to do | ta da
Do you get overwhelmed by your endlessly growing, ever-accelerating TO-DO list?
I confess, I love strategizing. Ideation and planning ahead, shifting between details and navigating the long-term goals can be exhilarating, empowering. However, as with everything, there is a downside to this. How much do I actually get done? Oh.
Gulp. Heart sinks. A shadow looms. Duhn-duhn-duhn!
When dreaming up and creating goals, the brain’s chemistry shifts. You can feel it: the chemical cocktail high. It’s meant to inspire action. But sometimes—it can’t just be me, right?—sometimes it highlights the stark contrast between what I dream about and what exists in my present reality. That gap becomes a deep chasm, and my brewing TO DO list leaves me dizzily stumbling too close for comfort to the slippery slope of “where’s my next step?” and “too late—I’m already done-for.”
More often than I would care to admit, I have watched my inner mon(ika)logue devolve, accusing me of being lazy, of dreaming too big, and spiraling down and out. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. And one day I said, literally out loud, to myself, “No, no. Not that way. We’re not going that way!”
I recalled the Kaizen Way, which at first-glance seemed over-simplistic for me; a bit too basic. But I came up with this new path through, inspired by this very teaching: before I write a new TO DO list, I take stock of what I have “TA DONE.”
ta daaaaa! *confetti*
Nothing is too small to list. Now stay with me, just like when budgeting for the first time, it’s critical to track every expense. And so it is with your resources: time and energy. Everything you do requires effort, and this contributes to the whole budget of your energy, both expending and recharging. It’s as important to look at where you want your energy to go as it is to find out where it went.
MONTHLY
Maintained weekly budget dates (meetings) & came in under budget!
Read that book
Exercised/meditated 94% of days (29/31)
Repotted my root-bound Monstera
Went on date / adventures
Called family/friends
DAILY
Woke up (congratulations, btw)
Brushed teeth/shower
Made, ate, cleaned up after breakfast
Meditated: 7 min
Goal (self publish first eBook) - watched class on how-to
Goal (same^) - wrote 47 minutes on _____ chapter/theme
8 min Yoga break
And so on…
What is the point? Stagnation leads to toxicity as much as too much drive can lead to burnout. Action leads to motivation, and not the other way around. To-do lists are still valuable assets in strategizing that game-plan for living your best life. The point of it all is to move, and moreover, to get in flow.
In his book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way, Dr. Robert Maurer champions the significance of finding “hidden moments of delight.” In another section, he emphasizes three key elements of rewards:
needs to be appropriate to the goal
needs to be appropriate to the person
needs to be inexpensive or free
Of course, you are in charge of using this tool in the way that best suits you.
Write it in your journal or in Notes. Customize it. Add stickers. Doodle around the edges. Write it on a post-it and stick it to the mirror. Write it and burn it, recognizing the transient nature of it all.
Just as with goals, your imagination sets the limit.
Doesn’t it feel good to recognize the steps you’ve taken toward your dreams and goals?
Celebrate them. Celebrate you!