When I was in Elementary school, my teachers would hold occasional “catch up” days. For the longest time I couldn’t understand what “KETCHUP” had to do with anything in school, but I went along, because as a student who was always behind, “Ketchup Days” were a welcomed change of pace.

Today, like many of you, I have a lot on my plate. There is always a new project, idea, or challenge. This means that I find myself a little behind with all the “HAVE TO DO’S” in my life. Can you relate? It’s at times like these that I have to go back to my roots and lean into a good ol’ fashioned ketchup day. Yes, these days typically begin with the traditional, anxiety building exercise of looking at my entire laundry list of items and wondering how I am going to get it all done. “Why do I do this to myself?!” “How am I supposed to get all this done?” “I could go get a job at a gas station and not have to deal with any of this!” Eventually, I take a deep breath, uncross my eyes, and I remember WHY I do what I do. Then I put away my kazoo and I shut down my itty-bitty pity-party.

That’s when the good stuff happens.

My ketchup days always seems to play out the same way. I look at my list and it seems impossible. Then I focus on 1 item and cross it off. “THAT WASN’T AS BAD AS I THOUGHT”. Then I cross off one more. “That wasn’t as bad either”. Before I know it, I am crushing my list! See, I have learned couple things over the years... First, I have found that when I focus my energy on 1 item at a time and forget about the mountain of things I need to get done, I am much more effective.

How do you eat an elephant again?

Second, I’m still shocked at how much I can get done in 60 minutes when I am LASER FOCUSED. When I stop complaining and distracting, and just buckle down for 60 minutes, I can get 3-4 times more done than I feel like I should be able to. Ever been there? In today’s BUSY-HUNGRY society, it’s only natural to get overwhelmed from time to time. There’s always something begging for our attention, and we all have a lot on our to-do list, but when we really focus our attention, it amazing what we can accomplish. So, today, my challenge is for those of us that have a long to-do list. Pick a day (at least 2 per month) where you can ketchup.

Organize your list from most to least important, get laser focused for 60 minutes (one item at a time), take a 15 min break, and then go back at it for another 60. See how much you can get done in a few quick hours Who knows, you may even surprise yourself with how much you can accomplish when you take the time to KETCHUP! Here’s to your journey in our world, my friend.

Make it a fantastic day and I’ll see you soon.

- Dan