triage
Trē-ˌäzh - yeah, sure, no problemo …
This term and how we use it comes to mind often as I struggle to manage many things in my life and work. It’s a priority-setting word.
But it’s not an action word …
Setting priorities is not a list shuffling exercise, and while it’s a reordering of the sequence of events, a sequence of decisions - it’s surely a call to action, a gut-twisting knowing of the need for actions - but that’s all happening in the mind, or on a lined yellow pad while I’m looking out a window or watching some streaming video ~ and nothing gets done!
A call to ‘do this first’, ‘do that last’ and after you do what’s first, ‘do what’s next’.
We all do this
Really, seriously - we all do this, right?
We think about it, we make lists and happily stroke off two things before the ink is dry - because we’ve either put substantially-done things on the list (perhaps just for the joy of stroking them off the list) and then re-arrange the ranking of things on that damn list - which takes time, of course, and then the tri-age list must be redone, and that takes some time. The phone rings, or pings, or the email we’ve been waiting for arrives and that triggers the ‘3 other emails’ or a phone call - the sense of urgency that gets shit done.
And there’s that incessant checking for that which hasn’t shown up, the answer that hasn’t arrived, the person who hasn’t answered or decided some crucial point.
And tempered with the daily laundry list of other commitments, obligations, the effing clock, the end of the day and I look out the window and wonder, “When did it get dark?” … as I did when typing this sentence …
We’ve done it since childhood - changing our activities for actions (or avoidance and delay) when we hear or see messages that cause us to act; no need to speak, write a paper, sort files or move things around on a computer screen calendar.
What are those things?
You must remember how it was - reacting with a change of actions, a quick thought process and pointing yourself in a different direction - when you would hear:
dinner’s ready!
or, bedtime
or, bath time
or, let’s go for ice cream
who wants ________?
Yes; we didn’t need a meeting, or a group email canvas to make the decision, did we?
My recent deeper-than-usual dive into my feelings about some things, some people, some people things, and I did this without crashing anything, burning any bridges, or kowtowing to anyone - because sometimes we have to be brutal in making decisions.
Nobody asks me more often if I have too much on my plate than I ask myself.
The easy answer is, “Of course, it’s me.”
The tough part isn’t the recognizing - it’s too much, too hard, too unlikely, or too impossible because so many things play out that way.
Some have played out that way over and over again - and very often those conflicts manifest when the demanding client is not satisfied, or the not-demanding client says all the right things but then completely ignores the advice they’ve asked us to give.
So why?
It’s what I do.
It’s what I’ve done.
It’s not likely to change much, because opportunities show up and need to be grabbed; ideas show up and need to be nurtured, and when clients or opportunities arrive on my horizon begging for my help, saying “Can you help me?” and I say, “Sure - let’s make lemonade out of these lemons.”
Why?
Of course, I ask myself that question all the time - why do I choose this, and postpone that?
Why do I say yes to easy-sounding things or supposedly little things when I’ve already said yes to too many hard things, and when that becomes overwhelming:
It’s time to ˈtrē-ˌäzh.
NOTE TO READER: coming later today - this week’s BONUS postings - a short story and poem …
I publish this Musings column daily and post poems, short stories and other ‘plus/+’ content weekly. Many of you enjoy this content for free, and I truly appreciate your readership. Paid subscriptions are modest: $8 monthly (26¢ a day), $72 annually (20¢ a day), or you can donate any amount. Paid subscribers get extra content, but everyone is welcome - your presence matters. But if you haven't yet become a paid subscriber, I'd be grateful if you'd consider it. Thank you for reading Musings, and thanks to Substack for supporting writers like me. Warm regards, Mark
This week’s bonus [Musings+] postings for our paid subscribers:
SHORT STORY: RECIPE FOR MURDER ~ POEM: DIRECTNESS
OOH MY!
Have you been in my office and my head? This rings too true!
It’s always a relief, when I’m not the only one!