It’s Monday. Today’s to-do list is longer than my arm. Yesterday’s to-do list is telling me I’m a loser and didn’t accomplish anything this weekend. My half-painted office is littered with drop cloths, spackle, and latex-paint infested rags that were used and then tossed to the side each time I dribbled paint onto a piece of furniture or the carpet. It’s not pretty, and I can’t seem to concentrate because the weekend’s task is calling to me -- and it’s Monday. My work week tasks are screaming at me to attend to them even though the office is in shambles and my hands are dabbled in white semi-satin trim paint.

Working from home today is not a good thing because the lines between work and homework are blurred. Each moment I sit staring at my laptop screen feels like a lifetime because the room around me is not yet finished. I’m in project limbo -- in both my personal and work life. (I’m sure none of you can empathize with that.)

What to do, what to do? Aside from playing hooky and painting all day, there is only one choice I can make. I have to refer to one of my favorite movie lines of all time. (And it’s not “You had me at hello.”)

It’s from the movie Coach Carter -- a basketball story based on real life. I give it five stars for numerous reasons but mostly because one line in it helps me each and every time I run into the schizophrenic desire to do too many tasks at the same time.

To frame it up, you must know that the father of one of the basketball players in this movie was intent that his son would go to college not on a basketball scholarship, but on his academic record. Therefore, the father was strongly encouraging his son’s academic success. Whenever his son was feeling overwhelmed by both basketball and academics, he said one thing: “Do what you HAVE to do so you can do what you WANT to do.”

How ‘bout that for a nugget?! I adore its simplicity; its actionable way of kicking me in the bum to get things done. I could go on and on about how much I like this little movie line because it relates to real life so well.

But if I did, that would be one more thing that was distracting me from attacking my Monday to-do list and leaving my weekend homework alone until I finish that which pays the bills.

So, that’s that. Off I go to edit my bread and butter, OSP magazine. (Now, if I could only stop seeing that paint brush in the corner that keeps calling my name.)

What is your experience with this? Tell your fellow readers now!