Today wasn’t the day. It’s Thursday. There’s already a plan for Thursdays. Get up. Walk the dogs. Feed the dogs. Grab a coffee. Write this email. All before 9:15. A nice, tidy schedule.
Today isn’t her day. But she’s on her way. Add “clean for the cleaning lady” to the list.
I have a whole host of reasons why our house isn’t inspection ready. Doesn’t matter what they are. You have them too.
Let’s just say we’re a far cry from military barracks at morning inspection. No hospital corners. Shoes wandering all over the place. Polished? As if. There’s a rogue sock in this house that’s been missing in action since Tuesday.
It’s a little frantic up in here.
Flip the laundry. Put the shoes away. Clean up the breakfast dishes. Deal with that pile of whatever it is on the counter. And why, exactly, are the clean clothes still sitting in the hallway three days later?
Oh wait. Those are mine.
Some people think it’s crazy to clean before the cleaner. You’re not my people.
There’s a sequence to these things.
First, the thought. Our life would be easier with some help around the house. Then the feeling. Every other week, the self-imposed scramble to get the house presentable enough that someone might actually clean what’s underneath the laundry and the shoes.
Then the act. The house gets deep-cleaned, top to bottom. I love it again. Thank you, Maria.
I’m learning that this sequence, think, feel, act, is universal.
Yesterday I met with a team of systems and process specialists, helping us see where the sequence already lives in our work. And what happens when things fall out of sequence. You can do all the right things in the wrong order. And get the wrong outcome.
Take Maria out of sequence. Without the prep, she spends her time picking up after us like we’re school children. The house looks better, sure. But it doesn’t feel deeply clean because we skipped a step.
The pattern is everywhere once you start looking. Eggs in a cold pan. Looking for the spatula while they burn. Toast still in the bag when the eggs are plated.
We do the same thing at work, every day. Deciding before we ask. Announcing before we listen. Hiring before we know what we need. The thinking is solid. The action is solid. The order is broken.
Turns out psychologists have been studying this since the 70s. They call it the cognitive-affective-behavioral hierarchy.
Think. Feel. Act.
Take a look at your list today. What’s out of sequence?
Do the right things. In the right order.
My plan for the day. How about you?
New to One Thing Thursdays?
Each week, I share something I’m learning, living, or working out in real time. It’s part storytelling, part reflection. I hope there’s something in it for you too.
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