Reducing the "To Do List"

I never thought I would admit this, but it turns out that our computer dying last month was a blessing for my schedule. I was in a great routine before having Jason in October, then my world got rocked a bit and I haven't been able to regain momentum since.

Until now.

My whole life used to be on my computer. My calendar in Outlook was the only place I tracked our appointments and activities. My "To Do" items were a compilation of small tasks (make dentist appointment, go grocery shopping) and bigger tasks (paint the front door, replace knobs on dressers in the boys room) and I thought it worked for me. When I completed an item, it was crossed off the list and I had a sense of accomplishment. When the list had more things crossed off than not, I wrote up a fresh list on a new piece of paper.

The problem is that the list never ended. I'd keep the same list for weeks and rarely cross off anything that took more than 20 minutes. Some days I'd have an available block of time and intend to to a few things on the list, but would get so overwhelmed that I'd shut down and decide not to bother doing anything.

When my computer died, I was forced to use a paper day planner to keep track of my life. Conveniently enough, I received a beautiful one for Christmas that I was excited to put to use. This new planner didn't have an easy-access spot for my monster to do list, so I came up with a new system and it's working like a charm.

Every night, I think of 3-4 things that I want to accomplish the next day. Generally, they're things that I might otherwise procrastinate. I keep the list short, so it's attainable and I don't constantly revolve things to the following day's list. Sunday, we (finally - we even got the kids involved!) painted the front door and I had a bunch of touch up work to do, so on Monday, "finish painting the front door" was the biggest item on my list. The other items were easier: put away laundry and do my Wii Active workout. That's it.

Once the items of the day are checked off, I can relax or play with the kids or veg out without an ounce of guilt. No looming tasks hanging over my head, no weight of unfinished items on my shoulders. Sure, I'll get other things done, but they're simple tasks that I don't usually put off, like making lunches and unloading the dishwasher.

This has been incredibly freeing. And in the meantime, my "master list" is down to practically nothing! I feel productive and my downtime is so much more enjoyable. I no longer procrastinate silly things like writing thank you notes, working out, clipping coupons or even showering.

So go ahead...give it a try. I challenge you to test this concept for a week to see if it works for your personality and lifestyle. Pick your top 3 things that you want to accomplish today, write them down, then check them off as you do them. Then...just relax and do what you want! Do the same for tomorrow and the next day. It's working wonders for me. I hardly know what to do with all of my free time!

PS - How much better does my door look now? It matches the chair rail and baseboards and my front room finally looks complete!