Three easy lists that spared me much anxiety

I plopped down on the bed. Face in pillow. This can’t be life. I’d sworn that 2015 was going to my year, yet I wasn’t exactly progressing. I was doing much, if not more, of the same stuff from 2014 like ending my day exhausted but not really being able to pinpoint what I’d accomplished. 

I’d do a little bit of this, get frustrated, then switch and do a little bit of that. Eventually it all added up to completion, but not without a shitload of anxiety. I got to thinking: There has to be a way that I can use my gift to fix my problem. I’m the preacher’s preacher when it comes to using what you have to get what you need and want. Well, I’m a writer. Write it down. It started off as a freewrite, jotting down how I felt and what was on my mind. This led to my first list:

1. A general to-do list

For the most part, this includes my ideas–things that I may or may not do in the future, but don’t want to forget. I’m the type who jumps on new ideas immediately. I love the feeling of starting new projects, but have to be careful because that’s a huge contributor to anxiety. What you end up doing is adding to your workload. It’s serves both you and the idea so much better by adding it to your general to-do list and allowing it to marinate prior to acting on it. This way, you can get back to doing what you were doing, and when you do return to the idea, you’ll have the necessary time + energy that it deserves. 

2. Today’s to-do list

Prior to discovering the 70/30 approach, which suggests that you design your to-do lists according to how you want to feel, I wasn’t even making to-do lists. Because I depend on ’em so much now, I seriously don’t know how I functioned without ’em. Though I prefer to do it the night before, I usually don’t. My days rock the most when I start off working out, showering, then sipping tea. While sipping, I’m jamming Pandora, and making my to-do list for the day. It begins as just a list, which I then go back and number according to priority. 

3. Weekly meal list

I just finished my first meal list. Didn’t think it’d work out, but I’ll be damned. It was originally suggested as a means of saving money. I also saw it as a way of saving time because I spend far too much in front of the fridge pondering what to cook only to call in for carryout most days. Write the main dish and the sides that’ll go with it. Try to plan for leftover days when you can, and, if it’s your thing, then pick up repeat days (Taco Tuesdays and Spaghetti Saturdays, for instance). When you’re knee deep in a project, but still gotta be a mama, your meal list will save your soul. Do yourself a favor and make one now. Seriously. 

Have another list that’ll spare me some anxiety? Comment below. Loved these lists? Lemme know. Want more valuable resources like this? Sign up for my weekly newsletter.