THE LIL' LIST...

I'm all about the Lil' list these days. I used to create these mammoth daily lists for myself,  they went on and on forever and ever... basically the short hand version would probably of been something like:

TO DO:

PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT'S EVER NEEDED TO BE DONE BY THE END OF TODAY

This approach is a big frowny face No-win. I always felt overwhelmed by the list and disappointed in my non-ability to be super woman and accomplish all things in a twenty four hour period. Not to mention the inevitable burn out. I over promised to myself, and under delivered, and if there is anything that I should of learned during my two years of employment trying to sell shoes to highly maintained ladies of entitlement and granting returns of fifteen year old used bras in customer service at Nordstroms, it was "Under promise and over deliver". 

As I get a little bit older, I get a little more realistic... not a lot more, but a little. I am realizing that there is just not enough time to fulfill all my wild ambitions and expectations, I so sincerely want to do it all, and I want to do it really well... and it bums me out that I can't. I want to say, YES YES YES! It is such an easy word to say, and yet such a hard word to do. This becomes a habit in the business of life and dream achieving where your success depends on taking advantage of every good opportunity, and they all seem good don't they? My manager Brad has coined the phrase for me "always trying to fit ten gallons into a five gallon bucket". It made me chuckle and yet I continued living a life of overdoing,   and over promising and well... 

The bucket broke.

Lesson slowly learned... success is obtained by setting small achievable goals. Eating the elephant one bite at a time as they say. That is where the Lil' list comes in.  The rule: Keeping the number of items on the list to be done less then ten, and ideally no more then a handful of things. This forces me to get real with myself..."What is truly important today?"... starting with priorities, or sometimes urgencies, commitments to others and then perhaps if there is time, a few other small tasks that have a tendency to get over-looked... notice how I have to list "shower".

Truthfully, the Lil' list is changing my life. My productivity level is increasing, my sense of accomplishment rewards me with motivation and inner peace, I'm finishing more of the things I am starting, following through on the commitments I've made to others and myself... and not all at once, but one thing at a time, one day at a time. And let me say, there is nothing quite like crossing off those to-do's on your list, can I get an AMEN from the list makers?! 

Lastly, my level of awareness of how I CHOOSE to use my time is becoming more acute. I'm learning perhaps, that you can't say yes to everything and everyone all the time... I might even be coming to grips with the fact that sometimes, you just have to say NO... 

Now, saying the "NO" word is a whole other blog post unto itself... I'll put it on my list... the lil' one.