A vacuum begs to be filled. Given extra time and energy, projects that were once low priority enough to not get started will seem urgent enough to focus on.

Around 2015 I changed how I stored my digital pictures from folders by topic to yearly folders with files named with the datetime they were taken. Everything pre-2015 is has stayed the old way, while everything 2015 and onward has been the new way. One evening this week, while looking for a photo of when my first son was born, in 2014, I got the itch to do the housekeeping work to update all of the old photos so everything was organized the same way. It was a few hours in before I stopped to ask myself why.

Projects like this are popping up like weeds. All of a sudden it feels of the utmost importance that I go through all of my socks and get rid of any pairs that are stretched out of shape. That drawer in the kitchen with all of the random stuff in it calls out to me to pay it attention. I’m even temped to sign up for Netflix to start watching one of their shows just to be able to say I’ve seen it.

There is probably some benefit to housekeeping tasks. Part of my goal for this period was to be able to refocus and launch into my next six years with every advantage. Some of these projects will allow me to shed weight, leaving me more lightweight and nimble. Having my photos better organized will save some time when I periodically want to go find something.

By and large though, these tasks are filler that are taking way from my true rest. Most of these tasks have never gotten completed for the correct reasons – they are not necessary. As I focus on resting, removing work that pretends to be important, but is not, is necessary for success.