Things to do before dying...*my husband still wants me to rename this :-)

11. When faced with a seemingly unmanageable task - due either to the size of the job or the level of your anxiety - pick one part of it and just do it. I often use this in my job as a writer - if a job is stressful enough I don't know how to begin. The job sits in the corner of my psyche getting bigger, stinkier and nastier. So, I try to pick one thing, separate it from the larger task, and finish it. Sometimes I try to find the easiest thing that I know I will finish quickly, other times I pick the source of the biggest stress.

Right now I'm applying this rule to my house. A year of cancer has led to a messy house. Stacks of books, piles of kids' schoolwork, bags of goods destined for the Sally Ann...it all needs to be sorted, tossed, put away or transported. But I'm too tired. So, instead of focusing on how much work there is to do, this morning I just got up, picked a corner of a room and processed it. I feel better, the house is tidier, and I am energized by my ability to actually create order out of chaos. The key is to keep going.