I am a list person! I love “to do lists” and “honey-do lists” and “things I want to make lists” and “grocery lists”. For some though, lists are overwhelming and discouraging. They are not a challenge but instead just daunting, and they are likely to give up before they start. If that is you, I want to help you!
First of all, your daily routines are going to become HABIT and you won’t need a list to tell you to do it. You may need to remind yourself for a while with sticky notes or index cards until your habits are set in stone but eventually, they are like breathing. That is the whole point! You won’t have to think about it! (If you haven’t read the daily routines on my blog, go do that now! Check in the main menu! )
If you get overwhelmed by lists, I am willing to bet that you put everything from “Clean the garage” to “feed the cat” on your list of things to do today. Your list is longer than your arm and you have work, your child has ball practice and you have to make cookies for the bake sale. Not a good day for cleaning the garage or anything else that is going to take more than five minutes to accomplish. That list, although some things like “feed the cat” need to happen today, is way too much and it is discouraging right off.
Even if you don’t think you are a “list person”, lists can be very helpful. Going to the store without a grocery list is like a dizzy blindfolded kid trying to hit a pinata. Good luck! If you don’t make a list of Christmas gifts to buy, you are guaranteed to forget someone. Awkward!!! Lists are very important!
Sometimes our minds get so busy thinking of all the things we need to do that we can’t focus or even sleep well. Putting those things in writing on a list helps to get it out of our brain and onto paper so you can rest or focus fully at the task at hand.
Lists help you feel grounded and less scattered. Lists allow you to be able to make a plan.
The trick to not getting overwhelmed with lists is to not put everything on the same list and don’t expect to get everything on your list done by lunchtime. You can have lists for things you don’t plan to have finished until next year!
Today I want you to take just a few minutes and start a “crockpot list”. Yes, a “crockpot list”! This is a list of things that you would eventually like to get done but aren’t vital do NOW! Things that can sit and “cook” for a while. This is not a list that you are to look at and feel pressured by. This is a list that you can look at next time you find yourself at home for an afternoon and you have two hours free….what on that list can you get done? Maybe your husband agreed to help you do some household things for one hour, what on that list can you do? You are waiting for a friend and they call and say they are running fifteen minutes late. There is a lot of things you can do in fifteen minutes instead of staring at the clock!
My “Crockpot List” looks like this:
Clean out/tidy the secretary desk (desk where we keep bills, coupons, envelopes, stamps etc.)
Clean and organize the corner cupboards in my kitchen
Work on my cookbook
Defrost the chest freezer and organize
Work on my book
Organize the craft supplies
Post the items I would like to sell on Marketplace
Scan old photos and save on my computer
Clean the junk drawer
Tidy the coat closet
Break down boxes to fit in the recycle bin
Make your crockpot list and keep it either in your day planner
The Self Cleaning House 