To-Do: Trash the List

Everyone has a To-Do List. I swear I have had the same list for about the past 5 months. I hate my to-do list. HATE IT. It just makes me feel inferior because I never, ever get to cross everything off. I even write things on it that I have already done, just so I can cross them off. It never works. The list just grows and grows.

So this past weekend...I threw it away. I don't need a constant reminder of what needs done. I mean, if it was important enough to make it onto the list, I will remember it. Like, everytime I open the cupboard, I can see I need to rearrange the tupperware and throw out whatever doesn't have a lid. Whenever I walk into the guest room I can see that I need to wash the blanket that Layla puked on (It's not still in the room, it's in the basment and has been Shouted many times over, I just see the empty spot on the bed), and that maybe I should file my Mary Kay order slips and unpack the boxes in the corner. I don't need a daily reminder to make me feel inadequete. True story.

Instead, in the morning, I pick one thing that I want to get done that day. And then at the end of every day, I am writing out what I did get done. For example yesterday I wanted to make mini apple pies with the apples from our yard. This is what my Done list looked like:

-swept floor
-unloaded and reloaded dishwasher
-lysoled kitchen counters
-made apple pies
-rearranged living room to accomodate packnplay
-put bottles together
-uploaded 6 month pics to flash drive
-unloaded and reloaded dishwasher again
-took out recycling
-dusted living room and dining room
-sprayed Guiliani in the face 4 times because he ran outside.

I feel better about myself when I see what I actually have gotten done, not what I have not even gotten close to beginning. Call me crazy, but this little mind game works for me.