Everyone knows that creating prioritized lists helps you get stuff done. Or, at the very least, it makes you feel guilty. But I not very many people talk about REALISTIC lists. Maybe you should have two lists. The one with all the stuff you want to get done in your lifetime or this year or this month; and then the one for today.
Friday is the first day in my whole entire life where I accomplished EVERYTHING on my list!
But, before you all start hating me out of jealous envy, let me clarify: my list was realistic.
When I was younger, I used to make these horrible lists that even God couldn't accomplish in a day. (well, maybe He could). And you know how when something stays on your list and gets bumped to the next day and then the next … well, pretty soon a year has gone by … oh yea, I really should do that. (Like the grout around my tub that I bought the tube of silicone over a year ago …)
There were three things I did today that I think contributed to my sucess:
A) New dry erase board / calendar to write list on, because I get some sort of heady pleasure when I erase the item with my finger. It feels powerful. More so than crossing something off.
B) I really was careful to not add things like "finish my kitchen baseboards" because that felt un-do-able. (However, it is on tomorrow's list!)
C) I did ONLY the items on my board.
Normally, when I'm waiting for an attachment to load onto an e-mail and I'm trying to be efficient, I'll go downstairs to put the laundry in the dryer and I get distracted by emptying the cat box, and when I take the kitty litter out to the garage, I get side-tracked by the messy garage that needs sweeping, and while I'm going to get the broom, I get hungry and start making lunch, which, as I clean that up, I think, I should wash the dishes … and my e-mail has timed out by the time I get back.
Today, when I thought of the cat box, I said, "No, I'll do it tomorrow." And so I put the clothes in the dryer and came back upstairs and sent the e-mail. I did this all day.
As a result, my wonderful friends (I think you are still my friends …) who loaned me their ladder in the MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER … yes, you will get it back today. Because, just as the sun was setting, I touched up the final bits of one of the sides of my barn (last item on my list). With God and all my faithful blog readers as my witness, you will get your ladder back TODAY! I did not abscond with it; it just kept getting moved to the next day's to do's.
So, fair readers … you can do it too. When you're making your lists and checking them twice, cross some things off and make it do-able. You will be so much happier. When I wiped that last item off my dry-erase board, my endorphins were singing inside me. Better than drugs, I tell you.