Money in the Bank (Guest Post)

Money in the Bank

by Steph Beth Nickel

Summer is upon us. Warmer weather. Sunshine. And vacations. And with vacationing comes that extra long To Do list.

My hubby and I are going east for approximately 2.5 weeks in July. And while it’s exciting (I’ve never been to the Maritimes before), it means getting things done ahead of time and making sure my responsibilities are covered. This includes gathering a long list of camping supplies. We hope to tent most of the time we’re away.

As things come together, it’s like money in the bank.

We’ve likely all lived from paycheque to paycheque at some point. But it feels so good when we don’t have to consider our bank balance or the remaining credit on our Mastercard before making a purchase.

It’s the same when we “bank” other things as well.

As the admin at our church, I am responsible to publish the bulletin each week. I am currently in the process of preparing all of July’s issues. Thankfully, we simplified things and are now putting out a half sheet of 8.5 x 11 instead of the tri-fold we had been creating.

I have an editing project I hope to make significant progress on before I head east and a coauthoring project I want to leave in good shape as well.

And then there are the books I’m reading, the books and movies I’ve offered to review for HopeStreamRadio, and the guest posts I sometimes leave to the last minute. <cough, cough> (Sorry this is arriving the same day it was to be posted, Janet.)

The extra responsibilities and longer To Do list can be overwhelming, but I actually work better when faced with an imminent deadline.

The Benefits of a Deadline

It has a way of chasing away my tendency to procrastinate. I can’t put things off until tomorrow if in very few tomorrows I’ll be on the road.

A deadline—or several—also helps me prioritize what really needs to be done and what can wait until I return.

A deadline encourages me as I see how much I can accomplish in a fairly short time.

As I cross each thing off the list, I breathe a little easier. It really is like money in the bank.

How about you? What are your plans this summer? Do you have to accomplish more than usual before you leave? How does that make you feel?

Tweetables

Deadlines chase away the tendency to procrastinate. (click to tweet)

Deadlines help us prioritize what really needs to be done. (click to tweet)

Meeting a deadline shows us what we can do when we put our mind to it. (click to tweet)

~~~

Steph Beth Nickel

Steph Beth Nickel
(Photo by Stephen G. Woo Photography)

Stephanie (Steph Beth) Nickel is an award-winning co-author, a freelance editor and writer, a labour doula, and a former personal trainer. She also loves to speak, teach, and take slice-of-life photos. She would love to connect with you on Facebook or Twitter.

6 thoughts on “Money in the Bank (Guest Post)

  1. Janet Sketchley Post author

    I find deadlines stressful, but you’re right as usual, Stephanie — they have some key benefits. The trick is learning to manage them while minimizing the stress response! Enjoy your vacation 🙂

    Reply
  2. Margaret Welwood

    I like to think of relationship-building as another form of “money in the bank.” Building relationships when there’s no pressure (rather than letting things slide and taking the other for granted) can prepare us for the tough times with that person.

    Reply
  3. Pirkko

    Great post with an intriguing title that got me interested. Good job. Enjoy the east coast and be sure to add photos to Facebook. I’m a traveler and love to see photos. Procrastination is my problem as well but I convince myself that I have good reasons.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Stephanie Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.