Actions for My Future Self

Some time ago, a friend mentioned taking a specific action for "tomorrow me." I think it was something like cleaning the kitchen before she went to bed, or meal prepping her lunches for the week - the details faded in the light of a concept I had never considered before.

Historically, I don't take very good care of Tomorrow Me. I leave her messes to clean and projects to finish, and send her to bed hungry because Right Now Me was more interested in whatever she was working on than in dinner. My fledgling morning/evening routines have been a bit of an attempt to care for Tomorrow Me - setting up the night before, and taking charge of my day from the beginning rather than beginning it three steps behind and then struggling to catch up.

It's also become a household topic. "What can you do right now to help tomorrow you?" is a much more evocative conversation starter than "what do you want to do this evening?" (I've been practicing my interviewing skills) and it helps adults and kids alike. No matter what age we are, we are all prone to choosing the immediately easy way without pausing to consider whether it's going to create more work down the road. This new practice has altered how my husband approaches his evenings, and my kids' enthusiasm about cleaning their rooms before they go to bed (rather than before breakfast the next morning).

So today, I've had a cup of black tea to help 2pm Me, taken notes for a weekend class project for Friday Me, determined to finish a knitting project while listening to a gripping audio book during peace to keep Later Today Me off of Twitter, and once I wrap this up I'll be setting out breakfast and planning the day ahead to keep everything running smoothly. What will you do today for Tomorrow You?

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