Making A List, Checking It Twice
My friend Gabrielle is a recovering list-maker. During the height of her addiction, she maintained as many as six lists at a time. There was a project list, another for long term goals, a monthly calendar, weekly and daily planners, as well as an assortment of legal pads, notebooks and sticky pads that she attended to on a regular basis.
Although list-making can serve as a valuable organizational tool, Gabrielle felt that her behavior regarding writing to-do lists escalated to what she refers to as an unhealthy obsession. After some soul-searching and subsequent personal revelations on the matter, Gabrielle purged most of the categories that she believed were causing more harm to her stress level than they were providing any assistance to her actual level of productivity.
“I’m down to one small notepad,” Elle reports with a smile. “I went cold-turkey with all the legal pads and planners,” she continues. “At the end of the day, I tear off the top sheet and throw it away. Any remaining items that I didn’t have time to complete for the day no longer define my sense of accomplishment.”
Any habit that infringes on your freedom to experience the joy of living your life ‘in the moment’ requires serious self-reflection in order to recognize it. Once you have successfully identified an unwanted behavior, it is favorable to establish a healthier practice that can replace it. After all, as physical beings we are often creatures of habit.
Like Elle, I used to box myself in with elaborate lists of things that I wanted to accomplish. The only purpose that most of these lists provided me was a sense of disappointment. I compiled them without any deep sense of belief that I would ever be able to achieve everything that I had listed. There is a profound difference between wanting to believe in the things you will accomplish and actually knowing that you will.
These days, I regularly attend to one list for myself that really matters. I maintain it solely as a checklist to be reviewed on occasions when I am feeling depressed, hopeless, or painfully aware that I am not experiencing an ounce of appreciation in the present. It is nothing more than a short list of personal inventory comprised of items that are proceeded by the question, “when was the last time that I….?”
My personal items include: …took a long walk, got some sleep, spent time talking to a positive friend, read a good book, prayed, played with my art supplies, hugged my kids, laughed out loud…? If it has been awhile since I have done at least one of the things on my list, I may have identified a reason for my undesirable mindset.
A personal checklist that includes items you know will elevate the state of your well-being may be the only to-do list that you will ever need.
What’s on your list?
