Christine Tjia

My first instinct was to leave the clean clothes on top of the ratan box. My shoulders and arms are filled with them that it would be hard to open the closet doors while balancing the stack. I do hv an excuse to leave them on top of ... actually anywhere, didn't I?

The tendency to not finish a task happens regularly - at least to yours truly here. I toss the plastic bags on the floor, drape clothes on my chairs and stack magazines in the nearest corner.

But sometimes, correction – rarely at times, I would be more aware and took few more minutes and the extra steps to fold the plastic bags neatly in the drawer, hang the clothes in its proper places and return the magazines to its original corner.

More often than not, this bad habit left to a cluttered home and office – which I am very guilty of. Starting something is fun and usually kicks off with a burst of energy. Then, it would wane off and I would settle with mediocrity. That’s not how life should be. We all should push ourselves for much more because we all deserve much more from life. One should live with pushing to the limits and exploring the outer reaches and the fullness of what life can offer.

This is more than an organization skill, it’s more than a management skill – it’s discipline. A discipline that is woven through all the aspects of life. And it’s always easier to start small – from bite size, in my food terminology. =)

So now, instead of leaving my email half typed and save them in drafts, I would kick myself in the head and scream, “Finish it – don’t you dare start on another task!”. It takes more effort but I know it’s worth it.

I hv began to go deeper than, “Hi, how are you doing?” to some friends. It’s always more convenient to do the otherwise and stop at the top-of-the-surface questions because it’s safer, it’s simpler, it’s shorter and it’s more convenient.

Because at the end of the day, I don’t wanna end up with unfulfilled commitments, messy table and worse of all - shallow relationships.