The Touchwood Project

This morning shone brightly, bringing the feeling of spring and all its energy and enthusiasm with it. The problem was, so many things weighed on my mind I couldn’t seem to start on a single one.

I felt restless, cranky, worried in that intangible way that happens when I have too many things in my head and doubts that I’ll ever manage to get them all done.

When I get like this, Malcolm and I sit down for a cup of tea and I tell him all the things troubling me. As we learned from our Strengthsfinder results, one of Malcolm’s biggest strength is strategic thinking — in his case, he’s particularly good at looking at all the details of a situation, all the compicating factors, and determining a path ahead.

I think it’s his training as a mountain guide and navigator, where, when setting out for a hike in the outdoors with a group, he takes into account a million factors ranging from impending clouds and wind direction to the fitness levels and health conditions of the people he’s leading. He has to decide the direction he’s going to take and reassure all the people that everything’s fine.

That kind of skill comes in real handy for someone like me who tends to want everything perfect and therefore is overwhelmed when there are too many factors for me to cope with.

So, what did he suggest?

First off, a To Do list.

It sounds so unappealing doesn’t it? So tedious, so draw-within-the-lines.

But the act of grabbing two scraps of paper and a big blue marker and just writing down every single thing nagging at me, from finishing my income tax to dropping off the recycling on the morning bus run tomorrow, left my head clearer, my spirits a little less oppressed.

So now our To Do list is hanging next to the calendar, ready for us to cross items off as we go.

But that wasn’t quite enough, so the second thing I did was do some housecleaning.

Wow, To Do lists and housecleaning.

I’m really inspiring you, aren’t I? But again, picking a small task like vacuuming the living room gives me a sense of control in a world full of chaos. It’s a manageable task I can cross of my list and I can feel like I’m achieving something. It also makes the space more relaxing and pleasant to be in.

Invariably, one task leads to another and I found myself stringing washing on the line in the sunshine, an activity that always makes me feel quaintly back in time as if I’m living on the frontier alongside my ancestors.

Oddly enjoyable, hanging the laundry out to dry

Something about pegging up the clothes as the wind snaps the edges and straightens out the wrinkles, the birds fly overhead and the sun sneaks past the hulk of the house, and I feel a sense of something much more fulfilling than just doing a chore.

Job done and satisfaction restored

Finally, after all that palaver is done, I can drop onto my bed, soak in the sunshine streaming in the windows, and relax with a cup of apple tea to the BBC coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Hm, To Do lists and a quick clean — the oddest, smallest things can make the nicest difference.

Tags: happiness

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