The “Did It” List vs. The “To Do” List
Raise your hand if, in your quest for home organization, you have ever created a “To Do” list. I have, I have! It may be possible that I have a little bit of a type A personality (ok, yes I’m totally type A) and I find that lists are my friends. Ok, I have real friends too, but I do find lists to be very centering. I can feel overwhelmed, have my head spinning and feel like I’m going in too many directions until I pull out that magical piece of paper. I prefer to write my lists by hand and have them right in front of me vs. on the computer screen, but that’s just me. And oh how my heart sings as I start crossing off tasks that I’ve gotten done from my list. That’s when Type A steps in and creates a new, shorter list-ok, it’s a sickness.
I’m a busy mom running two organizing businesses and my home and one day I realized just how much I actually do every day. How much we all do every day. And we are all so used to cramming so much into a day that I don’t think we have a full appreciation for just how much we really do accomplish each and every day. From the small tasks like making a bed or breakfast, to running a meeting, organizing a PTA function or staying on top of a home remodeling project. Can you even imagine if we wrote a “Did It” list every day? On thing for sure, it would be really, really long. Maybe there is something to reflecting on just how much you did get done in a day vs. feeling bad about the things you didn’t get crossed off the “To Do” list. Picture everything you’ve gotten done that never even made it to the “To Do” list: the chores, phone calls and clean ups. We really do need to give ourselves credit and feel good about what we can pull off in a day.
As you organize yourself with your “To Do” list each morning, at least be kind to yourself at the end of each day and reflect on your “Did It” list. Then eat a piece of chocolate.
Tags: chores, computer screen, Home Organization, list, organize yourself, phone calls, tasks, To Do list, Type A
