Ok this may sound overwhelming, but it is actually quite releasing – meaning that once you do it, you will find it is such a relief – the stress, angst, chaos will just lift. I am talking about creating a Master TO-DO List. I realize that just writing them down doesn’t make them go away, but it gets them out of your head, which is a start.
My favorite way to do this is to get those big poster sized post-it notes that you can put on the wall (they are the size of an easle pad). I will literally write down everything I can think of that is occupying space in my brain For example: call the kid's doctor, schedule vet appoint, orthodontist appt, put money in lunch accounts, update notes in CRM, schedule meeting with boss, clean basement, work on photo albums, look up flights, You will find you keep adding things to it as you walk by each day. Good! Get it all out. You will be amazed at how you feel afterwards.
If you are really organized you can create columns: Personal, Work, Household , etc. – this may help you focus on one area at a time. We do not realize how much energy it takes to keep all these little to-do’s in our head. Let’s use the household for example; you may want to put a deck on the house which is a great project assuming you have the time and the money. But it is difficult to focus on the deck when the things that occupy your brain are the “little things” like: fix screen door, fix dripping faucet, replace battery in smoke alarm, replace light bulbs in basement, paint the trim in the bedroom, etc. If you can “brain dump” all of these annoying little to-do’s, you will find that miraculously it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. You can start checking things off or crossing them out.
Having the big post-in on the wall does four things for me: 1) Because it is big and in my face, it reminds me to get it done. 2) It is also fun to cross tasks off with a big cross-out motion. 3) Another thing it does is let’s my family know about all the little crap that keeps me distracted. One time I had 2 full large-size posts-its filled with to-do’s. My kids kept walking by these big lists wondering what the heck was going on. After a day or two, I told them that when they wonder why I forgot to sign a permission slip or ask them for the 3rd time where they are going that night, it is because I am processing all this information. 4) Finally, It also gives me an opportunity to say to my family: "If you can help me cross off some of these things on this master list, then that gives me more time and money to do stuff with you." My 16 year old son can fix a cabinet door. My 12 year old daughter can organize photos. My 19 year old daughter can take my 15 year old to the orthodontist. What's amazing is they will go through the list and ask about things and how they can help. You can use it as a negotiating tool. i.e. I'm sorry son I would love to drop you off at the movies but I need to get at least 3 of those things on the list done. Feel free to pick one.
This also helps your kids appreciate what it takes to run a household. I think we tend to keep everything stored in our head. So when we are agitated, stressed, running around like a crazed person and our family asks for help, we don’t even know where to start. We feel it would take longer to explain what we need than to do it ourselves. OR if you are like me, my mind thinks so fast that I sometimes can’t even get the words out to ask for what I need – it all comes out as gobbly gloop. Sometimes I get so frustrated that it seems like I forgot how to talk and my family just looks at me like I am an alien.
SO - for today Take Action by doing a massive Brain Dump. Buy a whole pad of those big sticky notes - you are going to need them again….
For some more ideas on how to get organzied with your to-do's - visit this blog and my friend Julie Hood's website Finally Organized
Good luck getting all those to-do's out of your head and onto paper. Comment on this blog and let me know how you did!
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