By Glenn Stevenson
The following article appeared in Glenns March 2009 newsletter.
What is on your to do list today? Do you even make a to do list? Some people are avid makers of these lists, whereas others rarely or never make them. Regardless of your style, today I tell you, Never make a to do list again!
How can I say this? Even I occasionally make lists of tasks for my day. I do not do this every day, because most often I depend on my appointment calendar and I just remember the other tasks I have for that day.
Still, when I have an unusual number of things that I want to do in a day, I find it useful to write them down in a list. It clears my head to write them down, so I dont have to remember them. I can just refer to the list.
Still, long ago I stopped writing to do lists. How can I say this? I just told you that sometimes I write down tasks I have for the day.
Well, here is the distinction. At the top of my list, I do not write the words To Do. Instead, at the top of my list I write, Possibilities for and add the day of the week and the date. For example, I might write:
Possibilities for Saturday, March 7
After years of thinking I can do more than I can do After years of striving to do more than I actually get done in a day, I decided to change my perspective.
I decided to think of the things that I want to do in a day as possibilities. After all, we dont know what a day will bring anyway, so why not think of the things that are on our so-called to do lists as possibilities?
This is a simple shift in perspective, yet I have found it profoundly meaningful. Putting Possibilities at the top of my list reminds me that I dont have to do anything on my list. I am choosing to put these tasks down, and I will certainly work toward completing them. But I go to work out of choice. I do not go to work out of drivenness to accomplish the things.
Secondly, thinking of my tasks as possibilities helps me avoid being disappointed about tasks that dont get done that day. Almost inevitably there will be some. But the unfinished tasks were just possibilities after all. So why get so uptight about some of the possibilities not happening that day?
Finally, putting Possibilities at the top of my list helps me better acknowledge the things that I do accomplish. They get crossed off one by one, and by the end of the day I can see all the possibilities that came to pass. How wonderful!
So heres my message: Never make a to do list again! Instead, make a list of Possibilities. See how your satisfaction with yourself and your life changes.
This is Glenn Stevenson with Self Sense Coaching and Counseling. Until next month, I wish you wonderful possibilities!
