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She’s Come Undone
By karen | February 28, 2007
A couple of years ago I took one of those online RealAge tests. It was interesting and enlightening and I was more than pleased to know that my real age was like 12 years younger than I am. Yeah, I eat my vegetables and get my sleep apparently I live clean.
So I have an interest in all of this Real Age stuff. Just like taking care of your car makes it last longer, taking care of yourself and your body will make it last longer.
So not too long ago I saw Dr. Roizen, the creator of Real Age, on Oprah. He had a little quiz before the commercial break. Which one of these things makes you older? One of the choices was having unfinished tasks. I really thought nothing of that. I thought that it would not make any difference whatsoever. But it turned out that it was one of the worst offenders. Apparently having unfinished and undone tasks at hand creates a great deal of avoidable stress and it drains your energy.
This wasn’t just big stuff that was unfinished but it was also little things, little things like the “change engine oil” light coming on every time you start your car, the laundry baskets of clean clothes that still need to be folded, the outdated clothes you’ve been meaning to pack up and give to a charity, the filing you’ve been meaning to get to, the closets that need to be cleaned, the household repairs that you have learned to live with, just the little pesky things in life that don’t get done because you are going to do it later. Apparently it makes a difference of about 7 years in your Real Age.
Not only that when you really think about it, it does drain your energy. Every time you see it and you say “I’ll do that later” and you know you have no idea when “later” may be you zap some energy. And every time you complete one of those pesky tasks you gain some energy. It’s true. Don’t you always feel such a sense of completion and yes, a sense of relief when you finally get it done already?
There are also the things that you are “going to do”. Don’t you just feel so great when you finally just do it? If there is something you are “going to do” you should just go ahead and “do it” or eliminate it from your list. Knowing it is on your “to-do” list whether it is a physical list or just a list you think about in your head, but you are not doing it, drains your energy.
So in the immortal words of Nike “Just do it!”
You’ll be happier and you’ll have that sense of relief and completion and according the Real Age people you’ll be younger for it too.
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This article is included in the Carnival of Family Life #45 March 11, 2007 edition. This week the carnival is at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.
This article can be found along with many wonderful articles about getting organized (maybe I better check out all of the details today!) at the Organize Your Life-Carnival Edition #4 located at
Organize-your-Home-and-Office.com March 12, 2007
Popularity: 4% [?]
Topics: Personal Development, Living the Power |
March 11th, 2007 at 6:00 am
Getting things done certainly does feel good!
March 11th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Yes, It does feel good! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
March 12th, 2007 at 3:42 am
How true. Today I actually stepped away from the computer all morning and cleaned out areas of the house that I’ve been neglecting. What a sense of accomplishment!
Here from the Carnival of Family Life.
March 12th, 2007 at 3:49 am
Lethargy and procrastination rule my life and, yes, create a great deal of unneccessary stress. I’ve recognized the problem for quite a while, but allowed to grow to such proportions that it overwhelms me into not facing the tasks at all. Maybe I need a tangible list, instead fo just the one in my head. It would be encouraging to begin to check those tasks off and be done with them!
Great inclusion in the Carnival of Family Life. I’m feeling some motivations nibbling at the back of my brain …
March 12th, 2007 at 6:49 am
Yes, I need to follow some of my own advice here yet I seem to find this computer soooo, soooo compelling!
Thanks for stopping by!
March 12th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
[…] Karen Lynch presents She’s Come Undone posted at LivethePower. […]
March 27th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
[…] Karen Lynch presents She’s Come Undone posted at LivethePower. […]
July 23rd, 2007 at 4:46 pm
It does feel good to get things done.
But, I think the doctor is missing something very important. That is that we assign the significance to our to do lists. For instance if our to do list included only things we really want and love to do, it would be exciting and fun to complete.
I think, the issue the doctor is trying to address is the price of negative thinking, worry, and stress. The list is just a stereotype rather then the villian.