If you celebrated Thanksgiving last week, hope it was a wonderful one.
I totally disconnected. Part of me disconnected because I was happy to just focus on my family.
The other part of me disconnected because I was overwhelmed and it was nice to not have to think about everything I still need to get done. (Talk about needing a mental break!)
So now I’m back and lots of thoughts are swirling through my mind.
Like, when will I stuff the holiday cards, untangle the lights, put up the decorations, finish my gift shopping and so much more?!
Thank goodness for my lists. I refer to them all the time.
But you know when your lists are reeeeeally long and instead of helping you they OVERWHELM you?
And then you don’t look at them at all because they send you into a panic.
Today I want to share two really simple ways to shed that anxiety once and for all.
**Hold onto your pencils ‘cuz this is going to change your list making skills forever!!**
NUMBER ONE: Keep your lists together but separate.
I promise that will make sense in a minute. 🙂
Although I’m a huge advocate of keeping all your lists in ONE place, I do believe you should have them on separate pages, notes, sheets or documents (depending on whether you’re using a notebook or a digital app).
One page or sheet should be your current tasks and projects for THIS week.
Another page or sheet should be your tasks and projects for the NEXT FEW weeks.
The third page or sheet should be all your OTHER tasks and projects.
For example, Sheet #1 (THIS WEEK) might include: order gifts for kids, stuff holiday cards, print labels, pick out tree etc.
Sheet #2 (NEXT FEW WEEKS) might include: create Christmas menu, decorate mantel and tree, put up lights, wrap gifts, write cards to teachers etc.
Sheet #3 (EVERYTHING ELSE) might include: create budget for kitchen renovation, research travel plans for spring, replace gutters etc.
Another way to think about these three lists are:
- Immediate (This Week)
- Short Term (Next Few Weeks)
- Long Term (Next Month or Later)
When you set up your lists this way, you’ll feel so much less overwhelmed when you look at your to-do list.
You’ll know you only need to focus on this week. You can peruse the other lists, but don’t need to panic about them.
Simply seeing a shorter list alleviates stress and overwhelm.
And now onto STEP NUMBER TWO. (This is just as important as Step #1, so listen up). 😉
You’ve got to put a timeframe around each one of your tasks on your THIS WEEK list.
For example, it’s great to have “stuff holiday cards” on your list for the week. But, if you haven’t thought about how long that will take and where you’ll fit it into your week, it’s as good as not being there.
Becoming a good time estimator is critical to getting through your days, weeks and months with ease.
When you start thinking about your tasks and/or projects in terms of how long they take, you’ll know exactly what to say “yes” to, what to say “no” to, and what to delay or eliminate all together.
So if I estimate that stuffing my holiday cards will take two hours that means I need to schedule an hour on Tuesday night (7pm-8pm) and an hour on Wednesday night (7pm-8pm) – to make sure it happens.
And so goes for all the other to-do’s for the week.
Before adding more tasks to your list, always ask yourself:
How long will this take?Â
Where will I fit this in?
When you answer those two questions, you’ll have a doable and motivating plan for the week. It’s SO liberating!
Alright sweet friend, I know you are all about staying in control over your next few weeks. So lets make it happen, shall we?
Your challenge for today is to create a to-do list for this week only (so you don’t get overwhelmed with that super giant all-encompassing list).
But before adding things onto your list remember to ask yourself those two crucial questions to planning happiness.
How long will this take? And…
Where will I fit this in?
And then join me in the comments over on my blog to let me know you did it. Or even better, share one of your goals for the week and where you’ve put it into your schedule.
I know you can do this. You know from experience that sometimes the smallest tweaks and the simplest of changes can have the biggest impact on your time, health and happiness.
This is one of those changes.
I’m proud of you for stepping up and putting yourself in the driver’s seat to feel as accomplished as you deserve to be.
To you and your relentless passion for living simple and happy.
With love,
Mridu
