Just one more thing (Day 356, Year 2)

I have this habit of making a to-do list of five items and calling it my "Fast Five." The criteria for being on my Fast Five list is as follows:

1. It has to be a fast, obtainable task.

2. It has to be more important and urgent.

3. There can only be five things and each thing cannot have multiple steps--it must be a single step item.

During December, my Fast Five has become my Fast Fifty. I just keep adding just one more thing. 

This is the real magic of the holiday: even if I am so exhausted that I am practically falling over, in December I can always do just one more thing. 

Like today, I woke with only 5 hours of sleep after a wonderful, ridiculous evening with friends. I did not think I could make it the whole day, but I did. I ran a million errands. I even kept saying to myself, just one more stop. Then I managed to review a major product that will launch tomorrow and write a little bit of a piece I was working on. I even power napped for 20 minutes and wrapped gifts for my friend. 

Then, I squeezed in baking a red wine chocolate cake and make linguini and clams, while entertaining our friends. Then, it was time to wrap teacher gifts and wipe off the kitchen counter (which I wiped off 7 times before today). And now this blog. It's just one more thing, right?

I cannot channel this super human energy any other season of the year. Sure, I can work hard and push myself, but I usually will just say, "Oh well, I'll do that in the morning." or "I never need to do that, who cares?" But not at Christmas--no, at Christmas everything must get done, so what's one more thing?

Like after I hit publish here, I'll review my to-do list, wash my face, find pajamas, lay out clothes for tomorrow, probably reply to some texts, drink my tea, read my book and then fall unconscious, until I wake up for my day of "Just one more thing," all over again, This will last until January 1, 2023 and then I'll be back to procrastinating and leaving the kitchen counter unwired and my face unwashed. 

Because in January, friends, it is time to do the opposite of just one more thing--maybe it is like just one less thing season or something.