Life Skills
Duck Management
The autocorrected principles of understanding what it means to give a duck
Ducks have been on my mind recently. I’ve been writing about ducks and talking about ducks with friends. Honestly, I’ve been swearing an awful lot. So much, it seems, that my browser has begun autocorrecting my ducks away. Duck autocorrect. Duck. Duck! Oh, shirt. Autocorrect is a birch.
About five years ago, I was fortunate to come across a book that changed the way I thought about my life. It was sassy. It was edgy. It was written by the fabulous Sarah Knight and called “The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a D*ck.” Seriously!? That, too!?
D*cking A.
The book taught me things that I forgot about until the last couple of weeks when I found myself reading and writing about giving ducks and not. I met with a friend IRL. We talked about the busyness of life until I found myself heartfully incorporating all of the fabulous duck knowledge I had buried deep inside.
I couldn’t have opened this dusty cabinet in the recesses of my mind without the community on this platform. I am grateful for every writer and their ducking ducks. Ducks! Ugh.
I’d like to thank the writers on Medium for being so honest and foul-mouthed. It has made me a better person, a better writer, and a better friend.
The 6 principles as told by this mother ducker
1. Every person has limited ducks.
I don’t have every duck. I don’t even have a lot of ducks. I have limited ducks. Every person has limited ducks. There is no “duck-bank” to replenish overeager ducks given. We all get a certain number every day — not even the same number every day — and when our ducks are gone, they’re gone until we get the next shipment of ducks.
2. Ducks are for giving.
There’s nothing wrong with giving a duck. Giving ducks is a part of life. It’s a lovely, purposeful, delicious part of being human. I don’t need to be afraid to give a duck; giving ducks is a pathway to experiencing joy and connection.
As long as I know I have limited ducks, I can meter out my ducks and prioritize giving them so that when I give a duck I feel naught but gratitude. Giving ducks with intention is the secret to living my favorite kind of life: the life of the satisfied.
3. Everything costs ducks.
Good, bad, and neutral, my life is a constant exchange of ducks. Good things may have the benefit of uncovering a duck I didn’t know I had, but making time and space in my day for good things is giving a duck! I need to keep this in mind when I’m calculating my duck expenditures.
4. Honor ducks by creating healthy boundaries.
Knowing that I have limited ducks to give and that everything costs ducks, I am able to prioritize my to-do list items, meetings, relationships, events, and self-care practices based on the number of ducks I have to give. Much like another of my favorite reads, it is easier for me to put into perspective “First Things First” (by Stephen Covey) when I simplify in this way.
5. Learn when to say: “I don’t have any ducks for that.”
My favorite takeaway from Knight’s book was learning this phrase. “I don’t have any ducks for that” became a signal to myself that the duck I was being asked to give for a particular noun did not matter enough to me to give a precious duck.
Early on, I had to learn to say it. Then I learned I loved saying it because I suddenly found myself at the end of my days able to give ducks about things that mattered. I’m bringing it back. I’ll give a duck and more to feel that sense of competency again.
6. Keep a duck or two for emergencies.
I’m not talking about a rainy day fund, I’m thinking more like one emergency duck in a thick, locked safe for use in times of peril. Being caught duckless is not so fun, especially when the emergency is a fun emergency!
Example: I’ve had a halo of a day and my partner asks me when I get home if I want to go to my favorite restaurant, but I have given all of the ducks I had to give. I have no more of my daily ducks but wait. I think I have it here somewhere… Remember last week when I went to bed early with one duck left to give? Aha! There it is! Thank goddess for the emergency duck I squirreled away for fun-mergencies and non.
Conclusion
I can’t believe I made it through this whole article without saying duck once! Duck. DUCK. Fine. I don’t have any ducks for that anyway.
I’m Brett Jenae Tomlin, The Anxious Enthusiast.
If you love, love, love my writing and want to shout out, “You get it, anxious girl!” You can contribute to my cookbook collection here or join Medium to put your own stamp on the web and the world. I get a little love if you use my link ^^
