Do you love to make a "To Do" list every day?
When you've established a routine, your daily housework becomes a habit and you don't have to make a To Do list for it or have 3x5 cards to remind you to do it. When you have an established routine, you're hardly ever too busy to do the next thing that needs to be done on a daily basis.
If your kids are grown and you've gotten used to the reduced workload, of raising a family, you've probably forgotten how busy young moms are these days. All it takes is to have one or more grandchildren for a few days and it all comes flying back to you what our busy moms are dealing with today.
One mom of four said, "When my husband comes home at the end of a long day and wonders what I've done all day, I figure if I can account for all four of his children, I've done my part."
If you're a list maker, do you ever put things you’ve already done on a list, so you can cross them off. That's great if you do. We need all the sense of accomplishment we can get. That got me to thinking, what if we made a list of things we don't have to do today. It'd be very fun and give us a sense of relief!
Today, you don’t have to:
1. Rob a Bank
2. Jump off a Bridge
3. Join the Circus
4. Lock Your Kids in a Box Car
5. Run Off with the UPS Guy
It's so important for us to seize every moment we can in joy, and do things that tickle us, especially when we're on the verge of feeling overwhelmed. Speaking of overwhelmed, I've been trying out a practice I thought up and it's really starting to get some feet. Have you ever noticed the negative energy you feel when you think you have to do something? What if when you get that feeling, you stopped and analized the "have to" aspect. Who says you have to? If you were dead you wouldn't have to. You really don't have to do anything, unless it's an action to save yours or someone elses' life perhaps. A funny thing happens to me when I defy that feeling of "have to." I take a walk or do something that I consider fun, like singing, watching a good movie, reading a good book, cooking, writing etc. I tell myself, "You don't have to do anything." What happens with the seeming "have to" project is that it usually turns into a "want to."
It seems it's so easy to get on a merry-g-round of being too busy. My friend Marcy said to me yesterday when I asked her what she'd been up to lately, "Ya know for a person who doesn't have to do anything, I'm so busy the time flies." Every retired person I know has a similar response and my husband and I feel the same way.
This thing called life is whizzing by and we hardly notice until we see photographs from the past and notice the changes. Just like we aren't aware of how fast our little planet is spinning and flying through the cosmos, we miss the speed in which our lives are hurtling through time.
(When you finish reading this you can Google Pale Blue Dot to learn about this extraordinary picture of our home. It'll make you feel very humble.)
I’d love you to share with me one thing you’re not going to do today. Be sure it’s something that makes you feel glad you’re not going to do it.
We change lives with 3x5s
The 3x5 card file, get organized system my sister and I developed really helped me when I was a busy, young mom and homemaker, because they gave me baby step direction without having to make a daily list and they were perfect delegating tools.
If you’re sick of making lists and you run a very busy life and want to know how to get organized, you might want to try using the Sidetracked Home Executive’s 3x5 card file system. Just click on the image.
Love,
P.S.If you really want to get organized and you need a little inspiration, you'll love this blog: https://blog.cluborganized.com/get-organized-one-3x5-card-at-a-time-jan-6