A few years ago, I had a workflow for photos that I dreaded.
I love keeping my memories organized. But every few months, I’d sit down to sort through a massive backlog – hundreds of photos, videos to label, memories to organize. The task had inevitably grown so large it felt like a punishment. I’d put it off, which made it worse, which made me put it off more.
Then I changed one thing. Every weekend, clear the week’s backlog. That’s it.
The same task became something I actually looked forward to. A few minutes of looking at the best moments from the week, processing memories while they’re still fresh. It made for a lovely change.
I thought about this recently because I had the same problem with ironing. A pile would build up over a month, sometimes longer. Getting a steam iron didn’t help – it just meant the same painful backlog, slightly faster. So I finally applied the same fix. Every week, clear the backlog.
A few weeks in, it’s already transformed how I feel about ironing. I don’t even think about it anymore.
My late grandfather had a saying in my mother tongue – “Madiyan mala chomakkum.” It means – “the lazy person will carry the mountain.” Because when you avoid the work, the mountain keeps growing.
Carry it a few rocks at a time, and it never becomes a mountain at all.
It never gets old.
A Learning a Day 