by Catherine Graham

Created on: March 16, 2009

As a mother of six, and an entrepeneur, running my business from home, I am constantly writing down to-do lists, for the day, for the week, and yes, even for the year. I personally find that if I leave everything that I need to do in my mind, without writing it down, I quite often feel overwhelmed by the tasks that lie ahead of me.

This year, rather than making a New Years Resolution, I bought myself a goal book. This is more or less a hyped up To-Do list, that is based on weekly session of coaching. At the top of the page, I write, for the week of such and such a date, and underneath, I write 5-10 goals that I have for myself that week. These have ranged from anywhere to writing three Helium articles, to finishing a quilt, or sending back the pizza order forms in time. Every morning, when I wake up, I read over my list, and start the day from there. At the end of the day, I will read over the list again, and check off any of the goals that I have achieved. At the bottom of the page, I will write something like "I wrote an article for Helium (thank you!). This helps me to see myself achieving the goals, rather than just looking at a list, and feeling overwhelmed by the tasks that lie ahead of me.

I always find it fun, to look back through the book if I'm having an off day, of 'I'm not getting anything done' to see just how much I have actually accomplished (and sometimes I surprise myself!)

I also find that for household tasks (and there are many!) rather than writing a list of everything that needs to get done, and then scratching it out as I go along, it is more helpful for me to write out each task as I accomplish it. This can make the housework go by quicker, as I find myself wanting the list to get longer and longer, so I can say at the end of the day proudly, "look at all that I have done today!"

If you are not a list maker, you may be unaware of all of the benefits of lists, and how they can help you in your own life. Lists (like my Goal book) can help you stay motivated. When you have something or someone to be accountable to, you find yourself more motivated to get the tasks at hand done, to show that you have done them.

If you feel as though you are overloaded by work tasks, family tasks, and sometimes even extra curricular activities, you can get the stress off of your mind, and organized onto a piece of paper (or several pieces of paper) to break down what needs to be accomplished immediately, what can wait until tomorrow, etc. This helps you keep your mind in perspective, and your stress level lower.

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