I have a very long list of things that I failed to do, so it was with an enormous sense of relief that I read Lucy Kellaway’s column in the FT that begins:
“Every day I do a lot of things. Every day I avoid doing a lot more. I avoid replying to e-mails, I avoid researching any articles that do not need writing immediately.
I avoid ringing my bank to cancel a standing order for a subscription to some internet computer game that my sons no longer play. I avoid trying to find a builder to rebuild my garden wall. I avoid opening bills.
In fact, I avoid opening my mail altogether. (I used to open letters from friends, but now that friends no longer seem to write letters the official envelopes pile up in the hall.) I avoid making phone calls, and above all I avoid doing my tax return.”
(Sadly, this one is subscription only)