To-Do Lists . . .
Finally, it’s Saturday. To say it’s been a busy week is an understatement (think legal counsel for eleven states, school events for one of my kiddos, doctor appointments, novel editing, and that’s just a start!). At times, I've been gasping for air and running for any quiet time I could find, which got me to thinking about to-do lists . . .
Do you use to-do lists? I have to admit, that I couldn’t manage my life without writing everything I need to accomplish down. Still, I’ve also learned over the years that while to-do lists are helpful, sometimes you’ve just got to let them go. Living to check things off a list is not living.
For this post, I thought I’d take a minute to share with you how I get it all done (or sometimes not get it done). This isn’t a perfect list, it’s just how I do it. I’m a work in progress. Check it out!
1. Writing the To Do List . . . Each Sunday night (or sometimes Monday morning) I make a list of the things I need to accomplish. I just write them all down, not in any order. Then, I go back through the list and either star or circle the really important things.
2. Organizing the List . . . Once I have my list with its various stars and circles, I’ll read through it and analyze which day of the week I might take care of a task, based on priority or available time on any given day. For example, I might put an “M” for Monday next to the most important thing, and a “W” for Wednesday for the to-do that only takes fifteen minutes and can wait a day or two, because Wednesdays tend to be busy for me.
3. Morning Routine . . . I read my to-do list each morning before beginning my day. I cross-compare it to my calendar to make sure I can take care of the item I marked for that day. I wait until the actual day to do this because my calendar changes often (sometimes from moment to moment) due to my busy work schedule.
4. Chunking Time . . . I chunk a lot of my time during the day, most things are done in blocks. I work from home and most of my coworkers are an hour behind me, so I’m lucky because I have a little extra morning time to prepare for my day and/or take care of small things like making a phone call before my workday officially starts.
Still, even when I commuted 1.5 hours one way each day, I used blocking to divide my tasks. It works especially well at work. For example, I make sure to put focus time on my calendar at least a couple of days a week so that I have time to catch up on things like complete comprehensive legal reviews, review law research, or just stare into space because legal work is hard and taxing on the brain.
5. Order of Precedence . . . I try to do the most complicated items in the morning and the least complicated ones later in the day (though things don’t always work out this way).
6. I Make Time for My Passions . . . For creative pursuits, I block time away from family and work to get it done. This means that when I’m in full writing mode (finishing a novel) I write from 5 a.m.-7 a.m. It sounds crazy but it makes me feel better knowing I showed up for my passion. Once work starts, I’m exhausted by the end of the day and likely won’t get to it. When I’m not in full writing mode (planning stories, writing short pieces) I tend to work in shorter time periods. You’d be amazed at what you can get done in fifteen minute focus blocks throughout the day.
7. I Remind Myself, I’m Not Perfect . . . I’ve given up on trying to be perfect. I used to exhaust myself thinking I had to check everything off my list every single day. My life has changed since I’ve learned the magic word DELEGATE and the magic phrase THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW. Trust me, this is probably my best advice on this topic.
8. Getting Away from the Screen . . . I get away from the screen when I can. Even when my computer is dinging a zillion instant messages, my texts are going off, one of my two cell phones is ringing, the emails are piling up, etc. I try to step away when I need to. Most of my work is done on a screen, and that can be physically and mentally exhausting. I force myself to get up, take a walk, and go outside. I blast my favorite music in my office, toss a ball to my dog, whatever it takes to remind myself: I am not a machine.
9. Taking Time for Me . . . I take time for myself. Sometimes that’s hard because a lot of people depend on me. But I’ve learned the hard way that if I don’t take care of my needs, I end up sick, exhausted, and not any good to anyone anyway. That’s why I set time aside each day to exercise, go for a walk, listen to a favorite song, read a chapter of a book, pray, etc. I have my favorite weekend things (visiting a salt cave or a favorite café, going on nature walks, trying a new recipe) but there are days when I just do absolutely nothing and I don’t beat myself up for that. If I can’t get a whole day to rest (but I usually do, Sundays are my self care days) I take whatever I can get. That might be a short power nap, meditation, or even just deep breathing to center myself between a zillion zoom meetings. I’m always a better person for it.
10. Connecting With Others . . . I have to admit – I struggle with this one the most because, after a long day of work, it’s hard for me to let go and unwind to be truly present. Still, I know it’s important and is something I’m working on. I always feel better after having some one-on-one time with my favorite people.
So, that’s how I do it. How about you? Drop me a line in the comments! I’d love to hear about what works for you!
That’s all for now. I hope you all have a great weekend. I’ve got some awesome guests coming up for this Substack, so stay tuned!
Xoxo
Sarah
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Love it...now if you could put it all on a spreadsheet... ;)