Two Buckets

Back in the day, I was able to mentally juggle four to six important thought threads throughout the day. I knew what I needed to do, the steps I needed to take to complete each task, and how to integrate the steps into a seamless day that would end with all of my work done and dinner on the table. I didn’t even consciously coordinate it, the thoughts just sifted through my mind as I multitasked with a vengeance. Farm chores, work, house chores, writing, meal prep, and even special things like entertaining or spinning and knitting a project … they all got done.

Back in the day.

These days, it’s completely different. These days, I have two buckets in my mind for information. One is marked “Necessary for Survival” and the other is marked “Junk Mail.” If I don’t consciously make the connection that something needs to be remembered and stuffed in the “Necessary for Survival” bucket, then it slips into the “Junk Mail” bucket where it may never surface again.

I guess this is what my grandma meant when she said getting old wasn’t for sissies.

What’s really annoying is that this change didn’t happen gradually. One day I was clicking along on all six cylinders, the next I’d fallen off the cliff into my two-bucket system. Now I write lists, make notes, send myself emails, and post everything even remotely vital to Google Calendar. Anything that falls between “Necessary for Survival” and “Junk Mail” has to be recorded somewhere or I’ve lost it.

I find this all vastly annoying. Hense, this blog post to whine about it. But now I have something else that needs doing. I just wish I remembered what it was. *sigh*