Doing It All

At The Naming Project, we've been working on a fundraising letter. This is a letter that is going out to all of our supporters (for whom we have contact information) that will update them on what all has happened in 2007 and where we hope to go in 2008.

The problem is that we have been working on this letter since August. Originally,
we had intended to send out a letter at the beginning of fall and one again closer to the end of the year. This fall has been so overwhelming that the letter never got sent. Now I'm scrambling to get it out before the end of the year.

Sometimes I'm concerned about the level of commitment that I'm in. I have three paying jobs. I have two other jobs that don't pay. I'm on a couple of boards. I'm in a night class program that lasts for two years. Oh yeah, I'm in a relationship with someone. And every time another invitation comes, I tend to say "yes". The problem is that I'm doing everything in a haphazard way. Things are not being done well because I'm trying to do everything.

Case in point, yesterday I attended a bar mitzvah for a friend. He is converting to Judaism. My MBA small group wanted to meet yesterday, so I tried to schedule it for after the bar mitzvah. However, I had no idea how long Shabbat services went (especially with 11 adult b'nai mitzvahs). I ran out after the service without really getting to say anything to my friend, and I still missed the small group meeting. Both were done poorly.

Advent is one of those good points when you take stock of your life (there are several points like that in the year). What am I doing? What am I doing of value? What is giving me life and what is taking life from me? What means labor now but rewards later? These are important questions I'm facing. I don't think that I'll change my routine because of this reflection, but maybe I'll be more faithful about saying no in the future.