3 Elul 5779: Prepare

It's beshert that today's Elul prompt is "prepare" because my intention today was to prepare the service outlines for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

I'm big into preparation, sort of.

I start planning for events - divrei Torah, essays for local newspapers, parties, services, lesson plans, concerts - weeks and months in advance. I brainstorm and research, come up with lots of ideas, and make long notes and lists.

Then I promptly stop as soon as something more interesting or immediate comes my way. I figure that I have "plenty of time" before said event, so I can get back to finalizing my prepping soon enough.

The reality, though, is that because I am very expert at last-minute pulling together, all those deeply researched lists fall apart, and I usually do wind up doing that last-minute thing.

And that's a problem. Financially, I wind up spending more money than I should have needed to ordering things with overnight delivery. I spend hours on the computer finishing a devar Torah on Friday morning or an essay due an hour later. I go into panic mode.

The last-minute rush isn't healthy for the people around me, either. I am unpleasant to be with when I'm in panic mode, and honestly, no one likes last-minute changes or surprises.

So one of my kavvanot this month will be this: I do prep work on a timely basis.

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