clean/defrost the fridge/freezer
deep clean the oven
deep clean the tub/shower
Room by room, clean and then unpack in an organized fashion at the new house:
the kitchen/dining area
the living room
the guest bedroom
the office
the main bathroom
the master bedroom
the master closet
the master bathroom
the loft
the garage
the unfinished room
the laundry room
the unfinished bathroom
the patio
wash the car
turn the soil in the garden

Organize
go through files and organize/refile (purchasing new folders/boxes as necessary)
find a place for old letters
find a place for teaching-related materials
start France binder
start birthday notecard calendar
find a place for mail/keys

Chores
come up with a chore chart for daily/weekly/monthly chores
make a grocery list chalkboard
make a weekly meal chart
make a laminated daily task chart for myself

Taxes, Bills & Paperwork
go to the library and get tax forms
file taxes
close old utility accounts
open new electricity account
sign up for green up with seattle city light
open new gas account
sign up for carbon balance with pse
open new water/sewer/garbage account
open new internet account
change address officially at the post office
figure out what paperwork needs to be done to extend remy's greencard

Random 
set up truck rental for moving
change garbage can size to micro-can
schedule an appointment to get napoleon fixed
get napoleon fixed
deflea the cats
schedule an appointment to fix the car
fix the car
buy a new bed
set up chicken brooder
come up with final chicken coop plans
sign the new lease

Future
honestly reflect and decide what I want for my future
come up with steps for how to accomplish my future
start plans for octopus! 2012
sign up and create account on ms website
personalize my webpage
contact possible teammates and encourage them to sign up
schedule a meeting to come up with fundraising ideas
start plans for France

Money
transfer money for the deposit for the new house
pay taxes
pay first and deposit for the new house
pay off debts
pay parking ticket
apply for credit card
start recording purchases
put aside 10% of each paycheck into a separate savings account for emergencies
research 401k options at pcc
donate to npr
contact starbucks about stock
check back with old landlords about deposit

Fears
make an honest list of my fears, even the small ones or things that make me uncomfortable
find a way to challenge each fear realistically

Serious Business

 To think of shadows is a serious thing.

-Victor Hugo

We all have things in life we dread doing, big or small. For me some of the worst are folding socks, calling people back when I know it's been waaaay too long, renewing the tabs for my car, and emptying the little filter thing in the drain that is always full of indescribable yuck.

There are daily tasks I avoid like the plague, as well. Namely flossing (slacking mucho since month one ended, by the way, but who knows but me?), shaving (let's be honest - I'm married, my husband is blind as a bat and here in Seattle short weather doesn't come around until late July at the earliest; I still have a few months where I can get by being hairy), and putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher. And some that somehow just slip by like watering plants (I'm sooo sorry, you poor dehydrated flora) and paying bills (once the letter gets opened & put in the pile, I lose all sense of urgency).

In an effort to get more organized and to persuade me to actually accomplish annoying tasks I decided to spend a month tackling the not-so-fun-but-necessary serious. This month has many facets, all of which I am dreading, but are key in alleviating stress and helping sort out priorities in my life.

It won't just be spring cleaning and paying taxes, although those will certainly have their place. I also plan to tackle goals for my future with a serious sit-down to figuring out what I want to do/be (from my original notes back in January: mommy? doctor? writer? cook? teacher? midwife? naturopath? photographer?) and figuring out what steps I need to take to get on my way to becoming/doing whatever it is I decide I want to try to be/do.

Another key element, possibly the most important and certainly the most dreaded, is a serious examination of my relationship with fear. I plan to take an honest look at my fears, from the tiniest most insignificant to the monumental, including things that might not be seen as fears but that make me uncomfortable. The next step is to find a way to challenge each and every one of them.

This month will probably not be the most fun month I've ever had, but I am in anxious in all senses of the word to get started. I am apprehensive, of course, but I am also excited to get over this hump because I know that overcoming these obstacles is huge in the grand scheme of things. What better way to connect with yourself than to challenge your biggest fears head on?