Chowdah

A few years ago when we were in the process of moving to a new house, my sister and brother-in-law introduced me to the concept of "chowdah"--mind you, not the eternal debate between creamy (New England) or tomato-broth (Manhattan) versions of the clam-and-potato soup. No, this is the term in the moving industry to describe "all the crap that's left over after you've moved all the big stuff and packed boxes."

In our working lives, we all collect our fair share of chowdah, and we all have our ways of dealing--or not dealing--with it. For me, I tend to shuttle between grinding away on big projects and shoveling a bit of chowder. I know that probably runs contrary to the way an organizational guru would recommend, but it works for me--the psychology of having a few easy victories helps me plug away at the more substantial items that don't always show instant progress.

And for the record, New England clam chowder is way better.